08.01.2026

Do you still have to work in cold weather?

With plummeting temperatures in the UK this week, after ice and snow warnings, a health and safety lawyer has answered how cold does it need to be to stop working?

Sarbjit Bisla, part of Weightman’s specialist health and safety team, has commented on your legal rights working in cold temperatures and provided advice on how to assess whether a workplace is too cold:

“There are no legal minimum and maximum temperatures for workplaces. However, all employers are expected to ensure indoor workplaces are kept at a reasonable temperature. The Approved Code of Practice for the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 suggests the minimum temperature should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius. If the work involves rigorous physical effort, the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius.

“Employers owe a general duty under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees. This is wide enough to include any risks to health, safety or welfare arising from working in cold temperatures.

“Additionally, employers owe a specific duty under Regulation 7 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 which requires temperatures in all workplaces inside buildings to be “reasonable”. The regulation also requires that a sufficient number of thermometers are provided to enable employees to determine the temperature in any workplace inside a building.

“Employers are required to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the risks from a cold workplace and the significant findings should be recorded. The risk assessment will need to consider matters such as the nature of the work being undertaken and working hours and shift patterns.”

How to assess whether a workplace is too cold?

Employers are required to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the risks from a cold workplace and the significant findings should be recorded. The risk assessment will need to consider matters such as the nature of the work being undertaken and working hours and shift patterns.

Employers should also consult with their workforce, including any appointed health and safety representatives or recognised trade union representatives.

8 Practical steps that employers can take to help reduce the risks from a cold workplace

Ensure a reasonable working temperature in workplaces – usually at least 16°C, or 13°C for strenuous work.
Provide adequate workplace heating, such as portable heaters, to ensure that work areas are warm enough when they are occupied.
Local heating, (using, for example, portable heaters and radiators), where a comfortable temperature cannot be maintained throughout each workroom, such as in cold manufacturing processes.
Reduce draughts while still keeping adequate ventilation.
Provide appropriate protective clothing for cold environments, such as cold stores.
Provide insulating floor coverings or special footwear when workers have to stand for long periods on cold floors.
Provide heating systems which do not give off dangerous or offensive levels of fume into the workplace.
Employers can also change work arrangements to avoid people getting too cold by: limiting exposure by introducing flexible working patterns such as job rotation; moving workers to warmer parts of the workplace where possible; relaxing formal dress codes to allow more layers of clothing and allowing enough breaks to allow workers to get hot drinks or warm up in heated areas.