Heatwaves are here to stay/the new norm and although there is no legal maximum temperature in the UK workplace that doesn’t mean employers shouldn’t be taking steps to protect employees.

The law requires you to maintain a “reasonable” temperature and, where heat is a genuine risk, carry out a risk assessment.

That duty exists right now, regardless of what the thermometer says.

It’s particularly relevant if you run a kitchen, warehouse, factory or have staff working outdoors or near heat-generating equipment. Those are the environments where heat stress builds fastest.

The signs to watch out for are dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating and confusion. If someone shows any of those, they need to stop work immediately, get somewhere cool and drink water.

In May 2026, the government’s independent climate advisers called for a legal maximum temperature to be introduced, citing forecasts of UK heatwaves exceeding 40°C by 2050.

Whether or not that becomes law, employer scrutiny around heat is increasing.

Make sure your employees understand the steps to take to maintain a reasonable temperature and how to report concerns.

The practical controls don’t need to be costly. Fans, ventilation, rest breaks, cool drinking water, shade for outdoor workers, relaxed dress codes during hot spells and adjusted shift patterns when high temperatures are forecast will cover most workplaces (if possible or where risk assessed).

If you’re not sure whether your current arrangements would satisfy an HSE inspection during a heatwave, get in touch for further information.

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Shipping company fined £146,700 after forklift seriously injures worker

A shipping company in Aberdeen was fined £146,700 earlier this year after a yard operative suffered multiple fractures, a degloving injury, and required skin grafts when he was struck by a reversing forklift truck in September 2024. He has not returned to work since.

The HSE found that the company had a traffic management plan, but it lacked the detail needed to keep pedestrians and moving vehicles safely separated during loading and unloading operations.

If you use vehicles and forklifts in your workplace, the question to ask yourself is whether your traffic management arrangements genuinely protect people on foot, not just on paper but in practice.

HSE launches 1,000+ inspections over silica dust in engineered stone

The HSE has issued new guidance making clear that dry cutting of engineered stone is unacceptable and has launched a programme of more than 1,000 workplace inspections to look at how employers are managing the risks from stone dust. The first visits are already underway.

Engineered stone, commonly used in kitchen and bathroom worktops, can contain up to 95% crystalline silica.

Dry cutting generates dust at exposure levels five to ten times higher than wet methods and silicosis caused by engineered stone can develop in months rather than the decades typically associated with natural stone. Workers can suffer permanent lung damage before any symptoms appear.

The guidance sets out what employers must now have in place: water suppression during cutting, appropriate respiratory protective equipment, low-silica stone products and regular health surveillance for workers.

Appropriate respiratory protective equipment may be something like positive pressure air-fed hoods or face-fit tested FFP3 masks.

If you work with engineered stone in any capacity, an inspection could be coming your way.

Nearly half of UK workers don’t feel safe raising safety concerns

Research from MHFA England, surveying 2,000 working adults, found that 45% of employees don’t feel safe raising mistakes or highlighting risks to their employer.

Sarah McIntosh, Chief Executive of MHFA England and the Association of Mental Health First Aiders, said:

“When people don’t feel safe flagging a risk or asking a question, mistakes slip through, quality suffers, and the bottom line and wellbeing take a hit. In an era of rapid AI adoption, we can’t afford employees who are too afraid to speak up when they spot errors – human judgment is our strength and safety net.“The good news is that psychological safety can be built with the right tools and training to create the conditions that teams need to thrive.”

If your workers aren’t telling you what’s going wrong, you won’t know your controls aren’t working until someone gets hurt.

A simple, accessible reporting process, one that workers actually trust and use, is one of the most practical things you can put in place.

If you’re not sure yours is up to scratch, get in touch and we can help.

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Are your risk assessments putting you at risk?

If the content of your risk assessments hasn’t been reviewed since you first wrote them, they may not hold up when an HSE inspector arrives.

And, if someone’s been injured, you’ll have no defensible position.

The law requires assessments to be suitable, sufficient and regularly reviewed.

An outdated document that bears no resemblance to how your business operates or the risks your employees face is a compliance gap, and one that typically stays invisible until something goes wrong.

The most common situation we see is businesses that completed a risk assessment at some point, filed it away and never touched it again. Working practices change, equipment changes, staff change, premises change and the paperwork stays exactly as it was.

There are some specific triggers that require a review: including an incident or near miss, a change in how work is carried out, new equipment, new or temporary workers coming in. Beyond those, periodic reviews are expected as a matter of good practice.

When an inspector finds assessments that don’t reflect current conditions, the consequences are real. Improvement or prohibition notices and potential prosecution are all on the table.

Also, if your workers have never seen the risk assessments that are supposed to relate to the work they do, those documents aren’t doing anything useful for anyone.

Not sure if yours are suitable and sufficient? Get in touch to discuss how we can support you.

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Q&A

Do I need a separate risk assessment for every task or can I cover everything in one document?

There’s no legal requirement to have a separate document for every task.

You can combine risks into a single assessment where it makes sense to do so.

What matters is that every significant hazard is identified, personnel at risk are recognised and the controls in place are recorded.

A single document that’s thorough and up to date will satisfy your legal duty. One that lumps everything together without real detail won’t.

What is a competent person for health and safety and do I need to appoint one?

Yes, you’re legally required to appoint at least one competent person to help you to meet your health and safety duties.

A competent person is someone with the knowledge, skills and experience to give you sound H&S advice.

That can be an employee with suitable training or an external consultant.

If you appoint someone internally but they don’t have the right knowledge to do the job properly, you’re still exposed if something goes wrong.

We had a near miss on site last week. Do I have to report it and what should I do next?

Near misses don’t need to be reported to the HSE under the statutory reporting scheme (RIDDOR), unless they classify as a “dangerous occurrence” as detailed in RIDDOR.

A non-RIDDOR near miss should absolutely be recorded internally and investigated to find out what happened. It acts as a warning that something in your controls isn’t working and gives you the opportunity to review your processes before an accident occurs.

If you don’t act on it and someone is later injured in the same circumstances, the fact that you knew about a prior incident will count against you.