Bosses Need To Chill Out To Avoid A Summer Slump

Employers are being urged to implement ‘cooling down’ policies to help prevent a drop in productivity or serious illness among their staff

London (2 July 2009) - Employers that confine their workforce to stuffy offices and restrictive workwear could seriously impact the health of their people - and ultimately their business.

In the current British heat wave - and with the prospect of higher temperatures to come – Croner (www.croner.co.uk), the UK’s leading provider of workplace information and consultancy services, part of Wolters Kluwer, is offering employers top tips to weather the soaring temperatures at work.

UK Health & Safety Executive guidelines state that employers have a duty to ensure a reasonable workplace temperature but, with no legal maximum in place, Croner is concerned that many businesses could be failing to monitor workplace temperature closely enough.

Nasar Farooq, health and safety technical manager at Croner, says: “Without a legal maximum workplace temperature, employers may be confused about what action to take, or fail to take any at all. In fact, maintaining a comfortable working environment involves only a few simple steps.

“Employers should implement measures immediately to counteract the heat, or they could feel the effects financially in the long-term due to reduced productivity and an increase in sickness absence. Failing to provide suitable ‘thermal comfort’ in the workplace poses a significant threat to health and safety. Heat illness can occur in temperatures as low as 25C and initial symptoms can include heat rash and exhaustion, to full blown heat stroke in extreme circumstances, which can be very serious.”

Workplace temperature varies in different working environments and with varying levels of exertion required by workers. Employers should therefore monitor workplace temperature and consider installing cooling measures where necessary, such as air conditioning units. Where this is not feasible, they may consider relaxing the dress code during the hottest summer months, as long as this does not compromise safety.

Nasar says: “As the British summer is unreliable and hot weather not guaranteed, monitoring workplace temperature may not be seen as a priority. However employers should take the health and safety of their employees seriously and consider how to maintain a suitable working environment, especially in light of recent blistering temperatures.”

Croner is offering businesses the following top tips to help them keep employees cool this summer:

The employer must carry out a risk assessment and consider such factors as:

• Work rate: the harder someone works the greater the body heat generated
• Working climate: this includes air temperature, humidity, air movement and the effects of working near a heat source
• Worker clothing and respiratory protective equipment may impair the efficiency of sweating and other means of temperature regulation
• Worker’s age, build and medical factors may affect an individual’s tolerance

Some control measures to alleviate the situation include:

• Provision of cool drinking water and isotonic drinks
• More frequent rest breaks
• Provide mechanical aids where possible to reduce the work rate or reduce physical activity
• Increase natural ventilation, provide fans and air conditioning units where possible
• More relaxed clothing may help employees keep cool; however this should be balanced with the need to maintain a corporate professional image and not impair safety.

About Wolters Kluwer UK
Wolters Kluwer UK, incorporating the core brands, Croner and CCH, is the UK's most respected provider of information and consultancy services, providing a range of smart information tools that help make businesses more effective and profitable — from online interactive products and CD-ROMs to books, professional journals and loose-leaf publications. www.wolterskluwer.co.uk

About Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services globally for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2008) of €3.37 billion, maintains operations in over 33 countries across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam. Visit www.wolterskluwer.com for information about its market positions, customers, brands and organisation.

Contact
David Wells
Head of Communications
Wolters Kluwer UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 8247 1169
david.wells@wolterskluwer.co.uk

Anna King/Laura Pykett
Flagship Consulting
Tel: +44 (0)20 7886 8440
Anna.king@flagshipconsulting.co.uk
Laura.pykett@flagshipconsulting.co.uk