Comment on UK workers ‘should get day off’ if workplace is hotter than 30C

Maalus@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• Jho@feddit.uk ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  My fiancee works in construction. During the recent heatwaves he was expected to work outside in direct sunlight during the hottest hours of the day in his full protective gear (which doesn’t disperse heat well).

  For how much the construction industry harps on about health and safety they sure are very willing to put their workers health at risk during extreme weather events.

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  • cynar@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    For future reference, this comes under “Duty of care” in UK law. I’ve found raising “Duty of care concerns”, in a written form (e.g. WhatsApp), remarkably effective. It basically takes away any wiggle room they have, if it escalates.

    For me, it is often related to driving. The client wanted me to cram too many long days and long drives together. It would apply to any safety situation however.

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• snooggums@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Most jobs don't require working with dangerous chemicals, but some do. Some jobs will be the exception, but should also be the ones that have specific safety training and equipment for those conditions which won't be in place for office or other similar jobs.

  People working at a forge should have training on recognizing symptoms of overheating and adequate cooling and hydration practices (even if a lot of them don't) as forges can't be cooled in a feasible way. Office workers or people in jobs where it is not expected to be hot are far more likely to accidentally overheat.

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• CowsLookLikeMaps@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Maybe they could retrofit air conditioning for worker safety?

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  • bassomitron@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I work on an installation where there’s a forge. I took a tour of it when I first started working and there’s no way in hell you can effectively air condition that place without being extremely wasteful.

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    • Maalus@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Nah, no way to do it with molten metal being right there. It’s a part of the job, and a reason why a lot of countries don’t have a “maximum temperature” law, but have a “minimum temperature” one.

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    • CowsLookLikeMaps@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      That sounds like an edge case that may need more creative solutions, or implementing breaks, etc. But I’d wager that for most workplaces this isn’t the case.

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  • Syldon@feddit.uk ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You can get air fed suits for toxic environments. I have seen these used in car manufacturing. From accounts of the lads there, they were very heavy to work with.

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• SoylentBlake@lemm.ee ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Right? Every restaurant in the country would be closed immediately and indefinitely.

  Not that that’s a terrible thing or anything

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  • HeartyBeast@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    And from my experience- every local council service.

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