The Green MP Hannah Spencer is to introduce a bill in parliament that would pave the way for a maximum workplace temperature in the UK, as the country grapples with increasingly frequent heatwaves.
If passed, the legislation will create an independent body to recommend maximum safe workplace temperatures and set out how those recommendations should be implemented.
Campaigners and unions have criticised the fact the UK has health and safety guidance on minimum workplace temperatures but nothing for maximums, despite rising summer heat caused by the climate crisis.
Unison and the Trade Union Congress have called for a maximum indoor work temperature of 30C, or 27C for strenuous work.
Spencer, who worked as a plumber before being elected as an MP in the Gorton and Denton byelection in February, has spoken about the “unfair” temperatures tradespeople must work in.
“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,” she said.
“I had one constituent contact me about the appalling conditions he faced laying Tarmac on roads in Gorton and Denton in temperatures he called unbearable.”
She said it was “absurd” the country did not have maximum temperature guidance: “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.”
Spencer urged the government to look to countries such as Spain, where maximum temperatures are imposed based on the type of work being carried out and where workers can adjust their hours during heatwaves so they do not have to work during the hottest parts of the day.
Her bill is expected to receive cross-party support and will be backed by the leftwing Labour MPs Rebecca Long-Bailey, Alex Sobel and Nadia Whittome as well as Graham Leadbitter from the Scottish National party, Liz Saville Roberts from Plaid Cymru and the independent MP Jeremy Corbyn.
The Health and Safety Executive has said maximum workplace temperatures cannot be imposed because excessive heat can be caused by workplace activity rather than the weather – for instance, ovens in a bakery.
There is no legal minimum temperature but the HSE’s code of practice states it should be 16C (61F), or 13C for strenuous work.
after newsletter promotion
In May, a report from the Climate Change Committee, which advises the government, included a recommendation to set maximum work temperature regulations to address the increasing risks that high temperatures posed to “workers’ safety and incentivise the deployment of the necessary cooling”.
It did not propose a specific temperature and ministers have not published a response.
However, the government has announced that the HSE would launch a public consultation on the issue this year to seek views on updating its official guidance, which may include setting temperature thresholds.
Temperatures have exceeded 34C nine times this year, breaking the previous record of seven days set in 1976 and 2020. There have been six separate days of temperatures of 35C or higher for the first time. The record-breaking heatwave would have been impossible without the burning of fossil fuels that is driving the climate crisis.
The scorching conditions experienced by much of England and Wales will last until at least Wednesday, according to forecasters.
