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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.
This is the second article in our four-part series on extreme heat at work. Here, we examine the practical measures that employers should or must take during periods of extreme heat. First, we examine some of the measures that commonly appear across the jurisdictions surveyed once heat-related risks arise or thresholds are reached. Beyond these broad trends, we also set out, on the right-hand side of the article, individual country insights and requirements. We hope these will assist employers with identifying the steps required in each location.
Risk assessments as a core requirement
Most jurisdictions treat risk assessments as the foundation for managing heat-related risks. Employers must identify and assess risks as part of general health and safety duties. Across the surveyed countries, risk assessments commonly involve:
- identifying sources of heat, including weather conditions and equipment;
- considering the nature and intensity of the work;
- taking account of individual vulnerability;
- assessing exposure time and opportunities for recovery.
Adjustments to working arrangements
Many legal frameworks expect employers to adapt working practices during heatwaves. They rarely prescribe exact steps, but similar approaches appear across jurisdictions. Common examples include:
- rescheduling physically demanding work to cooler periods;
- increasing rest breaks;
- rotating workers to reduce individual exposure;
- allowing flexible working where feasible.
Managing workplace condition
Employers often need to address heat within the working environment, particularly indoors or in controlled settings. Across jurisdictions, guidance and rules frequently refer to:
- improving ventilation or introducing cooling systems;
- reducing heat generated by machinery;
- providing shaded or cooler rest areas;
- monitoring temperature and humidity levels.
Access to water and welfare facilities
Provision of drinking water and welfare facilities appears as a consistent requirement. Many frameworks treat this as a basic safeguard during extreme heat. Common elements include:
- access to drinking water;
- suitable rest facilities;
- support for hydration in more demanding conditions.
These measures often form part of baseline health and safety compliance.
Information and communication
Legal frameworks often highlight the importance of informing workers about heat risks. Some jurisdictions impose clear obligations in this area. The focus is often on ensuring that workers:
- understand the risks of heat exposure;
- can recognise symptoms of heat-related illness;
- receive updates on any changes to working arrangements.
Effective communication can support both compliance and risk management.
Monitoring conditions and responding
Heat risks can change quickly. Many systems require employers to monitor conditions and adjust their response. This often links to:
- official weather warnings or heat alerts;
- temperature thresholds or heat indices;
- escalation of control measures as conditions worsen.
Vulnerable workers and sector rules
Some frameworks place additional emphasis on higher-risk groups and sectors. These requirements do not apply universally but appear in several jurisdictions. Examples include:
- additional safeguards for vulnerable workers;
- stricter expectations in sectors such as construction or agriculture;
- sector-specific standards or collective agreements.
How jurisdictions treat these measures: mandatory or recommended?
Although these measures appear across jurisdictions, providing some useful lessons at a global level, their legal status varies. In some countries, specific thresholds or official alerts trigger mandatory actions. For example, exceeding heat limits may require employers to provide water, introduce rest breaks or restrict work.
Elsewhere, employers must assess risk and take appropriate action in line with general health and safety duties, even where no heat-specific measures are prescribed. In practice, this can still create binding obligations where heat is deemed to be a workplace risk.
Others adopt a more mixed approach. Certain measures might be mandatory, while others remain recommended but strongly encouraged.
Finally, some jurisdictions rely more heavily on guidance. While not always legally binding, these recommendations often define the expected standard of care and can influence enforcement.
Importantly, these approaches are not mutually exclusive. In several jurisdictions, general duties, guidance, and temperature- or alert-based triggers operate alongside one another. The applicable framework may therefore shift depending on the circumstances, including the severity of the heat, the nature of the work, and any sector-specific or local measures in force.
It is therefore important that employers understand the specific regulatory framework in the jurisdictions that they operate and, where required, seek legal advice.
Takeaway for employers
Employers must treat extreme heat as a workplace risk and take the required action. Businesses should also start making extreme heat part of their long-term planning.
Of course, the precise legal requirements vary by jurisdiction, as highlighted in the individual country insights on the right hand-side of this article. Employers must therefore check the applicable local framework, including any thresholds or heat warnings that may trigger mandatory measures. Even where rules are less prescriptive, failure to act during extreme heat may breach general health and safety duties.
In the next part of the series, we explore a related area that often comes into focus during periods of extreme heat: dress codes.
