Do i have to stay at work if the heating goes off?

Question

Someone decided we need the heating looked at and the system has been drained. They chose not to inform us this was being done, shame we could have brought some warm clothes/fleeces in etc. I'm just getting over a cold and dont fancy making my health worse but I don't want to get in trouble for walking out.

Answer 1

The Offices Shops and Railway Premises Act (1963) states clearly that an office has to reach a minimum temp of 16 degrees after one hour of opening. If your workplace is not abiding by this you have the right to go home.
This applies in the UK.

http://www.bola.biz/safety/offices.html

Answer 2

Question:
Are Employers obliged to keep a maximum and minimum working temperature in the office?

Answer: Some employees suffer hot-house conditions in their office in the summer and have frozen toes in the winter.

Although there are Health and Safety Executive Guidelines on indoor working temperatures (see www.hse.gov.uk ) there are no specific guidelines on the subject in employment law. The HSE reports that under regulation 7 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) the temperature in indoor workplaces should be: ‘reasonable’. However, this will depend on the nature of the workplace i.e. a bakery, a cold store, an office, a warehouse. Guidance states that ‘‘The temperature in workrooms should provide reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing. Where such a temperature is impractical because of hot or cold processes, all reasonable steps should be taken to achieve a temperature which is as close as possible to comfortable. 'Workroom' means a room where people normally work for more than short periods.’



The HSE does not appear to provide guidance on the maximum temperature for an office.



There is an implied term of every employment contract that the Employer provide a safe system of working. Therefore if the working conditions were damaging to the employee’s health the employer would be in breach of that implied condition and in most extreme cases, the employee might be able to refuse to attend the work place whilst their health and safety remained at risk (though this would be unlikely if it were simply the case of a chilly or a hot office.

Answer 3

It depends where you work. As a rule, you can walk out, certainly in the UK. Not so easy to do in the USA where employment is "at will" in most states.

However, wherever you are, you need to do what is necessary before you leave. A school-teacher, for instance will never leave before the pupils in such a situation. My wife is a psychiatric nurse. She stays, come what may. I know these are two extreme examples but I hope you get the picture.

Answer 4

Employers are required to provide a minimum temperature which I think, in the UK, is around 17C, or around 65F or, in the absence of that, suitable warm clothing for their employees (for example, if you worked in a freezer store or large warehouse or by an open front door).

Answer 5

In the UK - there is a legal lower limit. So if it goes below that - you can leave - but why not talk to the boss and try and get some heat?

Answer 6

In the UK, if the temperature is above or below a certain amount you can by right walk out.

Answer 7

forget it, go to a hotel or motel..or at least a friend or relatives home. if you have to go to the charitys then go as I would not let a dog out in this weather. space heater kill more people then the Iraq war..so beware and don't even think about using that kitchen stove or propane stove you use in your patio

Answer 8

In the UK if it gets too cold (not sure how cold) Yes - if it gets to hot NO where is the sense in that.

Answer 9

there is a minimum working temparature, but bizarrely, no maximum working temp.
so spare a thought for all those chefs that are going to pass out in your souffle.

Answer 10

yep, unless the temperatue drops below 16degrees. check health and safety to be sure