A maximum indoor temperature working law giving people a day off if workplace temperatures surpass 30C should be mandated by government, a new report recommends.
The report by the Fabian Society thinktank highlights inequalities in who bears the brunt of the impacts of climate breakdown and puts responsibility on bosses and landlords to stop people from overheating.
An increasing number of people are dying from excessive heat in the UK. More than 4,500 people died in England in 2022 due to high temperatures, which was the largest figure on record. Between 1988 and 2022, almost 52,000 deaths associated with the hottest days were recorded in England, with a third of them occurring since 2016, data from the Office for National Statistics shows. During the same 35-year period analysed, more than 2,000 people died in Wales due to the warm temperatures.
I might be misinterpreting what you’re saying but office landlords (who sometimes don’t even even live in the UK) are often the ones who don’t want to invest money in improving their UK offices with AC.
Edit for brevity.
Y’all got windows though right? You could throw some portables in.
I’m not sure this applies broadly but in every office i’ve worked in we’ve not been allowed to bring in that kind of large electronic equipment, we can only use equipment that is supplied by the office.
Something something “fire risk” something something “using too much office electricity” something something “health and safety”!
I would consider not having heat stroke a health and safety concern.
Fucking hell, I knew the UK had issues, but thats just fucked up.
Yes, I agree completely. People die in the UK during heatwaves, it’s absolutely a health and safety concern and it’s definitely fucked up.
The UK is very ill equipped to deal with heatwaves. Just 65% of office spaces and 30% of retail space in the UK has AC installed.