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Maximum Working Temperatue?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Work & Study
Long story short,

We have an old, crappy cooling system which doesn't work. The roof is tin and attracts the heat. My job is very physical and I am on the top floor (of two) where I work - where it is hottest.

Is there a maximum temperatue I can work in before I can refuse to work anymore? Last year we were fobbed off with crappy fans (electrical) - we ended up with two small in car fans and a desk fan on the counter and a tower floor fan behind the desk - we were still very hot!

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    JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    Apparantely there isn't a maximum.

    Government factsheet...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There is no maximum, however they do have a 'duty of care' to you to provide for your welfare, so if you work in a hot enviroment that means frequent breaks and access to water.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yeah, there isn't a maximum, as long as your employer is seen to be making reasonable provisions for your comfort, which the fans would probably be.

    we found this out at work last year when our little suntrap office hit 38.5 c
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i had exactly the same problem a few years ago when i was working in a wharehouse with a glass roof (round of applause to whoever designed that) it got so hot that people were regularly passing out

    so they gave us an ice pop each once a day and aparently that made it ok!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    OMG i was looking for that too! cant believe there is no max temp!!

    We have no windows and only the main doors bar fire exits. our wonderful air con system is broken which is great!

    It works in the workshop, and in the room the air con unit is in, and one of the offices, and the other office has a big window. The actual floor is huge, full of people, and BOILING hot. Its a huge metal roof so the hot air cant even escape its awful :(

    I move around soooo much at work, the heat makes my feet hurt, and i feel sick. APparently i just have to get on with it, but if im sick surely they would have to send me home if i made a fuss lol

    My plan is tell all the staff to pretend to throw up cos of the heat and then claim they need to go home and cant work cos of the temp lol
    that'll soon make em fix it...wont it??

    Also we dont get paid for our breaks so having frequent breaks in our hot box of a staff room probably wouldnt help!! lol

    stupid non existant laws :(
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well, when I'm next in (sprained ankle boooo) I'll grab loads of fans. The cooling was on today but it was still so hott! We go out the back on breaks now but were yelled at for leaving the door open, incase we were taking stock out the back and hiding it for later use. Funnily enough, it's ok for everyone else to do this - unless you are a 'select' few. Also, there were three of us in the 'hut' bit for cycle work; two of us (including myself) were working on bikes, so there's not much room at the best of times. The third lad (oh and work experience kid) were persistant in staying in this spot, even though it made it even hotter due to lack of room and all that body heat. Would it be a reasonable step to chin the bastard for doing it again? :p
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah I reckon I have it the hardest though, I work in a hot hot kitchen so it gets ridiculously hot, and I have to wear a stupid hat too which makes me sweat more, I think there is a minimum temperature that you can refuse to work in.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i know there is a UN (or other organisation) enforced maximum temperature. But unfortunately i think its about 50degrees celcius. Because out here in the summer some work on buildings has to be stopped.

    Have a look on the UN website or something similar.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    try working in a busy nightclub when its 20c outside at night, and the aircon breaks
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    JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    MrG wrote:
    try working in a busy nightclub when its 20c outside at night, and the aircon breaks
    Awwww diddums.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yes but you dont sit next to the ovens for the whole flight do you, and when you arre that high up, its fucking cold outside

    and where i work is that hot everywhere
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MrG wrote:
    yes but you dont sit next to the ovens for the whole flight do you, and when you arre that high up, its fucking cold outside

    and where i work is that hot everywhere
    well my dad is bigger than your dad :mad: and when he goes to work he has to stand next to the flames of hell!!
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    JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    melanie wrote:
    well my dad is bigger than your dad :mad: and when he goes to work he has to stand next to the flames of hell!!
    :lol:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    melanie wrote:
    well my dad is bigger than your dad :mad: and when he goes to work he has to stand next to the flames of hell!!

    tell him to ask the unions for a fire extonguisher, and a fan
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    BunnieBunnie Posts: 6,099 Master Poster
    I have a window right behind me as we speak! :p
    Just thought I'd rub it in!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Bunny_0_ wrote:
    I have a window right behind me as we speak! :p
    Just thought I'd rub it in!
    :crying:
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    BunnieBunnie Posts: 6,099 Master Poster
    MrG wrote:
    :crying:
    Come sit with me...its warm, but not too hot. Just nice, with the sun slightly shining through the window.
    Beautiful!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    rachie004 wrote:
    try working 25000 ft closer to the sun when its 20c outside on an aircraft with no air conditioning and then having to sit next to the ovens


    come on people - lets play my working conditions are worse than yours :razz:

    I'm so going to melt tomorrow :( :yeees:

    The air temperature affects the skin on the aircraft, and it would be very cold indeed at those altitudes. And there should be air conditioning on all commercial aircraft, it's a regulation.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've just started working for the place I temp'd at at Christmas and it's sweltering in there. They have no central heating or anything and even the customers were complaining about the heat. I think we should strike but I've only been there 2 days so I better not instigate it...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    melanie wrote:
    well my dad is bigger than your dad :mad: and when he goes to work he has to stand next to the flames of hell!!
    :lol:
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