UK Heatwave: Should Workers Go Home If Their Workplace Gets Hotter Than 30C? | HuffPost

Send Workers Home If It Gets Too Hot, Say MPs..

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UK heatwave

PA

Staff should be sent home if their workplace gets hotter than 30C, according to a group of MPs.

Labour MP Linda Riordan has tabled a petition calling for the new law, and has attracted the support of 17 colleagues.

As Britain swelters in a heatwave, the motion warns that employees in workplaces ranging from industrial bakeries to school classrooms are often subjected to temperatures which can "impact seriously on their health and well-being".

Consequences of overheated factories and offices can include "discomfort, stress, irritability and headaches... extra strain on the heart and lungs, dizziness and fainting and heat cramps due to loss of water and salt", and the resulting reduction in alertness and attention spans can contribute to workplace accidents and fatalities, said Riordan.

The TUC has backed a legal maximum temperature of 30C - or 27C for those doing strenuous work - and Riordan's motion urges the Government to adopt these levels in law.

The motion has been signed by 12 Labour backbenchers, two SDLP MPs and one MP each from the Liberal Democrats,

DUP and Plaid Cymru.

Sunny weather to last, forecasters say

It came as officials sent out heatwave health warnings and four people died in water as Britain continued to swelter during the hottest spell of weather for seven years.

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After five consecutive days of 30C-plus temperatures, the Met Office issued a "level three heat health watch" for London and the South East and advised "alertness and readiness" for those in the North West and North East of England.

Meanwhile, police and fire chiefs reiterated warnings about escaping the heat by swimming in open water after four people died at lakes in Norfolk, a river on the Shropshire/North Wales border and the sea in Cornwall.

Forecasters said Britain was in the midst of its first prolonged heatwave since 2006 and predicted that Wednesday could again break the record for the warmest day of the year, with temperatures as high as 32C (89.7F) in parts of England.

British Heatwave

Summer weather July 19th(01 of49)

People relaxing by the fountains at Marble Arch in London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 19th(02 of49)

Children playing in fountains as they enjoy the continuing hot weather in the City Square, Bradford. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 19th(03 of49)

Children playing in fountains as they enjoy the continuing hot weather in the City Square, Bradford. (credit:PA)

Wanstead fire(04 of49)

Firefighters tackle a grass fire on the edge of Epping Forest near Wanstead in north east London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 19th(05 of49)

Children playing in fountains as they enjoy the continuing hot weather in the City Square, Bradford. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 19th(06 of49)

Swimmers and sunbathers enjoying the hot weather in the mixed bathing ponds of Hampstead Heath, in north London. (credit:PA)

Wanstead fire(07 of49)

Firefighters tackle a grass fire on the edge of Epping Forest near Wanstead in north east London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 19th(08 of49)

Swimmers and sunbathers enjoying the hot weather in the mixed bathing ponds of Hampstead Heath, in north London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 20(09 of49)

The cappuccino cycle club climb a hill in Harrogate, North Yorkshire as the longest heatwave for seven years is set to continue across Britain - but the blazing temperatures will bring widespread rain and thunderstorms next week. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 9(10 of49)

Sisters Lauren, 23 and Ashley, 25 Johnstone (right) from Gateshead enjoy the heatwave at Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, during the hot weather that the UK has been enjoying which is expected to last into the weekend. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 9(11 of49)

Sisters Lauren, 23 and Ashley, 25 Johnstone (right) from Gateshead enjoy the heatwave at Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, during the hot weather that the UK has been enjoying which is expected to last into the weekend. (credit:PA)

Summer weather June 20(12 of49)

A child playing in the water fountain at the South Bank Centre in London (credit:PA)

Heatwave in the UK(13 of49)

Mud flats at Wallasea Island, Essex, after baking in scorching temperatures over the past few days. (credit:PA)

Weather June 26th(14 of49)

People soak up the sun on the deckchairs in central London's St James's Park. (credit:PA)

Heatwave Hits Bedfordshire(15 of49)

Chimpanzees Bonnie and Elvis enjoy a block of fruit filled ice as temperatures soared at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park in Bedfordshire. (credit:PA)

Summer Weather July 12(16 of49)

People walk along the dried up bed of the river Hodge Beck in Kirkbymoorside in North Yorkshire as the heatwave continues up and down the country. (credit:PA)

Summer Weather July 12(17 of49)

