As the UK once again grapples with an intense heat wave, many workers will be dreading their sweaty commute, stuffy office, and dealing with frayed tempers in the sweltering sun. 

However, in many cases, there is no need for this, as employers can avoid placing their employees in difficult and potentially dangerous situations simply by implementing flexible working arrangements. This will allow for working from home or arriving and leaving later in the day to avoid hazardous conditions, both at work and on the way there. 

Getting to work

The commute is one of the hardest, and most frequently underestimated, aspects of working in a heatwave. For many, especially in our cities, the trip to and from work transforms from mundane into a physically punishing journey. Packed trains with on the blink air conditioning, the tube, and the crawling bus followed by a walk down a sun blasted city street can take a serious toll and mean employees arrive at work already tired, dehydrated, and not ready to work. By the time people make it to their desks, a significant proportion of their energy has already been used up simply getting ready to start their day. 

Flexible working, especially the option to work from home, removes this entirely. Not only does this boost productivity but also lowers the workforces’ exposure to heat related dangers. People do not do their best work when overheated, as their decision making and overall sharpness lessen the hotter they become. In order to have an alert and prepared workforce, it is important that employees are as comfortable as possible. 

The legal considerations

Things boil down to far more than preference and comfort, however. Employers have an obligation under the UK’s health and safety laws to provide a safe workplace. When temperatures rise too high for our infrastructure to cope with, it may be that the office or traditional setting simply cannot be made to meet this standard and so, by making people come there, these obligations are not being met. It is perhaps ironic, and certainly outdated, that there is a legal minimum temperature at which people may down tools but not a maximum. Whether we like it or not, summers in the UK have now become very hot, and until our laws catch up, it falls down to employers to ensure that their workforce is safe. 

Workers should also be aware of their rights to down tools. Under Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees are protected from reprisals if they leave work due to an imminent danger or threat to their wellbeing. Overheating and the associated risks certainly fall into this category, and so people should not be afraid to speak up and, if necessary, leave for a cooler place. 

Too hot to be healthy 

Outside of the legal implications come the moral and health considerations. Heat is far more than an uncomfortable reality of the summertime, as it worsens pre-existing health conditions, increases the chance of accidents, and reduces the overall resilience of the workplace. Employers who insist on office attendance during a heatwave risk finding themselves fielding sick calls and poor-quality work, in turn facing additional strain on those who did make it in. 

It's time for flexible working during extreme weather events to become the operational standard as opposed to something one or two particularly forward-thinking companies implement a few times a year. Those in charge must come to realise that it allows for the business’ operations to continue as normal even when conditions become challenging and shows their workforce that they are trusted and valued human beings rather than cogs in the company machine. Flexibility does not mean that structure and discipline has been lost in favour of comfort and modernity. Most employees recognise that their output is not tied to where they decide to perform their duties, but rather to the tools they are given and the environment they find themselves in. 

On site jobs 

There are, of course, people who cannot work from home. Builders, teachers, and doctors all perform roles which are crucial to society and must be completed on site. For this reason, we also need to invest in climate technologies such as air conditioning in our hospitals and schools and, where necessary, simply wait until it cools down.

When flexibility isn’t an option, it is vital to then look to ways to make the workday more bearable on site. Scheduled rest breaks, later starts, and providing food and cold drinks are all ways to improve morale, safety, and show employees that their appreciated – these are essential to keep morale as high as the temperature. 

Cooling down 

All in all, the UK is not well equipped to deal with very hot weather. The majority of places are not air conditioned, our homes keep the heat in, and our transport system buckles when the mercury rises. We may have to wait a very long time for these systematic issues to be solved, so in the meantime we need to adapt socially, especially in the workplace.