How to manage heatwave risks under UK health and safety law

For many employers, including construction companies, landowners and commercial kitchens, hot weather can bring compliance with health and safety duties into sharp focus.

Employer considerations

While no legal limit has been placed on workplace temperatures in the UK – despite regular calls from employee unions for one – the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

highlight temperature in indoor workplaces as a potential hazard for employees.

The regulations simply require employers to ensure that, during working hours, the temperature in their workplaces inside buildings is “reasonable”. What constitutes ‘reasonable’ is open to interpretation, though employers have been given guidance on the matter via an approved code of practice that sits underneath the regulations. It states that the minimum temperature in a workplace should normally be at least 16C, or 13C if the work involves rigorous physical effort. The code otherwise states that the temperature inside the workplace should provide “reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing”. The code is not strictly binding, though the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which produced it has said compliance with it may be factored into any regulatory investigation.

The code of practice does not outline suggested maximum temperatures because of the differences between work environments – there is a significant difference between working in an office to working in a foundry, for example – and the HSE maintains that it is possible to work safely at high temperatures, provided that appropriate controls are present.

For office workers, examples of such controls might include ensuring there is building ventilation or cooling, potentially adjusting office layouts, and providing greater flexibility for staff to work at home.

In the case of construction workers and others who routinely work outside, there are risks of heatstroke, dehydration and skin cancer for employers to consider. Further controls, such as provision of water, shelter and sun cream, more breaks, and adjustments to working hours, may need to be applied.

Landowner considerations

Landowners have health and safety obligations too, arising in both the civil and criminal / regulatory arenas.

In addition to statutory duties imposed by health and safety legislation, landowners in England, for example, owe a common duty of care to people who visit their land lawfully. To meet this duty, they must “take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is invited or permitted by the occupier to be there”. The law – the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 – cites the need for landowners to consider the likelihood of children being less careful than adults.

The position is slightly different in respect of trespassers. In that case, the landowner’s duty is broadly to act where it is reasonable to offer some protection to address known dangers that people may encounter on their land.

In practice, landowners should undertake a comprehensive risk assessment to identify hazards, including any bodies of water, and the reasonably practicable measures that will eliminate the risks or reduce them to as low a level as possible. This process will likely include consideration of measures such as warning signs, fences, lifesaving or rescue devices, CCTV and security patrols.