Working in the heat. High temperatures are rarely a cause for complaint.

Data provided by the Chief Labor Inspector shows that high temperatures are practically never a cause of workplace accidents and are rarely the cause of complaints. Is there a need, then, to introduce special regulations in this area? "Dziennik Gazeta Prawna" reported on Thursday.

The newspaper reports that there were six such cases in 2023, and none in 2024 or 2025. In three of these recorded cases, the injured party was diagnosed with heatstroke. Heat at work is also rarely a reason for employee complaints to the National Labor Inspectorate. Between 2023 and 2025 (to date), the inspectorate received a total of 277 complaints related to excessively high temperatures in the workplace, and "many of them turned out to be unfounded."

"DGP" reminds that in its current form, the draft regulations stipulate that "work may be performed indoors at temperatures up to 35 degrees Celsius, unless technological reasons do not allow it, and up to a temperature of 32 degrees Celsius for physical work in the open air, if it is accompanied by a certain energy expenditure."

The newspaper's interlocutors believe it's reasonable to introduce regulations regarding working at high temperatures, but "the key issue is how the new regulations will be formulated and implemented." They emphasize the time and cost involved.

Joanna Jasiewicz, attorney-at-law and counsel at Gide Loyrette Nouel, believes that "the new regulations may be a dead letter." She explains that "the required investments and sometimes even space constraints at a given workplace, especially for small and medium-sized employers, may make compliance with the proposed regulations impossible."

- It would be advisable to deepen the discussion on the proposed changes and make them more realistic - he adds.

Marek Maszewski, a member of the main board of the Labor Protection Association and health and safety coordinator at SEKA SA, believes that "supra-local solutions should be proposed – at the EU level – due to the conditions of international competition between employers." (PAP)

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