With a heatwave and soaring temperatures expected to continue in the days ahead, ACE shares some top tips on managing heat from its Health & Safety forum. 

While  the Workplace Regulations (1992) do not state a specific temperature at which offices and places of work should close, it does state that conditions in which employees work must be “kept at a reasonable and comfortable level”. 

As such, employers have a duty of care to their employees. If several workers complain about the heat they are legally required to carry out a risk assessment and – where possible – introduce measures that will keep working conditions manageable. 

Helping staff deal with the heat could be as simple as sharing some advice with them. To help you do so, we have made available a Heat Awareness infographic from International SOS. In addition, Laura Hague (Mott MacDonald), chair of ACE’s Health and Safety forum, has shared her own organisational guide to dealing with heat in the summer.  

Both of these are available to download now for anyone working for an ACE member – simply login or register with your work email to access them below. 

Commenting on the current heatwave, Claire Clifford, director of people, culture and skills said: “I’d like to thank Laura Hague for sharing Mott MacDonald’s guide to dealing with summer heat. This will provide inspiration to any member – large or small – on helping their colleagues to work in current conditions.  

“It’s often about taking a common sense approach – overheating will mean dehydration and fatigue, so simple steps should be taken to remind staff to stay safe and well. The same goes for sleeping in these conditions and simple advice could ensure your people have a better night’s rest.”  

“If you are working in an office, can you welcome more people in to ensure they stay cool in the air conditioning? Can you provide water bottles at people’s desks to remind to drink throughout the day? Simple steps like these will ensure you are doing everything possible to support employee wellbeing, meeting duty of care and following health and safety best-practice.” 

Find out more about working in high temperatures from the HSE.