Under the plan the maximum temperature would be 30C
Brits could be entitled to stop working if it gets too hot under new measures MPs are pushing to be introduced.
A maximum temperature of 30C would be the limit in most workplaces, or 27C for those doing strenuous work.
Employers would have a legal duty to introduce “effective control measures”, such as installing ventilation or moving staff away from windows and sources of heat, under the proposals, tabled in the House of Commons by Labour MP Ian Mearns.
Thirty-seven MPs have signed a motion in support of the plan, in a bid to stop workers suffering from tiredness, infections, heat stroke, or death.
The news comes as a heatwave continues to engulf the UK, and as the Met Office extended an amber weather warning for extreme heat from Sunday to Tuesday.
The weather forecaster has said that “population-wide adverse health effects” are likely to be experienced, not limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, and leading to potential serious illness or danger to life. Highs of 34C are forecast in London on Tuesday – around the time that the hot spell is likely to peak.
The early day motion (EDM) by MPs states: “That this House notes that recent surveys of workplace health and safety representatives show that high temperatures are one of their top concerns.
“(It) regrets that workers in the UK have no guaranteed legal safeguards from working in uncomfortable high temperatures, and that the consequences of this range from dizziness, tiredness, asthma, throat infections and, in extreme cases, heat stroke and death.
“(It) insists that without recognised law, current recommendations for employers to maintain a reasonable temperature within the workplace are impossible to enforce unless a worker is seriously insured or killed from heat stress.”
The EDM goes on to call for a maximum working temperature of 30C to be put in place, or 27C “for those doing strenuous work, beyond which employers would have a statutory duty to introduce effective control measures.”
As the #heatwave continues, it's important to keep safe and look after yourself and others in the hot weather.
Check out our top tips for coping 👇https://t.co/5tTEtSlOKR
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) July 13, 2022
In England, there are 2000 heat-related deaths on average every year, according to the NHS.
Keeping out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, applying suncream regularly, avoiding alcohol and taking water wherever you go are some of the tips the organisation has shared in a bid to keep Brits safe.
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- First-ever heatwave emergency response ‘being drawn up by government’, report claims
