With heat health alerts making headlines, many employers are asking the same question: is there a legal maximum working temperature?
The short answer is no. UK law doesn’t set a maximum workplace temperature, but that doesn’t remove an employer’s responsibility to manage heat-related risks.
Instead of prescribing a specific temperature limit, the law requires employers to provide a reasonable working environment and assess risks from excessive heat, just as they would any other workplace hazard.
In practice, that means focusing on what people are actually experiencing rather than chasing a magic number. If employees are struggling with the heat, it’s time to take action.
Simple controls can make a big difference:
Hydration and breaks – more frequent, not just longer
Ventilation and shade – fans, air conditioning where available, or simply moving work out of direct sun
Rescheduling – shifting physically demanding or outdoor tasks away from the hottest part of the day
PPE review – protective clothing that’s essential in normal conditions can become a genuine heat stress risk in extreme heat, so it’s worth checking whether any adjustments are possible without compromising the protection it’s there for
Relaxed dress codes – a small, low-cost change that often gets overlooked
Monitoring, not guessing – simple thermometer logs, or Wet Bulb Globe Temperature readings in higher-risk environments, help you spot problems before someone’s actually unwell
The law might change in future
This isn’t a static area. HSE is currently reviewing the Approved Code of Practice underpinning workplace temperature rules, specifically to modernise guidance for extreme heat. Separately, the Climate Change Committee has recommended the government commit to a national maximum workplace temperature, and unions including the TUC have long called for a legal limit – commonly proposed around 30°C generally, or 27°C for strenuous work.
Nothing has changed yet, and there’s no confirmed timeline for when (or whether) it will. But it’s a live policy conversation, not a settled one – worth keeping half an eye on if extreme heat is a recurring issue in your workplace.
The bottom line: don’t wait for the thermometer to hit a particular number. Manage heat as a workplace risk using the same common-sense approach you’d apply to any other health and safety issue.
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