People walk along the dried up bed of the river Hodge Beck in Kirkbymoorside in North Yorkshire as the heatwave continues up and down the country. (credit:PA)

Summer Weather July 12(18 of49)

People walk along the dried up bed of the river Hodge Beck in Kirkbymoorside in North Yorkshire as the heatwave continues up and down the country. (credit:PA)

Summer Weather July 12(19 of49)

People walk along the dried up bed of the river Hodge Beck in Kirkbymoorside in North Yorkshire as the heatwave continues up and down the country. (credit:PA)

Summer Weather July 12(20 of49)

People walk along the dried up bed of the river Hodge Beck in Kirkbymoorside in North Yorkshire as the heatwave continues up and down the country. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(21 of49)

Summer Passmore, two, from Clerkenwell, London, cools off in the pavement fountains at the Royal Academy court yard in central London, as the hot weather continues to cover the UK. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(22 of49)

Summer Passmore, two, from Clerkenwell, London, cools off in the pavement fountains at the Royal Academy court yard in central London, as the hot weather continues to cover the UK. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(23 of49)

Luella Facer (left) and her friend Summer Passmore, both two and from Clerkenwell, London, cool off in the pavement fountains at the Royal Academy court yard in central London, as the hot weather continues to cover the UK. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16(24 of49)

American tourists Lyndsey, 20, (left) from Oklahoma and Brooke, 23 from Texas, relax by a fountain in Trafalgar Square, London as the hot weather is set to continue for the rest of the week. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(25 of49)

Summer Passmore, two, from Clerkenwell, London, cools off in the pavement fountains at the Royal Academy court yard in central London, as the hot weather continues to cover the UK. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(26 of49)

A visitor to Green Park, London, enjoys the Summer weather. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(27 of49)

Punt Chauffeurs Hannah Taylor, 20, and Flo Esplin (right), 18, enjoy the summer sunshine as they take a break between trips on the river Cam in Cambridge. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(28 of49)

Visitors to Green Park, London, enjoy the Summer weather. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16(29 of49)

People relax in deck chairs in St.James Park, central London as the hot weather is set to continue for the rest of the week. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(30 of49)

A man relaxes in the hot weather in Victoria Tower Gardens in London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(31 of49)

A man relaxes in the hot weather in Victoria Tower Gardens in London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16(32 of49)

Black cab driver Tom Rudland, from Surrey, cools down with an ice cream in central London as the hot weather is set to continue for the rest of the week. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(33 of49)

A man and woman stand on a narrow boat in the River Thames near Penton Hook, Surrey, as the hot weather continues across the UK. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16(34 of49)

People cool down in the fountain at Trafalgar Square, London as the hot weather is set to continue for the rest of the week. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(35 of49)

People relaxing in the hot weather in Victoria Tower Gardens in London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 16th(36 of49)

People relaxing in the hot weather in Victoria Tower Gardens in London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(37 of49)

A young woman walks through a field of linseed in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(38 of49)

A young woman walks through a field of linseed in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(39 of49)

A young woman walks through a field of linseed in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(40 of49)

A young woman sits in a field of linseed in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(41 of49)

Punt Chauffeurs Flo Esplin (left), 18, and Hannah Taylor, 20, enjoy the summer sunshine as they take a break between trips on the river Cam in Cambridge. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(42 of49)

Punt Chauffeurs Flo Esplin (left), 18, and Hannah Taylor, 20, enjoy the summer sunshine as they take a break between trips on the river Cam in Cambridge. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(43 of49)

A visitor to Green Park, London, enjoys the Summer weather. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(44 of49)

A woman relaxing on a park bench in the hot weather in Regent's Park, central London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(45 of49)

A man sunbathing in the hot weather in Little Venice, west London. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(46 of49)

Punt Chauffeurs Hannah Taylor, 20, and Flo Esplin (right), 18, enjoy the summer sunshine as they take a break between trips on the river Cam in Cambridge. (credit:PA)

Summer weather July 15th(47 of49)

Punt Chauffeur Flo Esplin, 18, enjoys the summer sunshine as she takes a break between trips on the river Cam in Cambridge. (credit:PA)

Summer Weather July 6(48 of49)

Alex (left) and Andrea Pal with their son, Leonardo, aged six-months, from Dagenham, Essex, enjoy the sunshine on the beach at Southend-on-Sea as much of Britain is bathed in sunshine. (credit:PA)

Summer Weather July 14(49 of49)

People enjoy the warm weather along the River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon. (credit:PA)

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