An employment lawyer has warned that workers in Scotland may be legally entitled to leave the office when this week’s heatwave hits, if bosses don’t follow health and safety rules.
Liam Entwistle, employment law specialist at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie, is reminding employers to follow guidance on keeping staff safe as temperatures are set to soar to as high as 30C in certain parts of Scotland.
“When we’re experiencing extreme temperatures, it’s important for employers to be mindful of their duty of care to staff to provide a reasonable temperature in the workplace, and follow health and safety guidelines.
“Bosses should be mindful of the thermal comfort of their staff when temperatures soar, in order to avoid complaints from disgruntled employees, or, at worse, personal injury claims.
“If it gets too hot to work, and enough employees complain, employers should listen, carry out a risk assessment, and then put effective cooling measures in place.
“As always, it’s important that employees and staff members communicate if the workplace isn’t comfortable, and are able to do so without fear of criticism,” he continued, adding: “Employers should be very aware that some employees may feel thermal discomfort more acutely than others – for example female employees going through the menopause.”
Meteorologists gave an 80% chance of the mercury topping the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C set in Cambridge in 2019.
There is a 50% chance of temperatures reaching 40C somewhere in the UK, likely along the A1 corridor, with the Met Office issuing its first ever red warning for extreme heat.
The UK Health Security Agency has increased its heat health warning from level three to level four – a “national emergency”.
Level four is reached “when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system… at this level, illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups,” it said.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: “If people have vulnerable relatives or neighbours, now is the time to make sure they’re putting suitable measures in place to be able to cope with the heat because if the forecast is as we think it will be in the red warning area, then people’s lives are at risk.
“This is a very serious situation.”
Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said: “Each year the effects of climate breakdown are becoming more evident and more severe.
“Without meaningful government intervention millions of Brits, particularly older people and young children, will be at increasing risk from health-threatening heatwaves like the one we’re experiencing.”
Meanwhile, motorists have been advised to try to make their journeys outside of the hottest periods of the day, particularly if they have older cars.
And Downing Street has said speed restrictions on rail lines may be required under contingency plans.
“Specialist teams from Network Rail and Transport for London will continue to monitor the impact of high temperatures to try and make sure they can keep services running safely and reliably for customers,” read a statement.
“It may be the case that speed restrictions are likely to be put in place on some parts of the network next week to manage the hot weather and to avoid any potential damage.”
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