What is the legal requirement for the temperature of my workplace?
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 set no maximum or minimum temperature. They require that ‘during working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable’. They recommend that workrooms be at least 16 degrees celsius. This temperature can be reduced to 13 degrees celsius if the work involves severe physical effort.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 set no maximum or minimum temperature. They require that ‘during working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable’. They recommend that workrooms be at least 16 degrees celsius. This temperature can be reduced to 13 degrees celsius if the work involves severe physical effort. Guidance written by the Health and Safety Executive entitled ‘Thermal Comfort in the Workplace – Guidance for Employers’ states that ‘An acceptable Zone of thermal comfort for most people in the UK lies roughly between 13 C (56 F) and 30 C (86 F)’.
