Heat at work :o(

[splurge]

Help, is there anything i can do? I have just come back from another day at work in a sweltering office on the top floor. We have no air conditioning and two fans between 10 of us. Where i sit, i have no air from the fan on me and just the heat from the computer and the humidity in the room. Today it was 35 degrees in my corner. As you can imagine, it's unbearable. To make it worse, my legs have started to swell with the heat and when i go home i can hardly walk as i am in so much pain. Other girls feel sick and we are all sweating.
Are there any regulations on this? Are boss tells us we are whinging etc and to enjoy the heat whilst it lasts. I just don't think we should be made to feel ill though due to lack of fresh air.
Where do i stand?

[dot.hawkes]

well i have had the same thing for weeks and no, there is nothing you can do, but, your employer has responsibilities under employment legislation, your employer has to make every effort to ensure that you are provided with a supply of fluids in extreme temperatures, if you feel that the heat is affecting your performance or making you feel unwell then you are allowed by statute to remove yourself from the environment and take sufficient breaks to enable you to return in a suitable state. trust me. i have put up with working in 90 - 1oo degrees for the last 2-3 weeks, i am now off sick wirth a heat related eczema and feeling lousy.

[splurge]

my boss tells me i'm skiving when i take a break and go for a walk to ease my legs. I cant wear my shoes as my feet swell so much. I also suffer with eczema and it is getting a lot worse in the office. Hopefully going to see my doctor tomorrow, don't want time off work, just a solution to the problem that i can present to my boss.

[dot.hawkes]

splurge, there vis legislation to cover this and your boss will know it, it is totally 100% up to the employee to make the decision as to wjether the temperature is not good for them and any employer that does not know this ot recognise this is liable for prosecution, they will know it and are taking the mick so tell them u feel the heat is making u ill and see what they say, they will check out the law if they really have no clue but they do not have aleg to stand on

[dot.hawkes]

sorry for the typo errors but i am ******

[naz_nomad]

Try and get it sorted quickly ...next week's even hotter (apparently)

[dot.hawkes]

yay and i am off for a week hols, in our storew it has been between 90 ans 100 degrees everyday for 3 weeks and so many staff are off sick it is unreal, now i have to lose a days pay under statute, cos i am takling tomorrow off cos the doc says i need to stay cool, that is annoying, as it shoul;d be the stores job to provide a heaklthy working environment.

[maxi29]

It's ridiculous but there is no statutory legal maximum temperature for a work environment: the temperature could rise to 55 degrees and it would still be legal. If everyone walked out at once, I bet your boss wouldn't be so jocular.
If you can't get him or her to see reason, then at least buy a couple more fans out of petty cash.

[xx cutie xx]

management have exactly the same attitude where i work, the message we had last from them was 'enjoy the heat as it will be freezing soon and remember everyones feeling hot and agitated not just you!' yeah we know! i think id rather feel cold then sticky and hot at work

[laurence2]

Yes, their is something you can do.

Your employer has to address your issues under the working enviroment regulations, whilst admitterly their is mo maximum workplace temperature, the exceptable zone of thermal comfort for most kinds of work lies between 16 -24c (60.8 - 72.2F.

The workplace regs state that ''EMPLOYERS MUST'' ensure that during working hours, the temperature in ALL workplaces inside buildings is ''REASONABLE''

Thermometers need not be provided in each workroom, but if the temperature in a particular room is uncomfortable ''INSIST'' that the temperature in that room is measured.

To much heat can cause fatigue, extra strain on the heart , lungs dizziness and fainting, or heat cramps due to loss of water and salt, hot dry air can increase the risk of eye and throat infections. Above a blood temperature of 102F there is a risk of heat stroke, collapse can occur above 106F with symptoms of delirium and confusion, this condition can prove fatal and survivors may suffer from organ damage

Other duties of Management health safety work regs {MHSWR} require employers to consider the hazards associated with working in temperature extremes, assessing the risk in such circumstances and ''IMPLEMENTING APPROPRIATE PREVENTATIVE MEASURES''

Hope this assist you in tackling this problem

[dot.hawkes]

laurence you're right and the law also says, as i have said above, that it is the employee who has the right to decide the heat is making them ill or is potentially making them ill, not the employer, and they have the legal right to take time away to recover and take rest and refreshment

[laurence2]

dot, 100% in agreement their, i,m a health & safety rep as well as a train driver at work, and am pretty clued up on safety laws

[splurge]

Cheers guys, i'll be going to work a bit more clued up on monday!