Extreme Heat At Work: What Practical Steps Should Employers Take?

This second article in our four-part series on extreme heat at work examines the practical measures employers are required to take during heatwaves.

Extreme heat continues to affect workplaces across the globe. In part one of this series on extreme heat at work, we saw that most countries do not set a single maximum working temperature. Instead, many rely on general health and safety duties, supported in some cases by thresholds, alerts or technical indices that trigger employer action.

These triggers often play a key role in determining what employers must do. For example, exceeding a WBGT threshold, reaching a specified temperature range, or the issue of an official heat warning may require employers to implement specific protective measures. In other jurisdictions, there may not be a formal trigger, but employers must act where heat-related risks arise.