Aysu Bicer
15 July 2026•Update: 15 July 2026
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has backed calls for a maximum workplace temperature in the UK as pressure grows on the government to strengthen protections for workers facing increasingly frequent heat waves.
Weather conditions once considered extreme are becoming the “new normal,” according to the latest UK Met Office report on the country’s changing climate.
As the UK faces repeated heat waves this summer, homes, schools, hospitals and transport networks are struggling to cope, highlighting the country’s lack of preparedness for the growing impacts of climate change.
Extreme heat has caused disruption across the country, with some workplaces recording temperatures above 40C (104F).
Trade unions and campaign groups have repeatedly called for a legal limit, with Unison and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) calling for a maximum workplace temperature of 30C, or 27C for workers carrying out strenuous tasks.
Pressure on the government increased further after Green Party MP Hannah Spencer said she planned to introduce a bill in parliament that would help create a workplace heat limit.
A spokesperson for Khan, one of Labour’s most senior elected officials, told The Guardian that the mayor supported the idea, saying extreme heat was “becoming a growing reality” for people in London.
Khan has launched an initiative aimed at helping London adapt to increasingly frequent and severe periods of extreme heat.
However, his spokesperson said the mayor does not have the authority to introduce enforceable maximum temperature rules but supports the proposal.
The June heat wave alone was estimated to have caused about 440 additional deaths a day in the UK during its three-day peak.
