Posted By Jon B I know it is a very grey area but what obligation does the employer have to maintain a reasonable temperature. We have a situation which in winter means staff have to work in some areas at 11 degrees. As things warm up temperatures hit 30 degrees or even more. Admittedly not as bad as a foundry but when you considered we operate a laboratory / office establishment. I have tried to obtain a committement to improve things but it comes down to costs. Managment have basically said it will cost too much to rectify therefore that is the end of the matter. No longer sure how to proceed any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Posted By Heather Aston Jon The solution doesn't have to be an all-singing all-dancing air-conditioning/building control system. I've also worked in typical 1960s office blocks built a bit like greenhouses (windows all along the side) which reached ridiculous temperatures in summer and were cold in winter. Some things we tried: Additional portable electric heaters in winter. Desk fans in summer. Blinds on the windows to keep out the direct sun. Open the windows (if you can) Hire or buy a couple of free-standing portable air-conditioning units to bring the general temperature down. If the problem is with hot equipment heating the area up (ovens, etc) why not have a separate oven room partitioned off from the rest? The law says temperature must be reasonable. Your employer is expected to apply the reasonably practicable test to this. It might not be reasonably practicable to fit full air-conditioning but it certainly isn't acceptable for them to do nothing. Can you tell us a bit more about the age/construction of the building and/or the layout of the workplace? 11 deg C seems very cold for an office - what type of heating do you have? Heather

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Jon B, (good name btw) I am surprised that you state winter temperatures are as low as 11 deg C, this is most unusual and may be in breach of Reg 7 of the Workplace Regs. As such this probably warrants further investigation by your facilities manager. I would strongly suggest you get a copy of the Workplace Health, Safety & Welfare Approved Code of Practice & Guidance from the HSE ( document L24, cost £5.75) As Heather says there is no maximum temperature stated in the Regs & Guidance, though thermometers should be provided and the 'reasonable' test applies. There are tons of useful suggestions in the document (as well as Heathers ideas). Something else to consider that's not in any ACoP; in a past workplace (which already had fans & portable air con units installed btw), it was the custom for the MD to buy staff ice cream when the office temperature exceeded what he deemed reasonable. In one fell stroke he was able to dispel any ill will that could potentially have arisen. That's good management! Paul, Can the amendment you referred to be downloaded, or do I have to upgrade my ACoP?

Posted By Jon B Thanks to you all. the issues involved are rather complex. For example the winter temperatures are so low in winter due to LEV (fume cupboards) pulling all the warm air out of the building. Installation of these was 'on the cheap' and consequently the air replacement was omitted! As a result we lose approx 15,000 m2 per hour of air - thats on hell of a draught! Summer is the opposite, various items of equipment - ovens, PC's, etc generate a lot of heat. I have relocated wherever possible so people do not have to work extensively in these areas but we still have a heat problem. This of course mitigates the winter temp which would be far worse if we removed this heat. The building is a converted packing shed - with brick / block walls with kingspan insulation. Interior walls are breeze block and suspended ceiling. Outer roof is 'kingspan' type insulated corrugated. The size of the building (40 x 10m) with 11 seperate rooms does not lend itself easily to mutiple aircon / heater units and in any event the management refused to entertained this.(I even tried a small condenisng evaporator last year which I had to get on trial with my personal credit card!!) Opening doors and windows helps a little but creates other problems like affecting the balance of dust extractors and other LEV and draws fumes back into the building. I appreciate the ideas so far given but as you can see this is a complex issue. I was allowed to obtain quotes for a bespoke air management system but like I said I struggled with a £90 condensor unit so guess what the answer to a £30K + project was? The crux of the matter is the managers view is all regs (welfare, DSE etc) temperatures are recommendations only therefore they dont have to do a thing. What else can I do??

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Jon B, In previous employment I had a similar problem. Extraction was required for a process, but in the winter this seriously reduced the ambient temperature of the workplace. One way to overcome this problem is with directional infrared heaters, as these warm the individuals without wasting time warming the air. Not sure how you'd cool down the area in summer though.