With temperatures set to exceed 30\u00b0C this week, we asked HR commentators for advice on how to support employees working in extreme heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite rising temperatures, employers are not legally obliged to provide air conditioning, fans or set maximum indoor temperatures in the workplace, according to office space provider Office Freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While 16\u00b0C is widely considered the lower limit of comfortable office temperatures, there is no upper limit, meaning bosses are not breaking the law if employees are working in uncomfortably hot conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, according to Dale Allen, founder of The Safety-Verse, a platform that provides easy-to-use health and safety resources, there are steps employers can take to create a more comfortable working environment in hot weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf your office doesn\u2019t have air conditioning, it can be difficult to maintain a comfortable temperature in hot weather,\u201d Allen said, \u201cHowever, employers can take steps. Offices should provide fans and plenty of cold water for employees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allen also suggested relaxing workplace dress codes where it\u2019s safe to do so, though this may be more difficult for outdoor roles requiring safety equipment. He added that helping outdoor and manual workers stay cool presents additional challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: \u201cFor people working outside or doing heavy jobs, they need shade, more breaks and cooler times to work. Allowing staff to avoid working at the hottest times of the day \u2013 between 11am and 3pm \u2013 can help. Making sure there are good supplies of cold water, suncream and sun hats is also a good idea. Safety clothing and equipment are often very warm; investing in lighter weight protective clothing can help, but in very high temperatures, it may be necessary for work to be halted completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHR departments should also offer training and education to staff, to help them recognise the signs of dehydration, sunstroke and heat exhaustion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flexible working is another way employers can support employees during a heatwave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rufus Hood, a flexible staffing platform, said : \u201cFor employees that live far away from the office, it might be best to give them the option to work from home, so that they can avoid travelling on crowded public transport in extreme heat. Alternatively, these workers may want to start and finish earlier to avoid peak travel times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To improve employee wellbeing at work during a heatwave, Hood also advised managers create \u201cdesignated cooling areas” where possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIdeally this would be an empty, air conditioned room where workers can rest and rehydrate throughout their shifts,\u201d he explained.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With temperatures set to exceed 30\u00b0C this week, we asked HR commentators for advice on how to support employees working in extreme heat. Despite rising temperatures, employers are not legally obliged to provide air conditioning, fans or set maximum indoor temperatures in the workplace, according to office space provider Office Freedom. While 16\u00b0C is widely […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1670,"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions\/1670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prohuntsingapore.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}