The Telegraph and other outlets reported that the Labour government is considering introducing legal maximum workplace temperatures (making it effectively illegal to require work above certain thresholds without protections).

There is a legal requirement for a “reasonable” indoor temperature, with guidance suggesting a minimum of 16°C (or 13°C for strenuous physical work). There is no legal maximum temperature. Employers must manage heat risks under general health and safety duties, but workers can be required to work in high heat if the employer deems it “reasonable.”

It stems from the independent Climate Change Committee‘s report “A Well-Adapted UK”. The CCC highlights extreme heat as a growing risk (projecting rising heat-related deaths) and recommends statutory maximum working temperatures. This would encourage businesses to install cooling measures like air conditioning or heat pumps. They cite examples like Spain (e.g., 27°C for sedentary indoor work, 25°C for light physical tasks).

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds indicated the government would “carefully consider” the idea. It’s framed as worker protection and adaptation to climate change, not directly as a net-zero emission cut (though cooling tech has energy implications). Unions like the TUC and GMB have long pushed for limits around 30°C (or 27°C for strenuous work).

This fits into wider debates on climate adaptation. The CCC emphasizes preparing infrastructure (schools, hospitals, homes) for heat alongside other risks like flooding. Similar ideas have circulated for years from unions, but this gives them fresh momentum under Labour.

Whether it becomes law, and at what thresholds, remains to be seen.

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Labour considers making it illegal to work when it is ‘too hot’

Influential climate committee recommends measures that would allow people to down tools during heatwaves

Labour is considering making it illegal to work when it is too hot as part of the drive for net zero. The Telegraph has the story.

Emma Reynolds, the Environment Secretary, has said she will “carefully consider” proposals including a maximum working temperature that would force firms to let workers down tools during heatwaves.

The measure, recommended by the influential climate change committee (CCC), would aim to “incentivise” businesses to protect workers by keeping their workplaces cool.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the workplace regulator, is developing plans for extra protection during hot weather, but is expected to stop short of setting a specific legal maximum.

The controversial recommendation for an upper limit is set out in a new report from the CCC advising ministers on the risks posed by climate change in the UK and how best to manage them.

It calls for a raft of measures to protect people against worsening heat, floods and droughts, including the rollout of air conditioning in hospitals, care homes, schools and prisons.

In a list of key proposals to help the UK adapt to more intense heat, the CCC urged the Government to “set maximum temperature regulations for workplaces”.

The report said: “Maximum working temperature regulations would address the increasing risks that high temperatures pose to workers’ safety and incentivise the deployment of the necessary cooling. Businesses are largely responsible for investing in their own adaptations but must ensure that workplaces and working practices are safe for employees, including for those working outside.”

It pointed to examples in Spain, which sets maximum legal indoor temperatures of 27°C for sedentary work and 25°C for light physical work, and other countries that enforce upper limits for outdoor labour.

The committee noted that Spanish employers are responsible for meeting the requirements and staff can report them to labour inspections or unions if they fail to comply.

In response to the CCC’s report, Reynolds said: “We are acting to protect people and places from the impacts of climate change that are already being felt across the UK – from flooding to extreme heat and drought.

“Robust, independent science is essential and we will carefully consider the climate change committee’s latest recommendations to drive further action.”

Read the full story here.