15 hours ago
12
Hannah Spencer’s proposal for maximum workplace temperatures (Green MP Hannah Spencer to introduce bill on maximum workplace temperatures, 12 July) highlights an increasingly urgent issue for employers and policymakers alike. While legislation may help provide clarity in the future, businesses should not wait for a maximum legal limit before acting to protect workers.
Extreme temperatures can have a serious impact on worker health and safety as they can impair concentration and increase fatigue, both of which raise the likelihood of accidents.
The law already requires employers to provide a reasonable indoor workplace temperature. Bosses are also required to assess workplace risks and take reasonably practicable steps to protect people. For hot weather, this can include amending work schedules, moving physically demanding tasks to cooler parts of the day, providing shaded rest areas and free access to drinking water, and relaxing dress codes where appropriate.
The debate over a UK maximum workplace temperature is an important one. But workers need protection now, not after new legislation has worked its way through parliament.
Good employers will recognise that safeguarding staff during heatwaves is not simply about compliance; it is also about preventing harm and demonstrating a genuine commitment to a safe, healthy and productive workforce.
Ruth Wilkinson
Head of policy and public affairs, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
How can children learn in overheated schools? (‘Children were calling for their mummies’: UK pupils struggle in 40C-plus classrooms, 11 July)(Classrooms: Schools ‘need a plan’ to cope with heat, 11 July). Wet paper towels and ice pops are inadequate. Our education system needs to build climate resilience – and fast.
Climate action plans, required in schools by the Department for Education, are helpful. But, while there are pockets of good practice, the country needs a more systematic approach. School leaders and teachers require clear, practical and detailed guidance to take the best action against extreme weather.
We can learn resilience from other countries experiencing record-breaking temperatures. In India and Pakistan, where we offer climate literacy courses, Cambridge researchers have studied how school buildings are using techniques like natural vegetation to cool school spaces and protect academic attainment. Since Covid, Cambridge OCR has been calling for a more resilient and flexible approach to assessment.
In June in Bonn, I spoke on a UN climate conference panel with Unicef on loss and damage caused by climate change. My message was that if we invest in resilient education systems, we will not only help children recover from crisis but enable them to shape their own futures. The UK is in crisis too, and education must be factored into practical adaptation plans.
Summer terms have many “milestone moments”. Hotter summers threaten these critical moments in young people’s lives. We must adapt with safe climate resilient learning infrastructure. A generation’s right to education is at stake.
Christine Özden
Global director of climate education, Cambridge University Press & Assessment
