The UK could lose over 100 million working hours this summer unless the government, trade unions and employers introduce better extreme heat policies, a new study warns.
A survey conducted last summer by the London School of Economics and Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment shows that a 1℃ increase in temperature led workers to reduce their hours and productivity by almost 10 per cent.
The authors said gig economy workers are more vulnerable to both the health and productivity impacts of extreme heat, due to a lack of protections and limited flexibility in their work conditions.
“Workers don’t have the necessary information on how to protect themselves,” said Shouro Dasgupta, co-lead researcher on the paper.
The survey also revealed that less than 20 per cent of employees said their employer had made any adjustments to address extreme heat, such as increasing ventilation or access to shade.
According to the Met Office, climate change affects extreme temperatures even more than it does average temperatures. The number of days over 28℃ has more than doubled and days recording temperatures over 30℃ tripled in the UK since 1961.
Researchers say mitigation measures such as early warnings of high heat days can reduce productivity losses by up to two-thirds.
These alerts would allow workers to adapt by changing the hours they work, where they work and how they get to work, where possible.
At a recent roundtable on the study, participants called for national heat policies. These include giving heatwaves names like storms to raise public awareness, imposing legal workplace temperature limits, and facilitating better communication through unions and employers to ensure worker safety.
Despite the increased frequency of extreme heat events in the UK, there is currently no government guidance on a legal maximum working temperature.
The survey will run again this summer, with expanded sector-specific questions.
“Protecting the workforce is good for growth and good growth strategies must include worker protection,” said Dasgupta, “and of course, better growth means more tax revenue.”
