When Work isn’t Business as Usual: What are Employers Duties during Red Weather Warning?
The Met Office has issued a rare Red Extreme Heat Warning covering London and parts of England, with temperatures expected to reach up to 39 – 40°C alongside high humidity and sustained overnight heat. A red warning is the most severe category issued and indicates a high likelihood of significant disruption, serious health impacts, and a potential risk to life. While this warning is geographically focused on London and the South, it provides an important prompt for employers across the UK to review how they respond to extreme weather events, particularly those with employees working outdoors, travelling, or operating across regions.
In practical terms, a red weather warning signals that normal working arrangements may no longer be appropriate or safe. The Met Office has warned that such conditions can lead to widespread disruption, population wide health impacts (not limited to those typically considered vulnerable), and an increased likelihood of transport and infrastructure issues. As a result, employers should approach these situations with a heightened sense of caution and a clear focus on their duty of care.
From a legal perspective, employers are required under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. In the context of extreme heat, this means actively assessing whether work can be carried out safely and making adjustments where necessary. This may include modifying duties, reducing physical exertion, or reconsidering whether certain tasks, particularly those carried out outdoors or involving travel, should proceed at all. Where employers fail to take appropriate action in the face of a clear and serious risk, they expose themselves to potential liability should harm occur.
Risk assessments are particularly important in these circumstances and should be treated as dynamic rather than static. Conditions during a red warning are materially different from typical summer weather, and employers should take into account factors such as duration of exposure, the intensity of the work, access to shade and hydration, and the specific risks associated with travel. For organisations with field-based employees, this is likely to be the most critical risk area. The key question should not simply be whether the work can technically be completed, but whether it is safe and reasonable to require it to be performed under these conditions.
Employees also have legal protections where they reasonably believe they are at risk of serious and imminent danger. In extreme weather scenarios, particularly where employees are required to work outdoors or travel during peak heat, refusing to attend work or carry out certain duties may fall within this protection. Employers should therefore proceed cautiously before taking any disciplinary action in such cases, ensuring that any decisions are both reasonable and proportionate.
From an operational perspective, employers should take a pragmatic and flexible approach. For office-based roles, this may include enabling home working, adjusting working hours to avoid the hottest periods of the day, and ensuring adequate ventilation and access to drinking water. For field based or outdoor roles, more significant adjustments may be required. These could include postponing non essential work, rescheduling activities to cooler parts of the day, increasing rest breaks, and ensuring appropriate protective measures are in place. In some cases, the safest and most appropriate course of action may be to temporarily suspend work altogether.
Travel is another key consideration. Extreme heat warnings are often accompanied by disruption to public transport and wider infrastructure, which can impact employees’ ability to attend work safely or on time. Employers should avoid assuming that travel can proceed as normal and should be prepared to adjust expectations accordingly. This may include postponing meetings, cancelling site visits, or adopting remote alternatives where possible.
In terms of pay, the position is not always straightforward. There is no automatic statutory entitlement to paid leave where work is disrupted by weather events. However, where the employer instructs employees not to work, it is generally expected that pay will continue. Equally, where conditions are unsafe, withholding pay may carry legal and employee relations risks. A balanced and pragmatic approach, supported by clear communication, is therefore advisable to minimise the risk of disputes.
Although this particular red weather warning does not directly impact Scotland, it remains highly relevant for Scottish employers. Weather patterns are becoming increasingly unpredictable, and Scotland frequently experiences its own severe weather warnings, particularly in relation to storms, wind, and snow. Employers should treat events such as this as an opportunity to review their severe weather and business continuity plans. For organisations with employees who travel or work across the UK, responsibilities are not confined to head office location, they extend to wherever employees are carrying out their duties.
Ultimately, red weather warnings are deliberately rare and are issued only where there is a clear and significant threat to health and safety. The key message for employers is that these situations should not be treated as business as usual. A cautious, safety led approach is not only consistent with legal obligations but is also essential in protecting employees and maintaining trust within the workforce.
