14 August 2004 - USDAW Standing By For Calls On High Temperatures Within the Workplace
Temperatures of either too hot or too cold has long since been of concern to
the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW). They
receive regular telephone complaints.
USDAW are on stand-by and are expecting many calls this summer as to the
legal rights of their members, regarding high temperatures.
Regulations, however, do not specify neither the highest nor lowest
temperature levels. The associated Code of Practice only has a
suggestion that 16oC or 13°C for the
physical, strenuous type work be the minimum, but no maximum is suggested.
At USDAW's annual delegate meeting in Blackpool in April this year, a call
was made to the Government to set the workplace maximum temperature at 27°C.
As research has shown, temperatures of above 25°C
causes the beginning of heat exhaustion, which in turn can create loss of
concentration, accidents, errors, stress and loss of productivity to the
company.
Further
information on what you can do if your workplace is suffering high
temperatures can be found on the
USDAW web site.
A leaflet, entitled Keep your Cool: Tackling Heat Stress at Work,
produced by USDAW, gives tips and suggestions for solving this problem of
high temperatures within the workplace. The leaflet can be
accessed by clicking
here.
Article by Alexandra Johnston
