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Mark Sennett
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Kelly Rose
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Workplace temperatures - week of action
13 July 2025
THE WEATHER is hotting up, and so are our workplaces. While employers are obliged to manage indoor temperatures and keep you cool, many don’t.
In the week of 14 – 20 July, the TUC is inviting union health and safety reps to inspect their workplace temperatures.
Let’s take a collective temperature check, and use it to organise for safer, cooler workplaces this summer!
If you carry out an inspection and tell us about it, you’ll receive a TUC Education credential that recognises what you've done. Read more about TUC credentials.
Actions and resources:
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Sign the petition calling for a maximum working temperature.
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Download a flyer - home print or professional print
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Collective Agreement on Heatwave Working Procedures (word doc)
- Temperature inspection checklist for safety reps (word doc)
8 steps employers can take to keep work cool
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Sun protection: Prolonged sun exposure is dangerous for outdoor workers, so employers should provide sunscreen.
- Allowing flexible working: Giving staff the chance to come in earlier or stay later will let them avoid the stifling and unpleasant conditions of the rush hour commute. Bosses should also consider enabling staff to work from home while it is hot.
- Keeping workplace buildings cool: Workplaces can be kept cooler and more bearable by taking simple steps such as opening windows, using fans, moving staff away from windows or sources of heat.
- Climate-proofing workplaces: Preparing our buildings for increasingly hot weather, by installing ventilation, air-cooling and energy efficiency measures.
- Temporarily relaxing their workplace dress codes: Encouraging staff to work in more casual clothing than normal – leaving the jackets and ties at home – will help them keep cool.
- Keeping staff comfortable: Allowing staff to take frequent breaks and providing a supply of cold drinks will all help keep workers cool.
- Talking and listening to staff and their union: Staff will have their own ideas about how best to cope with the excessive heat.
- Sensible hours and shaded areas for outdoor workers: Outside tasks should be scheduled for early morning and late afternoon, not between 11am-3pm when UV radiation levels and temperatures are highest. Bosses should provide canopies/shades where possible.
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