Your rights at work summer tips– is your workplace too hot to handle?
Monday, 12 December 2011
It’s officially summer-time, and Victorian workers can anticipate that we’ll have at least a few scorching hot work days to contend with this year. We can’t do much about the sleepless nights or mosquitos, but the ASU can help make sure your workplace is reasonably comfortable this summer. Read on to learn about your summer-time rights at work.
Unfortunately, in Victoria there are no specific statutory or regulatory limits on temperatures to which workers can be exposed. BUT your employer does have a duty of care under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2004 to provide as far as practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risks to health. This includes monitoring temperatures at the workplace.
Your employer’s responsibility
WorkSafe’s Compliance Code for Worklace amenities and the Environment requires that offices be “capable of maintaining a temperature range that is comfortable and suitable to the work”, and states that “Optimum comfort for sedentary work is between 20oC and 26oC”, or the temperature that most people find comfortable.
When the temperature inside the office moves outside that comfortable range, management has a responsibility to respond. Some solutions include:
- Engineering controls such as air conditioning, fans, shade cloth, or barriers from heat sources
- Providing staff with additional rest breaks in cool areas
- Providing easy access to cool drinking water (WorkSafe Victoria provisions require employers to provide free, clean drinking water. At least one drinking point is required for every forty employees)
- Rescheduling work so that hot tasks are performed during the cooler part of the day
- Reducing the time an individual spends on hot tasks (eg. By job rotation)
- Arranging for more workers to do the job
The Commonwealth Guidelines advise that there should be no adverse health effects (for normal healthy people) from working when the temperature is between 18-30oC, but that outside that range some staff may be affected, and a ‘common sense approach’ is to evacuate affected parts of the building.
Air conditioning
Where there is an air conditioning system in your workplace, your employer also has a responsibility to ensure this is regularly serviced. If the air conditioning breaks down and the office temperature moves outside the range of 20-26oC, management should provide alternative arrangements in the short term and move to fix the air conditioner as soon as possible.
Air conditioners can sometimes cause health problems. If you believe your building’s air conditioner is causing problems, tell a supervisor or OHS rep.
OHS tips
Where a workplace becomes uncomfortably hot, the workplace temperature can become a hazard, and employers and staff should be vigilant for signs of heat illness.
Heat illness covers a range of medical conditions including
- Heat illness, including:
- Heat stroke – a life threatening condition requiring immediate first aid and medical attention
- Fainting
- Heat exhaustion
- Heat cramps
- Rashes
- Heat fatigue
- Dehydration
- Aggravation of other medical conditions and illnesses (eg., high blood pressure or heart disease)
- Increase in the likelihood of accidents due to reduced concentration, discomfort of some personal protective gear
Signs of heat illness include feeling sick, dizzy or weak. If you develop these symptoms, it’s important to tell someone and make efforts to cool down.
Working in hot conditions may also aggravate pre-existing illnesses and conditions. Working outside comfortable temperatures also increases the likelihood of accidents.
If you or your colleagues feel unwell
If the indoor temperature is above 30oC and staff are feeling unwell, measures must be taken to cool the office down! Union members should also complete an incident report form to document the situation – this will help to prevent further incidents.
In some cases, depending on how unwell they feel, staff may need to go home. Where management has not been able to implement reasonable measures to address the temperature, staff should not incur any pay penalty. Call your union for information and advice in such situations; don’t just assume it’s ok to leave once it reaches a certain temperature!
If you feel unsafe in your working environment, inform your OHS representative and management, and call the ASU immediately for advice.
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