Is Your Workplace Prepared For a Heat Wave ? 5 things employers should do right now

Read time: 6 minutes

As the temperature rises, so too do the dreams of iced drinks and cool sea breezes.

Then reality hits. You look around your office, walk the floors of your care home, step out onto the construction site — and you see your workforce slowing down. Sweat pouring. Voices strained. The heat is building, and yet business has to carry on.

But carrying on without adapting carries a very real risk. Heat-related medical emergencies — including heat stroke, burns, breathing difficulties and nausea — can develop quickly, especially in physically demanding or poorly ventilated environments. And even when it doesn't reach crisis point, the cumulative toll shows up in sick leave, poor concentration, and exhausted, disengaged teams in the days and weeks that follow.

The good news? There is plenty you can do — starting today.

Here are 5 practical steps to protect your workforce, limit the impact of the heat, and make your workplace a safer, more comfortable place to be this summer.

1. Walk Through and Risk Assess — Right Now

Don’t wait until someone is unwell. Pull out your existing risk assessments and review them while the heat is happening — this is one of the rare opportunities to capture real-world risk conditions rather than guessing at them from behind a desk.

As you walk through each location, pay close attention to:

The physical environment.  Look at shaded versus exposed areas, the position of the sun across workspaces, windows and reflective surfaces, the size of rooms and vehicles, and access to seating and rest areas. All of these affect how easily a person can regulate their body temperature throughout a shift. 

Individual routines.  Consider the hours worked, break patterns, equipment operated, how long someone spends in a particular position or location, and how they travel between sites. As heat increases, so does the strain on our bodies — and people tend to push through discomfort until they reach a crisis point. Understanding the physical demands of each role allows you to build in flexible relief measures before things escalate.

Equipment, clothing, and PPE.  These are in direct contact with your employees and can significantly contribute to heat-related illness. Ask yourself: Do materials conduct heat? Is PPE sitting in direct sunlight before it’s worn? Is clothing breathable and moisture-wicking? Does uniform allow adequate ventilation and movement? Are there any risks of burns, electrical issues, or accidents when manual handling in the heat? Is everything PAT tested, maintained, and in date?

💡  From Experience : Bespoke, scenario-based risk reviews go a long way. If you’d like tailored support — including interactive emergency planning for your specific working environment — get in touch for a consultation.

2. Talk to Your Employees — and Actually Listen

Heat affects every individual differently, and your employees are the experts in their own experience. Providing a genuine, confidential opportunity to have that conversation isn’t just good practice — it’s good people management.

When you sit down with your team, be mindful of:

• Underlying health conditions — certain medications and medical conditions significantly reduce the body’s ability to cope with heat
• Hormonal changes — pregnancy, menstrual cycles, and menopause can all affect temperature regulation in ways that aren’t immediately visible
• Neurodivergence — many neurodivergent individuals find heat particularly difficult to manage alongside concentration, communication, and sensory processing demands
• Individual physiology — genetics, fitness levels, and body composition all play a role in how someone tolerates heat. There is no “one size fits all”

This conversation costs nothing and can prevent a great deal — both in terms of human wellbeing and business disruption.

3. Make Changes and Top Up Your Supplies

Now that you’ve assessed and listened, act on what you’ve found. Order what’s needed — not just for this week, but to have provisions ready for future hot spells too.

Essential supplies to have in stock:

• Water — Hydration is one of the most important factors in preventing heat illness. The NHS advises drinking 6–8 glasses of fluid daily, and more during physical activity or hot weather. Make water easily and freely accessible to all staff throughout the day
• Isotonic drinks or salty snacks — When people sweat heavily, they lose salt as well as fluid. Replacing electrolytes helps prevent muscle cramps and fatigue
• Sunscreen — If your team works outdoors, sunscreen needs to be reapplied throughout the day. Providing it removes a barrier to compliance
• Shade — Parasols, blinds, blackout curtains, and temporary shelters all help reduce ambient temperature in exposed areas
• Anti-glare screens and fans — Eye strain and headaches from screen glare are made significantly worse in bright heat. Desk fans and air circulation systems reduce the temperature burden without major infrastructure changes
• Act on what people have told you — If employees have flagged issues in your conversations, follow through. This might mean reviewing uniform policies to allow lighter, more breathable alternatives during hot weather; approving flexibility around dress code where PPE requirements allow; or making specific workstation or shift adaptations for individuals who raised concerns. Acting on feedback builds trust and prevents the issues you’ve just heard about from becoming the emergencies you were trying to avoid

Small adjustments to working hours where possible — earlier starts, extended midday breaks — can also make a significant difference.

