Temperatures are expected to climb close to the mid-30s in parts of the country on Thursday, according to Met Éireann, which has placed every county under a status yellow advisory for high temperatures.
Ireland is at the edge of a heat dome hovering above much of western Europe, where temperatures are rising dangerously close to the 40 degree mark. Met Éireann has warned thunderstorms are a possibility, as are water safety issues as more and more people flock to the coast.
With more sizzling heat expected to come from the continent, many workers may be tempted to join these beachgoers. But, perhaps, not even the most liberal work-from-home policy would allow them to take company calls between dips in the sea.
Do I have to go to work during the heatwave?
The short answer is: almost definitely yes.
RM Block
“There’s no specific law” that mandates workplaces to close when temperatures reach a certain point, “but there is a legal obligation on employers to ensure the health and safety of their employees,” said Michael Doherty, a law professor at Maynooth University.
His concentration lies in employment law, and to his knowledge, extreme warm weather has never been a factor in a temporary workplace closure.
Working conditions during extreme weather events (a more common example in Ireland would be a storm) “are usually the subject of contracts or employee policies,” Doherty said, “so it’s difficult to find a law for these things as they’re so context specific”.
Is there really no way I can take just one day off?
Here’s an even shorter answer: probably not.
Since 2023, workers in Ireland have been entitled to request their employers to allow them to work from home. This legal provision “is quite structured: there are certain time frames within which employees have to submit a request and within which employers have to respond to it,” Doherty said.
[ Ireland braces for hottest day of yearOpens in new window ]
“And with the very nature of extreme weather events, they start relatively suddenly and end relatively quickly,” he went on. So, “it probably wouldn’t work” to try to book a last-minute WFH day just as the sun comes out.
How is any of this fair?
Well, there are safety regulations in place for working during a heatwave, and pretty exact ones at that.
“Ireland’s employment law already requires employers to manage risks from extreme temperatures,” according to a spokesperson for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
Indoor workplaces “must be well ventilated” and kept at a minimum of 17.5 degrees for office work and 16 degrees for other sedentary work, she said in a statement, adding “outdoor workers should be protected from severe weather where possible”.
She also confirmed “there are currently no plans to set maximum workplace temperatures” that would trigger a workplace closure, as has been advocated for by the Labour Party’s spokesperson on workers’ rights.
How do people in other, much hotter countries make it work?
“Obviously, we’re not used to high temperatures in Ireland,” Doherty said, adding that the law reflects this.
He explained that countries in southern Europe have taken a much more proactive approach to the issue, such as Spain, which allows workers to take paid leave when extreme weather conditions prevent them from travelling safely to work. This isn’t limited to storms, floods or mudslides – which may physically prevent someone from travelling – but also heatwaves.
“This is potentially an area where EU law could get involved. The EU can’t legislate very much in terms of employment law, but certainly for health and safety,” he said. “So, I wonder if this might be something to have on a Europe-wide basis. Of course, you can’t say if it reaches X degrees, you have to close your workplace, but you could give each country a bit of discretion”.
Fine. Once I’m at work, how do I survive the heat?
Damien McCarthy, the managing director of HR consultancy firm HR Buddy, isn’t quite convinced this European model will make its way to Ireland.
“I don’t think we’ll be introducing siestas here any time soon,” he said. But, we can learn a thing or two from our southern neighbours.
“Many construction firms on the continent would have an earlier starting time for work during heatwaves, so people working outside can avoid the afternoon sun when it’s at its strongest,” McCarthy added.
“They’re dealing with this issue all of the time on the continent; if they can organise themselves properly, how in the name of God can we not?”
He said rates of absence at work spike during times of notably warm weather, and “there’s always an increased chance of ‘sickies’, of course”. Normal rates of workplace absence range from 7 to 12 per cent in Ireland, but “this spikes up to the high teens” during a heatwave.
He said hospitality, retail and construction are particularly hard hit. “These are very physically demanding and involve working in hot temperatures,” McCarthy said.
“Productivity levels can drop, for obvious reasons, during heatwaves because it’s simply harder for people to work”.
