Decryption. Heatwaves and Work: What Does European Law Provide to Limit the Risks?

This is a fact that the world of work will have to (better) take into account. The early and intense heat waves that hit Europe almost every summer raise the question of limiting professional activities during the day.

On Wednesday, a worker died after collapsing on a construction site at the AJ Auxerre stadium in Yonne, which was placed on red heatwave alert. Temperatures were close to 39°C, and an investigation has been opened to determine the cause of death. In Spain, a worker suffered a similar tragic fate last week. The 58-year-old man died while installing a neon sign in Cordoba, Andalusia, where the thermometer read 42°C, reports El Diario .

In France, a decree has just come into force

To prevent these tragedies, proposals are multiplying. This week, La France Insoumise (LFI) presented five proposals, including the introduction of a "heatwave leave." The idea is to allow parents to obtain five days of paid leave to look after their children in the event of extreme heat. Minister Catherine Vautrin dismissed this proposal as "not on the government's agenda," recalling that "childcare services are set up by municipal services and education authorities."

The Minister of Labour particularly highlighted the entry into force of a decree concerning the adaptation of companies to extreme heat . "When the risk assessment identifies a risk of harm to health and safety [...], the employer changes the organisation of work with measures aimed at adapting working hours, suspending arduous tasks during the hottest hours, and better adjusting rest periods," the decree provides.

The employer must also ensure that sufficient fresh drinking water is provided, including outdoors, and "renew the air so as to avoid excessive temperature increases in enclosed work areas." If the work is carried out outdoors, the employer is required to limit the activities of its employees to the hottest hours and to provide a shady area or shelter. Means of protection against extreme heat and/or cooling such as breathable clothing, head coverings or filtering goggles must also be provided.

The Labor Code also provides for a right of withdrawal in the event of "serious and imminent danger to the life and health" of the employee. To do this, the worker must notify their employer if a cause of serious and imminent danger is identified. No maximum temperature is set, but the National Institute for Research and Safety for the Prevention of Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases (INRS) indicates indicative thresholds of 30°C for sedentary activity and 28°C for work requiring physical activity.

In our European neighbors, the legislation is sometimes more restrictive. In Belgium, the code on well-being at work defines temperature thresholds that must not be exceeded depending on the intensity of physical activity. For light office-type work, this threshold is 29°C, but it drops to 26°C for moderate work such as handling, and even 22°C for heavy work on construction sites or in factories. In Hungary, the limit is set at 27°C for physical activities, while Slovenia has established a maximum temperature of 28°C in all workplaces.

The question of adapting the world of work is all the more pressing in countries particularly exposed to heatwaves, such as Italy, Spain, and Greece. Across the Alps, outdoor work during heatwaves is prohibited between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the regions of Lazio and Tuscany, and more recently in Calabria, Umbria, Sicily, Campania, and Puglia. Unions hope to extend these regulations to the national level. In the meantime, the law already provides for the use of technical unemployment for "meteorological events" when temperatures in the workplace exceed 35°C.

Work in the morning

In Spain, a May 2023 law requires companies, as soon as the national meteorological agency (Aemet) places a territory on orange or red alert, to take measures to adapt working conditions. This adaptation depends on the "personal characteristics or known biological state of the worker." In practice, many employees organize themselves to concentrate their activity in the morning to avoid the hottest hours without this being the subject of a law, as the correspondent of Le Monde indicates.

In Greece, authorities banned construction workers and delivery drivers from outdoor activities between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Athens City Hall installed air-conditioned rooms as temperatures hovered around 40 °C. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the optimal working temperature is between 16°C and 24°C.