4. Raise Awareness and Make Reporting Easy

When people are busy and under pressure to perform, it’s remarkably easy to override feelings of thirst, fatigue, and discomfort — until those early warning signs become a medical emergency.

Make sure every person in your workforce knows:

• The early signs that the body is struggling with heat: dizziness, nausea, headache, pale or clammy skin, unusual fatigue, rapid breathing or heart rate, muscle cramps, and confusion
• That it is absolutely okay — and expected — to flag discomfort early and take action before they reach a crisis point
• Who the qualified First Aiders are in your workplace, and how to reach them quickly
• What adaptations and flexibilities are available to them and how to access these
• How to make suggestions if they notice something that could be improved

Creating a culture where speaking up is welcomed — not pushed through — is the foundation of a genuinely safe working environment.

And this matters beyond good intentions. The HSE’s expectations of employers around mental health and workplace stress have sharpened considerably. Their 10-year strategy (2022–2032) specifically identifies reducing work-related ill health — with a focus on mental health and stress — as a primary objective, and their 2025/26 business plan reinforces this. The latest figures make sobering reading: 964,000 workers in Great Britain reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25 — a significant rise on the previous year — accounting for over half of all work-related ill health and 22.1 million lost working days. The HSE has already begun serving Notices of Contravention on organisations found to have inadequate arrangements in place, making clear that having a policy on paper is not enough. Employers need to demonstrate active, evidenced management of psychosocial risk — and that includes the pressure, discomfort, and exhaustion that comes with working through a heatwave.

This is precisely the environment in which Mental Health First Aid training earns its place — not as a tick-box exercise, but as a practical tool that equips your team to notice, respond, and support one another before stress escalates.

5. Review Your First Aid Provision

A heatwave is a timely prompt to review whether your current first aid cover is adequate for the season — and for the specific risks in your workplace.

Ask yourself:

• Do you have enough trained First Aiders for the size and nature of your workforce — and to cover every shift, allowing for holidays and sick leave?
• Are your First Aiders trained to recognise and respond to heat-related conditions — including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, fainting, burns, breathing difficulties, and cardiac events, as well as the complications that arise when someone has an underlying health condition? Heat doesn’t create emergencies in isolation; it amplifies existing vulnerabilities and can accelerate situations that would otherwise develop more slowly.
  
  And do your First Aiders have easy access to relevant risk assessments and individual health information so they can respond with full context, not just in the moment?
• Is your first aid kit stocked, in date, and accessible — including in outdoor locations, vehicles, and remote areas of your site?
• Do you and your First Aiders know where the nearest defibrillator is located — and how to access it quickly? Heat places additional strain on the heart and respiratory system, increasing the risk of cardiac events. Equally, if anyone in your workforce has a known severe allergy, knowing exactly where their EpiPen is and who is trained to use it is not optional. In an emergency, seconds matter — this information should be known, not searched for.
• Do you have an emergency action plan that your whole team is familiar with, not just the First Aiders?

Heat stroke is a medical emergency. A person’s condition can deteriorate rapidly — and the difference between a confident first aider who knows what to look for and one who hesitates can be significant.

Thinking About Your First Aid Training?

Whether you’re a small business booking your first First Aid at Work course, or a larger organisation looking to develop bespoke scenario-based training that reflects the real emergencies your team might face, we’d love to help.

Our lead trainer brings frontline experience from both the ambulance service and fire service, and specialises in creating practical, engaging first aid training that goes beyond the textbook — including interactive emergency scenarios tailored to your specific workplace.

We also offer consultation sessions for employers who want to think through their emergency planning, risk assessment approach, or training needs before committing to a programme.

And for the human side of heat — if you’re noticing that the physical strain of a tough summer is affecting team morale, focus, or mental health, our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Wellbeing at Work programmes can help your people and your managers respond with confidence.

Get in Touch

We work with employers across Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands. Whether you’d like to book a course, arrange a free consultation, or simply have a conversation about what your workplace needs — we’d love to hear from you.

[Contact us here]  |  [View our courses]  |  [Book a consultation]

Written by Michelle Spriddell |  Workplace Health & Wellbeing Educator |  Nottinghamshire

We provide First Aid at Work, Mental Health First Aid, and Wellbeing at Work training for employers across the East Midlands.

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