Heat Stress, Sun Exposure
and Workplace Welfare
As summer hits, the focus often shifts to holidays and longer days, but for many workplaces, it also introduces a different kind of pressure: heat. Whether it’s a warm office, a busy warehouse, or employees working outdoors, rising temperatures can quickly move from seasonal inconvenience to genuine health and safety concern.
Both cold and heat can have a serious impact on employee welfare if risks aren’t properly considered or managed. The effects may be immediate, such as heat exhaustion or develop over time, including longer-term health conditions. While there’s no legal maximum working temperature in the UK, employers are required to maintain a “reasonable” and comfortable working environment.
From an insurance perspective, this is where Employers’ Liability and Personal Injury risks come into sharper focus.
Managing Heat in the Workplace
Managing heat isn’t just about comfort, it’s about prevention. In offices, poor ventilation and solar gain can reduce concentration and productivity. In warehouses, physical work in higher temperatures increases fatigue and the risk of errors or accidents. For outdoor workers, prolonged sun exposure adds further risks, including dehydration, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and long-term conditions such as skin cancer.
Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, employers must take practical steps to reduce these risks and provide a safe, healthy working environment.
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Managing Risk in Rising Temperatures
Proactively managing heat stress and workplace conditions helps reduce Employers’ Liability and Personal Injury exposure, while protecting your people in challenging environments.
So, what does that look like in practice?
Understanding Thermal Comfort and Long-Term Risk
Thermal comfort typically sits between 13°C and 30°C, but humidity is just as important. High humidity can make environments feel much hotter and reduce the body’s ability to cool itself. Engaging with employees about how conditions feel and acting on feedback is an important but often overlooked step.
Prevention isn’t just about wellbeing—it’s about reducing long-term claims exposure. Failing to manage heat risks appropriately can have lasting consequences.
Managing Summer Driving Risks
With holiday traffic increasing, so does the likelihood of road incidents. Congestion, longer journeys, and unfamiliar routes all contribute to higher exposure for businesses, particularly in relation to Motor Fleet and Liability risks.
Fatigue becomes a major factor, especially in warm conditions and stop-start traffic. Distractions from sat nav use to time pressures can also increase.
Managing this doesn’t require complex solutions. Effective journey planning, realistic schedules, and encouraging regular breaks can significantly reduce risk. Driver awareness and refresher training also help reduce at-fault claims and improve overall safety.
A Proactive Approach to Summer Safety
Summer should bring energy into the workplace not additional risk. A proactive approach to both heat management and driving safety helps protect people, supports compliance, and reduces unnecessary claims.
Because staying safe in the summer heat is just as important as enjoying it. However British Summers have a habit of changing suddenly with several seasons in a day, so once again dynamic risk assessments and regular met office checks can aid proactive controls. – www.metoffice.gov.uk