187
UK workers ‘should get day off’ if workplace is hotter than 30C
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2023
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What about forges and other industrial places where it gets hot as balls?
For future reference, this comes under "Duty of care" in UK law. I've found raising "Duty of care concerns", in a written form (e.g. WhatsApp), remarkably effective. It basically takes away any wiggle room they have, if it escalates.
For me, it is often related to driving. The client wanted me to cram too many long days and long drives together. It would apply to any safety situation however.
Most jobs don't require working with dangerous chemicals, but some do. Some jobs will be the exception, but should also be the ones that have specific safety training and equipment for those conditions which won't be in place for office or other similar jobs.
People working at a forge should have training on recognizing symptoms of overheating and adequate cooling and hydration practices (even if a lot of them don't) as forges can't be cooled in a feasible way. Office workers or people in jobs where it is not expected to be hot are far more likely to accidentally overheat.
Maybe they could retrofit air conditioning for worker safety?
I work on an installation where there's a forge. I took a tour of it when I first started working and there's no way in hell you can effectively air condition that place without being extremely wasteful. Maybe I'm wrong and other forges have figured it out, but I'd love to see proof of it.
Nah, no way to do it with molten metal being right there. It's a part of the job, and a reason why a lot of countries don't have a "maximum temperature" law, but have a "minimum temperature" one.
That sounds like an edge case that may need more creative solutions, or implementing breaks, etc. But I'd wager that for most workplaces this isn't the case.
You can get air fed suits for toxic environments. I have seen these used in car manufacturing. From accounts of the lads there, they were very heavy to work with.
Right? Every restaurant in the country would be closed immediately and indefinitely.
Not that that's a terrible thing or anything
And from my experience- every local council service.