Extreme Heat At Work: Cracking The Dress Code

When heatwaves intensify, employers often face a familiar question: can you relax the workplace dress code? Although most jurisdictions do not impose a specific legal requirement, health and safety obligations remain central. Below, we examine global perspectives from 24 countries on whether employers are specifically expected or required to relax dress codes during extreme heat.

The heatwave in Europe continues. In the last week or so it has moved to parts of southern, central and eastern Europe, with Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic all recording their hottest-ever days.

In this four-part series, we examine key questions for employers during periods of extreme heat. In part one we explored temperature limits, in part two we zoomed in on practical employer heat controls, and now, in part three, we turn to a familiar workplace debate during hot weather: to what extent should dress codes be relaxed.