Record UK temperatures put workplace health and productivity under growing pressure

UK employers are being urged to prepare workplaces for more frequent extreme heat as evidence mounts of its impact on employee health, productivity and business costs.

The warning follows confirmation from the Met Office that 2025 was the UK’s warmest year on record, with the past decade 0.51°C warmer than the 1991–2020 average.

In Greater London, the number of days above 30°C and nights remaining above 18°C has more than quadrupled compared with the 1961–1990 baseline, according to the State of the UK Climate 2025 report.

The changing climate is increasingly becoming a workplace health issue as employers consider how buildings, working practices and wellbeing strategies need to adapt to protect employees during periods of extreme heat.

Research from the London School of Economics and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change estimated that one record-breaking June heatwave cost the UK economy £1.15bn through 24 million lost working hours.

Around 1.25 million workers reported not working at all because of the heat, while 87 per cent of respondents experienced at least one heat-related health impact.

The findings underline the potential connection between rising temperatures, employee health and workforce capacity at a time when employers are already focused on absence, productivity and keeping people healthy and in work.

TEAM Energy said organisations are increasingly having to reconsider how they cool workplaces that may not have been designed for prolonged periods of high temperatures.

Recent heatwaves have coincided with a 320 per cent increase in domestic air conditioning installation requests, while businesses are also expected to rely more heavily on cooling systems.

Greater use of air conditioning can, however, increase energy consumption and costs as well as Scope 2 emissions.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has also called for maximum workplace temperature rules, warning of the growing risks extreme heat poses to health, productivity and infrastructure.

There is currently no legally defined maximum workplace temperature in the UK, although employers have responsibilities to provide a reasonable working temperature and manage workplace health and safety risks.

Timothy Holman, head of consultancy at TEAM Energy, said: “Many buildings across the UK were never designed to cope with prolonged periods of high temperatures, so cooling systems are increasingly working overtime.

“The organisations that plan ahead, reviewing how their systems perform and where energy is being wasted, will be far better placed to protect their people, control costs and support their net zero goals.”

TEAM Energy is encouraging employers to assess whether cooling equipment is appropriately sized and maintained, examine how energy consumption changes during heatwaves and identify ways of improving building performance.

It also highlights TM44 air conditioning inspections – mandatory assessments of air conditioning systems with an effective rated output of more than 12kW thatmust be carried out at least every five years.

Holman added: “Climate volatility is no longer a future risk; it is a present day reality for most businesses. Acting early to balance comfort with efficiency is one of the most practical steps an organisation can take to stay resilient in the years ahead.”