When is it too cold to work and what the law says

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As the temperature plummets in the lead-up to Christmas and you are starting to feel a chill in the workplace, you might be wondering if there are rules around how cold it can get.

Whether you work in an office or are out in the elements, there are some regulations in place that employers need to adhere to in the cold weather.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations require employers to provide a reasonable indoor temperature in the workplace. However, the temperature depends on the type of work and the environmental conditions.

Too cold to work

The Approved Code of Practice on the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations suggests the minimum temperature for working indoors should normally be at least:

16°C or
13°C if much of the work involves rigorous physical effort

Working in construction

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations require reasonable workplace temperatures for indoor areas of construction sites. Where the site is outdoors, you must provide protection from adverse weather. Site rest facilities must also be maintained at an appropriate temperature.

Employers must decide what a reasonable temperature should be in the workplace by doing the following:

assess the risk
act on any findings by putting controls in place, including temporary or seasonal ones
use the heat stress checklist (PDF) if workers are at risk from extreme temperatures

Outdoor working

The weather can have a serious impact on a worker’s health if they are working outdoors and the risk has not been properly managed. The impact may be immediate or occur over a longer time, leading to conditions like skin cancer. The weather can also affect a worker’s ability to keep safe, for example when handling machinery.

There are simple actions you can take to protect people working outdoors.

Cold environments

Ensure the personal protective equipmentissued is appropriate
Provide mobile facilities for warming up, and soup or hot drinks
Introduce more frequent rest breaks
Consider delaying the work until warmer times of the year without compromising on safety
Make sure workers can recognise the early symptoms of cold stress, such as a cough or body aches

Employer liability

Under the Employers’ Liability Act 1969 employers have a legal duty of care to their workers. This includes providing a safe working environment for their employees and others, as well as identifying any health and safety risks.

Employers are required to do the following:

Ensure that all working environments are safe
Ensure staff are protected from discrimination, bullying and harassment
Conduct a risk assessment
Provide adequate training and PPE
Ensure that staff do not work excessive hours
Protect the physical and mental health of employees
Provide a way for staff to raise concerns

The law around Employer Liability

By law, employers must abide by relevant health and safety and employment laws, as well as the additional measures imposed by the duty of care common law.

If the failure to conduct a risk assessment and implement necessary measures led to the harm of an individual, the organisation could be liable for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and gross negligence relating to a personal injury case.

Although employers do not have to provide a workplace completely free from risk, they can be prosecuted if they do not implement all seemingly reasonable measures to keep the affected safe from harm.

In order to prosecute and prove negligence, the claimant must be able to prove; a duty of care, a breach of that duty, factual causation and the damages caused. Contrastingly, to prove their innocence, employers must be able to provide evidence that they have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety and welfare of those impacted by its activities.

Duty of care breaches typically have financial consequences, carrying an unlimited fine, but extreme cases can also result in imprisonment. Additional consequences can be social, as organisations found guilty tend to suffer reputational damages, leading to loss of business and issues with both recruitment and staff retention.