Heating and hot water at work?

ohreally

dickydonkin wrote: »

As far as the OP is concerned, I would suggest s/he looks at what outside market traders are wearing this winter and adapt

Market traders are unlikely to be employers therefore I'd suggest not a relevant comparator.

As the op has an employer on which a duty is imposed, ensure compliance.

The focus is not to quote regs but to encourage encourage employer improvement before invoking assistance from a TU appointed heath and safety rep, which I'm sure the op will be giving consideration to shortly before the weather worsens.

ohreally

Op,

USDAW organise in the retail sector http://www.usdaw.org.uk/adviceresources/healthsafety.aspx contact them.

paulwf

If you aren't getting anywhere with your head office perhaps just nip to Argos and get a £20 fan heater. If you keep it on full for your full 9 hour shift you'd be amazed how toasty they can make the building. The other thing to do is keep the door shut (if allowed) and seal up any gaps to exclude drafts.

Although not perfect it got me through last winter when the snow froze up our heating unit!

dickydonkin

ohreally wrote: »

Market traders are unlikely to be employers therefore I'd suggest not a relevant comparator.

As the op has an employer on which a duty is imposed, ensure compliance.

The focus is not to quote regs but to encourage encourage employer improvement before invoking assistance from a TU appointed heath and safety rep, which I'm sure the op will be giving consideration to shortly before the weather worsens.

But market traders will feel the cold irrespective of their employment status - and wear appropriate clothing to stay warm - it isn't rocket science.

There is nothing at all stopping the OP to wrap up as it seems that the employer is unwilling to rectify the situation.

Would reporting the situation to the HSE (or local environment in this case) make any difference? - I doubt it.

Working in 13 degrees can hardly be deemed as life threatening or a risk to the health and welfare of the OP.

I also suspect that cash strapped unions would need to prioritise their resourses and efforts on retaining their members jobs in todays climate (no pun intended) - rather that be concerned over a situation that an individual can resolve themselves.

A quote from your USDAW link:
Control Measures

For colder conditions:

Local or central heating appliances, frequent rest breaks, constant supply of hot drinks, warm clothing, job rotation etc

Yorkie1

The OP said they had to wear uniform. That rather suggests that although thermal underwear will be feasible, additional top layers won't be.

rogerblack

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

that's a bit extreme to be wearing in the house though

Indeed it is, if my heating was working in an economic manner.
Part of the reason I'm able to afford to upgrade my insulation in my house substantially is that I've been saving on heating.