Hot Weather at Work: Common Sense, Legal Duties and Practical Solutions for Employers

I promised myself I wasn’t going to write another article about hot weather at work.

Every summer it seems to be the same conversation. The temperature rises, the phones start ringing, and employers begin asking whether they can send staff home, whether employees can refuse to work, or whether there is a maximum legal temperature they can work in.

In fact, as I write this article, I’ve already heard three separate calls come into the office this morning asking exactly those questions.

The reality is that the UK doesn’t have a maximum legal workplace temperature. Whilst there is guidance around minimum temperatures for indoor workplaces, there is no equivalent figure that automatically triggers a right to stop working when the weather becomes hot.

That often surprises employees and, if I’m honest, sometimes employers too.

However, just because there isn’t a legal maximum temperature doesn’t mean businesses can ignore the issue. Employers still have a legal duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. The challenge is knowing what that looks like in practice when temperatures start to soar.

There Is No Magic Number

One of the most common questions we receive is:

“What temperature is too hot to work?”

The answer is frustratingly simple.

There isn’t one.

The law requires employers to provide a reasonable working environment and assess risks to health and safety. Temperature is simply one factor that must be considered alongside ventilation, humidity, the type of work being undertaken, the clothing employees are required to wear, and the vulnerability of individual workers.

A warehouse employee lifting heavy stock all day will experience heat very differently to an office worker sitting at a desk. Equally, an employee who is pregnant, has an underlying health condition, or is taking certain medications may be more susceptible to heat-related illness than their colleagues.

This is why employers should avoid becoming fixated on a specific temperature reading and instead focus on whether working conditions remain safe and reasonable.

The Employee Who Wants to Go Home

Let’s talk about the situation that many managers will recognise.

The office reaches 28 degrees. One employee announces they are too hot to work and wants to go home.

Can they simply leave?

The answer is generally no.

Discomfort alone is unlikely to justify an employee refusing to work. However, employers should be careful not to dismiss concerns out of hand.

A better response is to explore the issue properly. Is the employee genuinely struggling? Is there a medical condition involved? Is there a practical adjustment that could help? Could they move workstations, work from home, start earlier, finish later, or take additional breaks?

Most workplace disputes around hot weather arise not because of the temperature itself but because employees feel their concerns are being ignored.

Often, a five-minute conversation and a practical solution will prevent an issue escalating into a grievance or absence situation.

The Dress Code Dilemma

Every summer we see the same debate emerge around workplace dress codes.

Employees ask why they must wear formal office attire when temperatures are reaching thirty degrees outside.

Managers become concerned about maintaining professional standards.

The answer lies somewhere in the middle.

If your business requires formal dress for customer-facing reasons, that may remain perfectly reasonable. However, employers should ask themselves whether every element of the dress code remains necessary during periods of extreme heat.

Can ties be removed? Can jackets become optional? Could lighter fabrics be permitted? Could a temporary relaxation of standards improve comfort without affecting professionalism?

Employees are often more accepting of workplace expectations when they can see employers are applying common sense.

After all, very few clients are likely to be offended by seeing staff dressed appropriately for a heatwave.

The Warehouse Versus the Office

One mistake employers sometimes make is applying a blanket approach across the entire business.

What works in an air-conditioned office may not work in a warehouse, factory, kitchen, or outdoor environment.

Consider two employees.

The first is working comfortably in a modern office with good ventilation, access to cold drinks, and minimal physical activity.

The second is unloading deliveries in a metal-clad warehouse that has effectively become an oven by mid-afternoon.

The risks are clearly different.

This is where managers need to move beyond policy and focus on practical risk assessment. Additional breaks, rotating duties, adjusting workloads, providing cooling areas, or altering working hours may be entirely appropriate depending on the nature of the role.

The legal obligation is not to treat everyone identically. It is to manage risks appropriately.

Home Workers Are Not Exempt

An increasingly common question is whether employers are responsible for employees who are working from home during a heatwave.

The answer is yes, to a degree.

Whilst employers do not control an employee’s home environment in the same way they control a workplace, they still owe a duty of care.

Managers should encourage sensible working practices, including taking regular breaks, staying hydrated, and speaking up if working conditions become difficult.

In some cases, flexibility around working hours may help employees avoid the hottest part of the day, particularly where home working spaces become uncomfortable.

What employers should avoid is assuming that because someone is working remotely, temperature is no longer their concern.

The Productivity Question Nobody Talks About

One aspect that often gets overlooked is productivity.

Let’s be honest.

When temperatures rise significantly, concentration drops. Decision-making can suffer. Mistakes increase. Tempers shorten. Employees become tired more quickly.

Most business owners know this instinctively because they experience it themselves.

Rather than focusing solely on attendance, employers should consider whether expectations remain realistic during periods of extreme heat.

Does every meeting need to happen? Can physically demanding tasks be scheduled earlier in the day? Could deadlines be adjusted where possible?

Sometimes a small amount of flexibility can actually improve overall productivity rather than reduce it.

What Good Employers Are Doing

The businesses that tend to navigate heatwaves most successfully are rarely the ones with the most detailed policies.

They are the ones applying common sense.

They are making cold drinks readily available.

They are encouraging staff to take breaks.

They are relaxing dress codes where appropriate.

They are listening to concerns rather than dismissing them.

They are considering vulnerable employees individually.

They are giving managers permission to exercise judgement rather than forcing rigid rules.

Most importantly, they are recognising that employees are human beings, not machines.

A Final Thought

Every summer, employers ask me whether there is a maximum legal temperature for work.

Every summer, I give the same answer.

No, there isn’t.

But perhaps that isn’t the right question.

The better question is this:

“Are we doing everything reasonably possible to ensure our people can work safely and comfortably?”

If the answer is yes, you are probably on the right track.

Employment law rarely expects perfection. It expects reasonableness.

When it comes to managing employees during hot weather, common sense, good communication and practical adjustments will usually achieve far more than any thermometer ever could.

And if the number of calls we’ve received this past week is anything to go by, it looks like it’s going to be another long summer.