As UK workers find themselves at the peak of a heatwave, the TUC is urging employers to be flexible in these hot temperatures.
It is recommending that employers relax dress codes, allow workers to take more breaks and encourage more shift rotation, in addition to taking obvious steps to reduce the temperature, with fans or air conditioning.
The TUC is also calling for a legal maximum for workplace temperatures of 30 degrees celsius, or 27 degrees celsius for those doing strenuous work, beyond which they would be allowed to go home.
Employees suffering in sweltering workplaces run the risk of heat stroke and dehydration, tiredness leading to accidents, irritability and the threat of violence and higher stress levels, it warns.
TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Sweatshop conditions can push workers to boiling point. Extreme heat is as bad for you as extreme cold. There is no logic for having a minimum work temperature but no maximum.”
