Pass a law for safe working temperatures

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Matthew and 9 others have signed recently.

The Issue

I have multiple health conditions that affect how my body handles heat. On hot days, I can't work for more than half an hour before I'm struggling. My employer's solution is a couple of tower fans that push warm air around the room.

This isn't just my problem. Millions of workers across the UK - in offices, warehouses, factories, and schools - have no legal protection when temperatures become dangerous.

There is a minimum workplace temperature (16°C, or 13°C for strenuous work), but no maximum. Employers can let temperatures climb as high as they like.

Other countries have fixed this. In Spain, the maximum legal indoor working temperature is 27°C for desk-based work and 25°C for physical work. The UK has no equivalent.

Right now, the UK is living through it. We have seen the hottest June day on record - 36.7°C in Somerset - with a red warning of extreme heat across much of the country. Schools have closed. Train services have been disrupted. Ambulance services are stretched. This is not a freak event. It is the direction of travel.

The Health and Safety Executive is currently reviewing its guidance on workplace temperatures. That's why now is the moment to act.

That's why I am calling on the HSE and the government to introduce a legal maximum working temperature - so that no worker is forced to choose between their health and their job.

Sign this petition and tell the HSE and the government: UK workers deserve the same basic protection as workers in Spain. It's time for a maximum temperature law.

The Decision Makers

Health & Safety Executive
Health & Safety Executive

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