Have you been sweltering at work this week in a suit and tie? You may have already ditched the office dress code, but what does the law say about wearing a uniform during a heatwave?
While UK employees aren’t expected to work in temperatures below 16C (or 13C if doing physically demanding work), surprisingly, there is no legal maximum temperature for the workplace.
Office dress codes often stipulate that formal attire must be worn: men are usually required to wear suits and ties, while women must wear formal skirts and dresses. Employers could potentially discipline or send home staff who refuse to follow the company dress code, provided they follow proper procedures.
But the law is not clearcut. Suppose an office has no proper cooling system and an employee repeatedly refuses to wear a jacket and tie each day because it’s too hot. If the employee was consequently sacked and they had at least two years’ continuous service, they could bring an unfair dismissal claim against the company. Depending on the circumstances, an employment tribunal would be likely to find that the sanction imposed was outside the band of reasonable responses open to an employer – and therefore the dismissal was unfair.
Irrespective of the law – with temperatures rising above 32C in some parts of the UK this week – employers are being urged to take a more practical approach.
The Trade Unions Congress (TUC) recommends employers temporarily relax dress codes so that staff can be as comfortable as possible. Also, where people are working outside, bosses should consider altering working patterns so that work is done in the morning and afternoon but not in the middle of the day, when temperatures are at their highest.
Though there aren’t any strict legal protections for those working in a heatwave, the TUC recommends specific steps employers should take. These include: allowing staff to wear less formal clothes, ensuring that outside workers have access to sunscreen, distributing fans to employees, offering flexible working so that staff can avoid travelling in the rush hour and allowing staff to take regular breaks.
The TUC would also like to see changes in the law. It is asking for a maximum indoor temperature of 30C (27C for strenuous jobs) and that employers must adopt cooling systems when temperatures reach 24C.
It is of course unfortunate that there is no current legal maximum temperature for the workplace. However, even if maximum temperatures in offices were introduced, employers would still need to use their common sense and relax dress codes in hot weather, as they ought to now.
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