Unions back Green MP Hannah Spencer’s plan to table new bill on maximum workplace temperatures

Unions have backed Green MP Hannah Spencer’s plan to table a bill to create a legally mandated maximum workplace temperature.

In the UK, there is currently no legal limit on minimum or maximum temperatures in the workplace. There is, however, guidance on minimum temperatures.

Following a spate of recent heatwaves, the Green MP for Gorton and Denton has said that it is “absurd” that the country doesn’t have a maximum temperature guidance. 

If passed, the law will create an independent body to recommend maximum safe workplace temperatures and set out how the recommendations should be implemented.

As reported by The Guardian, Spencer said: “From bus and train drivers sweltering in cabins that are hotter than the soaring temperatures outside and bakers working in temperatures of over 40 degrees, to builders whose workplaces offer no respite from the heat, the government has a duty to protect all of us.”

Spencer added: “This is something workers and trade unions have been raising the alarm about for many years – it shouldn’t have taken this long to act, but the unsafe temperatures we’re seeing now should be a huge wake-up call.

“We’ve seen absolute chaos as a result of these recent temperatures, and such a massive human cost, yet we haven’t heard a peep from government about how they plan to protect us all.”

The UK’s largest trade union, Unison, and the body representing unions, the Trade Union Congress have long called for a maximum indoor work temperature of 30°C, or 27°C for strenuous work.

The TUC has voiced support for a new law on maximum workplace temperatures.

A TUC spokesperson told Left Foot Forward: “As the climate crisis makes heatwaves more common, the UK needs to adapt. That means new laws on maximum working temperatures, improvements to workplaces to keep them cool, and ambitious climate action to tackle the problem at its root.”

Reacting to Spencer’s proposed bill, UNISON head of policy, Sampson Low, said: “Extreme heat is becoming a regular summer occurrence. Employers must ensure workers are protected from the dangers.

“The health and wellbeing of staff is at risk as is the ability to do their jobs. Paramedics, care staff, council and thousands of other public sector staff can’t just stop what they’re doing. People rely on them to continue providing vital services, heatwave or not.

“Adequate ventilation, access to drinking water and other workplace safeguards are essential for employees’ safety.” 

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward