Maximum workplace temperature – what’s changing and how can you prepare?

The new health and safety regulations require employers to implement technical and organisational measures during heatwaves and, in extreme cases, impose a strict ban on work. Who are these new regulations aimed at? What exemptions does the Act provide for, and how can one avoid penalties from the National Labour Inspectorate?

Until now, labour law has only specified the minimum temperature that must be maintained in the workplace; the upper limit, however, has not yet been regulated.

This gap is filled by the Regulation of the Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy of 9 July 2026 amending the Regulation on general health and safety at work (Journal of Laws of 2026, item 927).

For the first time, the regulations explicitly specify the maximum temperatures at which work may be carried out, as well as the thresholds above which the employer will be required to take specific action.

For manufacturing, construction, infrastructure, energy and industrial companies – where working in the heat is part of everyday life – this change carries a real organisational and financial burden.

Heat at work. How it went – protection based on general clauses

Until now, the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 26 September 1997 on general health and safety at work provisions (hereinafter: the General Health and Safety Regulation) had regulated only the minimum thresholds. According to its provisions, the temperature in workrooms must not be lower than 14°C, and in offices – lower than 18°C, provided that this is technically feasible.

Protection of employees against excessive heat was therefore based on general obligations – primarily on Article 207(2) of the Act of 26 June 1974 – the Labour Code (hereinafter: the Labour Code), which requires employers to protect the health and lives of employees by ensuring safe and hygienic working conditions – and on the obligation to provide drinks when the temperature at workstations exceeds 28°C, and in open spaces – 25°C (Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 28 May 1996 on preventive meals and drinks).

The National Labour Inspectorate intervened on the basis of this general obligation.

Heat at work. New requirements in the General Health and Safety Regulations

The Regulation of 9 July 2026 adds a new Section 30a to the General Health and Safety at Work Regulation, introducing three levels of protection for workers.

The strict limits, beyond which work must not be carried out, vary.

In rooms where work is carried out, the temperature must not exceed 35°C, unless this is not possible for technical reasons. For outdoor work involving significant physical exertion – resulting in an effective energy expenditure during a shift of more than 1,500 kcal for men and 1,000 kcal for women – the limit is 32°C. Work must not be carried out at times when the temperature, due to weather conditions, exceeds the above thresholds. When the temperature in the room where work is carried out exceeds 28°C (or 25°C in the case of physically demanding work involving high energy expenditure), the employer must provide technical measures to limit the rise in temperature (e.g. air conditioning, ventilation, shading) or – where technology does not permit this – organisational measures to minimise the impact of heat on health. When working outdoors, the 25°C threshold already obliges the employer to implement organisational measures, such as additional breaks, job rotation or rescheduling work to cooler hours.

Organisational measures are not determined unilaterally by the employer – they must be discussed with employees through the health and safety committee. However, where no such body has been established, consultations are held with employees or their representatives, and organisational measures may also be implemented after seeking the opinion of the doctor responsible for preventive healthcare. The employer informs employees of the arrangements in the manner customary within the organisation.

Heat at work. There are exemptions from the new obligations

The threshold limits (35°C and 32°C) do not apply, amongst other things, to certain types of work permitted on Sundays and public holidays, as specified in Article 15110 of the Labour Code (e.g. rescue operations or work necessary to meet social needs), to staff at childcare facilities for children under the age of 3, as well as to officers of certain uniformed services and soldiers.

Heat at work. Since when have the new regulations been in force?

The Regulation will enter into force six months after the date of its publication, i.e. on 11 January 2027. As the provisions will come into force in winter, the first real test will not come until the summer of 2027.

Heat at work. How to prepare – a checklist

It is worth breaking down the preparations for these new responsibilities into several parallel tasks and carrying them out before the summer season, rather than only when the first heatwave hits. The recommended scope includes:

1. a survey of workstations – identifying where high temperatures actually occur (workshops, roofs, excavations, work in the open air) and which tasks involve energy expenditure exceeding the thresholds of 1,500 kcal for men and 1,000 kcal for women;

2. measurements and monitoring – implementing temperature measurements at workstations in order to be able to identify when the 25/28/32/35°C thresholds are exceeded and to document the actions taken;

3. technical solutions – planning and including in the investment budget (air conditioning, ventilation, shading, insulation, etc.), provided that technical considerations allow;

4. a catalogue of organisational measures – the preparation of a ready-made set of measures (additional breaks, rotation, rescheduling of working hours, reduction of physical exertion) that can be implemented quickly during a heatwave;

5. the consultation procedure – agreeing measures in advance with the Health and Safety Committee or with staff representatives and the occupational health doctor, so that they are in place before the season begins, rather than being decided during a heatwave;

6. updating documentation – incorporating new obligations into the occupational risk assessment, health and safety instructions and procedures, as well as into contracts with subcontractors;

7. Contracts and schedules – in the construction and infrastructure sectors, analysing the risk of work being suspended due to hot weather in terms of contractual penalties, completion deadlines and force majeure clauses.

The heat at work. Interpretation issues

The new regulations shift the focus of protection against heat from general obligations to specific thresholds and measurable actions. For employers, this means greater enforceability – once a threshold has been exceeded, a failure to act will be easy to prove during inspections by the National Labour Inspectorate and in post-accident proceedings.

The interpretation of the term ‘technological considerations’ is likely to give rise to the most disputes. The Regulation stipulates that an employer may exceed the temperature limit or dispense with technical measures where ‘technological considerations do not permit it’. This refers to situations where lowering the temperature is objectively impossible due to the nature of the production process (e.g. in steelworks or foundries). The interpretation of this clause is crucial, as it determines whether a workplace must invest in cooling workstations or suspend work, or whether it may continue operations despite the heat. The burden of proving the existence of such considerations rests with the employer, and their validity will be assessed by labour inspectors and the courts. This is precisely why this provision may prove to be a major source of dispute.

Employers who treat the six-month transitional period and the following few months leading up to the summer as a time for investment and planning will be well prepared by the summer of 2027. Conversely, those who put the matter off until later risk being caught unawares by the first heatwave without any solutions in place, at which point the only lawful option may be to suspend work.

The article was published in the daily newspaper ‘Rzeczpospolita’.