Temperature and thermal comfort at work
This website gives guidance to employees, managers and heads of department on thermal comfort at work. It explains legal standards and the steps that can be taken to mitigate the effects of thermal discomfort.
What is thermal comfort?
The technical definition of thermal comfort is that it is a condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment. Thermal discomfort is usually expressed in terms of being too hot or too cold. However because it is based on an individual’s perception thermal comfort for one person may be discomfort for another.
Thermal comfort can be affected by many things including:
- external environmental conditions
- ventilation and sources of heat
- how physically demanding the work is
- clothing
- personal preferences
For this reason the University cannot provide a thermal environment that suits everyone all the time, but aims to provide a thermal environment that satisfies the majority of people most of the time.
What are the risks?
In the majority of cases working in environments that people find too hot or too cold will not lead to physical harm. However it will lead to complaints, affect morale and may affect productivity. It can contribute to stress and an increase in accidents, which could be a significant issue in high risk work environments.
Some work environments may be excessively hot, leading to a risk of heat stress, or excessively cold, leading to a risk of cold stress. Employees working outdoors during very hot weather may also be at risk from the effects of the sun (sun stroke, sun burn or skin cancer).
What are the legal requirements?
Indoor workplaces
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations require that indoor workplaces should:
- be of an adequate temperature
- be adequately ventilated
- have methods of heating and cooling that do not produce dangerous or offensive fumes, gas or vapours
- have thermometers available to measure temperatures
The Approved Code of Practice to the Regulations states that the temperature of indoor workplaces should normally be at least 16ºC (62ºF) for sedentary activities and 13ºC (56ºF) for work involving physical effort. No maximum temperature is specified, however an acceptable zone of thermal comfort for most people is in the range 13Cº (56Fº) and 30ºC (86Fº). Those undertaking strenuous activities will find temperatures at the bottom end of the range more acceptable, whilst sedentary workers will prefer warmer temperatures.
The higher acceptable comfort level is subject to external thermal conditions. The University will usually only consider making significant investment in improving thermal comfort (e.g. air conditioning) when employees are working in internal temperatures that are 5oC above external temperatures.
The HSE considers 80% of occupants as a reasonable limit for the minimum number of people who should be thermally comfortable in an environment.
Further information on legal requirements can be found at: www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/thermal/faq.htm
Working outdoors
The control of risks relating to thermal conditions while working outdoors are covered by the general requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and so should be determined through risk assessment.
Guidance on temperatures at work
Follow the links below for the guidance you need: