Green MP Hannah Spencer introduces maximum workplace temperature bill and says UK 'already paying human cost' of heat
Hannah Spencer told LBC that employers would be "motivated and incentivised" to make sure employees can't just go home
Green MP Hannah Spencer has defended her plan to introduce legislation that could see maximum workplace temperatures introduced in the UK.
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The Gorton and Denton MP, who was elected to parliament in February, wants to see employers take more responsibility to keep staff safe amid the increase in summer heatwaves.
The proposed legislation would see an independent body recommend maximum safe workplace temperatures which could vary from sector to sector.
Speaking to LBC's Simon Marks on Drive, Ms Spencer said the third-party body would be able to "mitigate some of the risks that employees are currently being exposed to".
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It comes after it was revealed that an estimated 2,700 people died during the heatwaves from May to June in England and Wales.
Asked by Simon if it meant workers in the transport sector could simply down tools and go home if the temperatures exceed the limit, Ms Spencer said: "Absolutely not.
"We're going to have employers that are going to have to look at ways of introducing measures to keep them cool.
"In other countries where it's a lot warmer, train drivers and bus drivers are driving air-con and have other ways of keeping cool, maybe by having more regular breaks, or more people on shift to be able to allow rest periods.
"The last resort would be that anybody is going home, so employers would actually be motivated and incentivised to make sure that doesn't happen, to make people more comfortable at work, but crucially safe."
Asked by Simon how the government should pay for it, Ms Spencer said the nation was already paying for it through the "price of people taking time off work through heat exhaustion".
She added: "Those [almost] 3,000 people who lost their lives in the recent heatwave, that was unfortunately a human cost.
"But there is very much a financial cost that services are already experiencing anyway.
"We're not a poor country. We have companies that make incredible amounts of money off the back of people's labour that can and should be redistributed to make sure that everybody is comfortable in work, but is kept safe at work."
The MP also said she spoke to an HGV driver on Monday who was told to "take more breaks" by his employer during an eight-hour shift in a 37C cab and argued the working conditions would not cool down simply by taking more breaks.
In the legislation, Ms Spencer referenced warmer countries such as Spain, where maximum temperatures are imposed based on the type of work being carried out.
Workers can also adjust their hours during heatwaves so they do not have to work during the hottest parts of the day.
She added: "This is about getting an independent body and a panel of experts who will talk to people in the field and work out exactly what the temperature is required to keep people safe.
"At that point then, that is the starting point that we can look at how we can introduce things, which businesses might need support to be able to do that, and which businesses may need less support and arguably can actually pay towards the cost of keeping everybody safe."