“I work in a building entirely exposed to the sun and largely glazed. The air conditioning has been broken for more than a year and, despite numerous reminders, nothingsays a cultural facilitator for the town hall of Paris, who responded to a call for testimony from the Monde.fr. Our solutions ? System D: survival blankets on some windows, wet cloths on the shoulders, a parasol and a mist hose for our outdoor space (all at our expense) and reminders. During this time, we take it upon ourselves and some colleagues feel unwell. »
If the labor code does not provide for a temperature threshold beyond which an employee could stop working, the National Research and Safety Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (INRS) believes that heat can be a risk “above 30 degrees for sedentary activity, and 28 degrees for work requiring physical activity”.
The assessment of the situation is exclusively up to the employer, responsible for ensuring the health and safety of his employees: he simply has the obligation to note in the “single risk assessment document” the dangers associated with “thermal environments”, and to implement preventive actions. He must also provide fresh drinking water, and check that the ventilation of the work premises is correct and complies with the regulations. In the event of red vigilance, measures to adapt the organization of work are encouraged, and must be adjusted every day.
Well-established outdoor professions
Outdoor jobs are of course the most affected by periods of heat. In the construction and public works sector, the employer’s obligations are more specific: the latter must “provide workers with a rest room adapted to climatic conditions”, and three liters of drinking and fresh water per day. Businesses are now grounded: “We have a pretty fantastic prevention organization, which makes sheets on all possible subjects during heat waves for our members”, is satisfied Olivier Salleron, president of the French Federation of the building, professional organization of the BTP. Beyond the provision of a cool area, water and protection, “The obvious reflex is to adapt the timetables, to make them flexible on the scale of one or more weeks of heat: start at 6 a.m. on a hot day, then at 8 a.m. on a cooler day… It is also necessary to adapt the tasks to the conditions. »
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