Heatwave Rights: What You Need to Know About School, Work, and the Law
As summer temperatures climb to uncomfortable — and sometimes dangerous — highs, millions of parents and workers find themselves asking the same urgent questions: Can I legally keep my child home from school during a heatwave? Can I refuse to go into work when the heat becomes unbearable? And what protections, if any, does the law actually offer?
With extreme heat events becoming more frequent and more intense, understanding your rights during a heatwave has never been more important. Below, we break down everything you need to know — from school attendance rules to workplace temperature regulations — so you can make informed decisions to protect yourself and your family.
Can You Keep Your Kids Off School During a Heatwave?
The short answer is: technically yes, but it comes with consequences. In most countries, including the UK, school attendance is compulsory by law for children of school age. Parents are legally responsible for ensuring their children attend school regularly, and unauthorized absences can result in fines or other penalties.
However, there is an important distinction between an unauthorized absence and an absence due to illness. If you genuinely believe the heat poses a risk to your child's health — for example, if they have a pre-existing medical condition such as asthma, heat intolerance, or cardiovascular issues — you may be able to justify keeping them at home on health grounds. In that case, treating the absence the same way you would a sick day is advisable.
Schools themselves are not legally required to close during a heatwave. Unlike some European countries, the UK does not have a maximum temperature threshold that automatically triggers a school closure. Decisions to send children home or cancel classes are made at the discretion of individual headteachers and local authorities, based on their assessment of whether the school environment is safe.
What Are Schools Required to Do in Extreme Heat?
While schools cannot be forced to close due to heat, they do have a legal duty of care toward pupils. This means headteachers must take reasonable steps to ensure the school environment is safe. Common measures include:
- Allowing children to wear more relaxed or summer-appropriate uniforms during hot weather periods.
- Ensuring access to drinking water throughout the school day.
- Adjusting timetables to move physical activities and outdoor lessons to cooler parts of the day, such as early morning.
- Closing blinds or curtains in classrooms that receive direct sunlight to reduce indoor temperatures.
- Monitoring vulnerable pupils, including those with medical conditions, more closely during periods of extreme heat.
If you are concerned about how your child's school is managing the heat, the best course of action is to contact the school directly and raise your concerns with the headteacher. Schools are generally responsive to parental concerns around health and safety, particularly during officially declared heat health alerts.
Can You Refuse to Work During a Heatwave?
This is where things get a little more nuanced. In the UK, there is currently no legal maximum workplace temperature. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 state that the temperature inside a workplace must be "reasonable," and the associated approved code of practice suggests a minimum temperature of 16°C (or 13°C for physically demanding work) — but there is no equivalent upper limit written into law.
Despite this legislative gap, employers still have a general duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. This means they must take steps to address excessive heat in the workplace, whether that involves providing fans, allowing more frequent breaks, relaxing dress codes, or enabling remote working where possible.
When Can You Legally Refuse to Work?
Under Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees have the right to leave or refuse to return to a workplace if they reasonably believe it presents a serious and imminent danger to their health. Crucially, they cannot be dismissed or subjected to a detriment for doing so.
However, invoking this right during a heatwave is not straightforward. Tribunals would assess whether the danger was genuinely serious and imminent, and discomfort alone is unlikely to meet that threshold. Workers who are particularly vulnerable — such as pregnant employees, older workers, or those with heat-related medical conditions — may have a stronger case for refusing to work in extreme temperatures.
If you work outdoors or in environments without air conditioning and temperatures are exceptionally high, it is worth raising the issue formally with your employer or health and safety representative before simply walking off the job. Document your concerns in writing, and if you feel your employer is not taking the risk seriously, you can contact the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to file a complaint.
Tips for Staying Safe During a Heatwave
Beyond the legal questions, the priority during any heatwave must be health and safety. Whether you are at work or at home with your children, here are some practical steps to reduce heat-related risks:
- Stay hydrated by drinking water regularly throughout the day, even if you do not feel thirsty.
- Avoid direct sunlight during the hottest part of the day, typically between 11am and 3pm.
- Keep indoor spaces as cool as possible by closing windows and blinds during the day and opening them at night.
- Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, and light-coloured clothing to help your body regulate temperature.
- Never leave children or pets in parked vehicles, even for a short time.
- Check on elderly relatives, neighbours, and those with underlying health conditions who may be more vulnerable to heat illness.
The Bottom Line
The law does not make it easy to keep children off school or walk away from work simply because temperatures are high. But that does not mean you are powerless. Schools have a duty of care, employers have health and safety obligations, and individual employees have certain protections when danger is real and immediate. The key is knowing your rights, communicating concerns clearly, and always prioritising health over rigid routine when conditions become genuinely hazardous.
As climate patterns continue to shift and extreme heat becomes a more regular feature of summer, pressure is mounting on governments to introduce clearer legal frameworks around maximum temperatures in schools and workplaces. Until that happens, staying informed — and staying cool — remains your best defence.