The TUC argues employers should allow staff to leave work if the temperature inside the workplace exceeds 30 degrees Celsius (or 27 degrees if their job is physically demanding), to avoid head stroke, dizzy spells, heat cramps and rashes.
More than nine out of 10 employees (94%) said their workplace was too hot last summer and 42% said they regularly worked in ‘unbearably hot' conditions, according to TUC research.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Even when the summers are bad, as last year's was, the temperature in some workplaces can be unbearable for employees and potentially dangerous in others. No one is expected to work in sub-zero temperatures but overheated employees are meant to carry on regardless of how high the office temperature soars. We need to see action now, before the impact of climate change is felt and our summers become hotter than ever."
TUC demands rethink of what constitutes 'unbearable' summer temperature limits
With a long, hot summer reportedly on the way this year, the TUC has called for a new upper limit on workplace temperature for staff health and safety.
