The government said that existing legislation already gave employers a duty to provide reasonable working conditions for employers and framing new legislation to specify weather thresholds was not practical.
But the Unite union, which represents construction workers, said the refusal to legislate gave 鈥渁 green light to the cowboys who ignore workers鈥� welfare鈥�.
Unite national officer for construction Jerry Swain said: 鈥淭his shows the arrogance of government and just how out of touch the Tories are with the lives of ordinary workers, many of whom suffered extreme heat distress while at work this summer.鈥�
A report by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee on 26th July, titled Heatwaves: adapting to climate change, made a host of recommendations to ministers about how the country can better cope with the hot weather to which it is starting to become accustomed.
One of the recommendations was that the government 鈥渟hould consult on introducing maximum workplace temperatures, especially for work that involves significant physical effort鈥�.
It suggested that workers operating in temperatures above 28 degrees should have a reduced dress code and flexible working should be allowed.
The government has now published its response to this report and said it sees no merit in the committee鈥檚 recommendation.
In its reply to the committee the government said: 鈥淭he Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator with responsibility for workplace health and safety, including thermal comfort in the workplace. The government has no plans to bring forward proposals to set a maximum permitted working temperature as there is an existing legal obligation on employers under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to provide a 鈥榬easonable鈥� temperature in the workplace.
鈥淚n 2009, an independent review of workplace temperatures completed on behalf of HSE concluded that there is little evidence of significant numbers of cases of illnesses (long or short term, physical or psychological) caused or exacerbated by exposure to high temperatures at work and concludes that this is not an issue that justifies active regulatory intervention.
鈥淭he scientific evidence supports this position, since air temperature is only one indicator of potential thermal discomfort in the upper range (e.g. a temperature above 25掳C). Simple temperature limits would not prevent the more serious condition of heat stress from occurring and could be counterproductive from a health and safety perspective if inaction occurred below the upper limit. Other important factors, such as humidity, air velocity and radiant temperature, become more significant (and the interplay between them more complex) as the temperature rises. It is the employer鈥檚 duty to determine, in consultation with their workforce, what is 鈥榬easonable comfort鈥� and to take action accordingly.
鈥淚t is not possible to set a meaningful maximum figure due to factors, other than air temperature, which determine thermal comfort (for example, the radiant temperature, humidity and air velocity). These factors become more significant and the interplay between them more complex as the temperature rises. It is the employer鈥檚 duty to determine, in consultation with their workforce, what is 鈥榬easonable comfort鈥� and to take action accordingly.鈥�
Unite national officer for construction Jerry Swain said: 鈥淭he government received an entirely reasonable report from a cross party group of MPs and they just dismissed it out of hand. The government鈥檚 inaction is giving a green light to the cowboys who ignore workers鈥� welfare.
鈥淏y failing to take action the government is making life more difficult for the good employers who try to do the right thing and look after the welfare of workers as they fear they are being placed at a commercial disadvantage.
鈥淐onstruction and all workers deserve to be treated better than this, there need to be clear enforceable regulations ensuring that employers take responsibility for workers鈥� welfare in all forms of extreme weather.鈥�
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