In one of our offices we've had a lot of trouble with what can only be discribed as temperature wars. We've had instances where the air con is on, heaters on and windows open all at the same time. In the end Dept Head put his foot down and after discussions with myself we set the office temperature at 22 degrees. Not everyone was happy but hey ho. Anyway one employee is now insisting that she be allowed a heater by her desk as she has an underactive thyroid and sometimes feels cold. I'm inclined to tell her to put a jumper and some socks on when she's feeling cold. Has anyone come across this issue and if so how did they deal with it. Thanks in advance for any responses. Steve

Would agree - socks and jumper. A heater will heat everyone else too. We have the same issues with all of our buildings....too hot, too cold (generally the latter) and we advise people to dress appropriately. In my case I spend 5 months of the year wearing a coat indoors, but as I'm cold for most of my wakening hours it's entirely appropriate.

Fit a dummy thermostat on the wall near to her desk and let her fiddle with it until her heart's content! Works a treat as long as they never find out that the box is not wired up!!

I have had over active and under-active thyroid at times (now been removed) and cold was never a problem.

I have one of those under active thyroid thingies too. I'm not part of the air-con war in the office. We have running battles over the thermostat. Don't feel the cold any more than other people. We have a few people in the office who regularly claim 'its against health and safety' for it to be this cold. Its 21 degrees! And a couple have said its bad for their health- I asked that they bring a doctors note in. They didn't- and it went quiet. Oh the fun of the office!!! Andy

There is a lot more to thermal comfort than dry-bulb temperature (which I assume is being discussed here); are there any draughts that may be the source of the discomfort? LB

I think Pete makes a fair point. I also have an underactive thyroid and though I generally don't feel the cold I find I suffer from the classic underactive thyroid symptoms including feeling cold on occasion such as when I have been really busy for a period of time or if my condition has deteriorated and my medication is no longer sufficient. For two years prior to being prescribed thyroid replacement therapy my test results for TSH were on the very high side of normal so I had all the underactive thyroid symptoms without the treatment. I think in the scenario that the OP has I would also wonder is the person on medication yet, or on enough medication or taking it regularly there are more variables than just a straightforward answer to this situation. Lisa

There are 2 issues here: 1) The employer's duty under Workplace Regs regarding office temperature. 2) Whether the employee has a 'disability' under the Equality Act (NOT DDA as this has now been replaced) and if so what reasonable adjustments the employer should consider. Turning to (2): Are her symptoms due to underactive thyroid or simply cold intolerance? Although they can be the former, usually once a thyroid condition is well controlled with medication it tends not to cause too many problems at work (as other posters have pointed out). Cold sensitivity/intolerance is NOT a medical condition and it is very common (being more common in women, older people). Most occupational health doctors would say that a thyroid condition IS likely to be covered, but if WELL CONTROLLED does not need any specific workplace adjustments. Even if we were convinced the symptoms are due to the thyroid, then the employer needs to consider what is 'reasonable'. This means that they may have balance what is helpful for the individual versus other employees. Measures I would suggest are sensible clothing, position in the office (away from doors, windows, maybe next to radiatiors, etc). I would have no hesitation recommending a heater in certain circumstances, but it is then for the employer to decide if it is reasonable. There is no optimum temperature for employee satisfaction as we all vary on what temperature we find comfortable i.e. if you change the temperature up or down you will always find someone who is unhappy with it. If you reach an impasse, you may need to refer to occupational health (if available to you) Mark OH Consultant