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UK union calls for no work if temperature goes over 25°C
It’s getting hot in England and while the red warning for extreme heat is welcome news for sun-bakers and beach-goers, it’s not so swell for workers
Now a union has called for a legal limit on how hot it can be in a workplace.
The GMB union said workers should not have to contend with temperatures any higher than 25°C.
There is currently no law in the UK or Ireland which states any given temperature is too hot or cold to work.
But workplaces should ideally be at least 16C – or 13C if the job is mostly physical – according to the Health and Safety Executive.
A number of MPs recently backed a campaign for a legal upper limit of 30C in most workplaces – or 27C for those doing strenuous work.
The government does not have to respond to the backed campaign.
Workers are encouraged to focus on health and safety as per other health guidelines released during England’s red warning for extreme heat.