Winter in the Workplace: What to Plan For
Winter makes existing hazards worse all at once. Temperature law, slips, outdoor workers, driving and the seasonal staff who get the shortest induction of the year.
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Quick answer
The winter issues that actually affect workplaces are slips and trips (30% of RIDDOR-reported non-fatal injuries), cold for outdoor and vehicle-based workers, darkness at both ends of the working day, driving conditions, and respiratory infections spreading indoors. There is no legal minimum workplace temperature in the UK — the Approved Code of Practice suggests at least 16°C, or 13°C where work involves severe physical effort, as a guide rather than a hard limit. Workplaces must be kept at a reasonable temperature.
Winter does not introduce new hazards so much as make the existing ones worse, all at the same time. Here is what to plan for, and when.
Temperature: what the law actually says
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is there a legal minimum workplace temperature? | No. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require a reasonable temperature indoors |
| What does the ACOP suggest? | Normally at least 16°C, or 13°C where work involves severe physical effort |
| Are those legal limits? | No — they are guide figures, and thermal comfort also depends on air movement, humidity and clothing |
| Is there a legal maximum? | No |
| What about cold stores and outdoor work? | The duty becomes controlling the risk: clothing, breaks, rotation, warm rest facilities, hot drinks |
So for an office that cannot get above 14°C, the ACOP figure is the yardstick your people will reasonably point to. For a cold store or a construction site, the figure is irrelevant and the controls are what matter.
1. Slips and trips
The biggest single category of reportable workplace injury, and it gets worse the moment surfaces are wet or frozen. The controls are cheap and they work: grit ahead of forecast frost, clear snow before footfall compacts it into ice, keep entrance matting long enough to dry several footsteps, clean up water immediately, and fix the outdoor lighting.
Full detail: preventing slips in wet and icy weather.
2. Outdoor and vehicle-based workers
- Appropriate clothing, layered, wind and waterproof — provided, not assumed.
- Regular breaks somewhere genuinely warm. A van with the engine off is not a warm break.
- Rotate people out of the coldest tasks rather than leaving the same person there all day.
- Hot drinks available, and somewhere to dry wet kit between shifts. Starting a shift in yesterday’s wet coat is how cold becomes a health problem.
- Watch the hands. Cold fingers lose dexterity and grip, which is how tool and handling injuries happen.
- Gloves that fit the task. Gloves too bulky for the job get taken off, which defeats the purpose.
Cold-related conditions
| Condition | Signs | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Hypothermia | Shivering — particularly shivering that stops — confusion, slurred speech, drowsiness, cold pale skin | Warm, dry place; remove wet clothing; warm gradually; 999 if confused or drowsy |
| Frostbite / frostnip | Numbness, pale or waxy skin, usually fingers, toes, ears, nose | Warm gradually — do not rub; medical help |
| Reduced dexterity | Fumbling, dropping tools, poor grip | Warm up before continuing — this is an injury precursor |
The underlying point: cold, wet people make worse decisions. The injury usually gets recorded as a slip or a handling incident, but the cause was that someone was rushing to get out of the weather.
3. Driving
If your people drive for work, winter driving belongs in your risk assessment:
- Vehicle checks: tyre tread and pressure, lights, wipers, screen wash rated for low temperatures, scraper and de-icer.
- Winter or all-season tyres maintain more grip and shorten braking distances as temperatures fall.
- Allow more time. Schedules built for July cause accidents in January.
- Agree when journeys get cancelled, and make sure drivers know they will not be penalised for that call. Pressure to drive in dangerous conditions is itself a risk you are responsible for.
- Emergency kit: warm clothing, blanket, torch, charged phone, water and something to eat.
- Lone driver check-ins during severe weather.
4. Darkness
From late autumn, many staff arrive and leave in the dark. Walk the site after sunset: car parks, external steps, bin stores, side entrances. Fix failed lights before the clocks change. For anyone walking to public transport or a distant car park, consider lighting, CCTV coverage and a buddy arrangement for late finishes — personal safety is part of this, not a separate topic.
5. Illness
People spend more time indoors together, and respiratory infections spread. The practical measures are unremarkable and effective:
- Make hand hygiene easy — soap, warm water, and sanitiser where sinks are far away
- Ventilate where you can, even briefly, even when it is cold
- Support staff who are genuinely unwell to stay at home
- Have a sickness policy that does not quietly punish people for using it
Presenteeism in December costs more days than absence does: one person struggling in with flu can take out a team.
6. Seasonal and temporary staff
Christmas brings new people into retail, warehousing, hospitality and logistics — often at the busiest point of the year, with the least time to induct them. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require adequate training on recruitment, and temporary staff are not an exception.
Unfamiliar people plus unfamiliar equipment plus peak pressure is the classic combination behind seasonal injuries. At minimum, before a first shift: the hazards, the emergency procedures, where the exits are, who the first aiders are, and how to report a problem.
7. Check the first aid provision
More casualties, more absence, and often more people on site. Check that your first aid cover still works over the holiday period when your usual first aiders are on leave — a rota with two names on it in December is not cover. See how many first aiders does my workplace need?
8. Lone working and the dark
Winter extends the period during which people are opening up or locking up alone, in the dark, often with cash or stock. Check-in arrangements, lighting, and a clear escalation route matter more between November and February than at any other time of year.
When to do all this
| When | What |
|---|---|
| September | Review the seasonal risk assessment; order grit; service heating |
| October (before the clocks change) | Walk the site after dark; fix lighting; check matting and signage |
| November | Brief staff; check vehicle kit; confirm the gritting rota and triggers |
| December | Check first aid cover against the leave rota; induct seasonal staff |
| Through winter | Watch the forecast, not the window |
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Frequently asked questions
No. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require a reasonable temperature in indoor workplaces, and the Approved Code of Practice suggests normally at least 16°C, or 13°C where the work involves severe physical effort. These are guide figures rather than legal limits.Is there a legal minimum working temperature in the UK?
Slips, trips and falls on the same level, which are the most commonly reported kind of non-fatal workplace injury in Great Britain at 30% of RIDDOR-reported cases, and which get substantially worse in wet and icy conditions.What is the biggest winter risk in the workplace?
Where cold is a risk identified in your risk assessment, controlling it is the employer’s duty — and for outdoor work that usually means providing suitable clothing, warm rest facilities and adequate breaks rather than expecting people to manage.Do employers have to provide warm clothing for outdoor work?
Employers should set out in advance when journeys are postponed or cancelled, and make clear that drivers will not be penalised for a reasonable decision not to travel. Pressure to drive in dangerous conditions is itself a risk you are responsible for.Can staff refuse to drive in snow and ice?
Yes. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require adequate health and safety training on recruitment, and temporary and seasonal workers are covered by that just as permanent staff are.Do temporary Christmas staff need health and safety training?
Shivering — particularly shivering that then stops — along with confusion, slurred speech, drowsiness, and cold pale skin. Treat it as an emergency: get the person somewhere warm and dry, remove wet clothing, warm them gradually, and call 999 if they are confused or drowsy.What are the signs of hypothermia?
No. UK law sets no maximum either. In hot conditions the duty is the same in principle — assess and control the risk. See our guide to heat exhaustion and heatstroke for the summer version of this.Is there a legal maximum workplace temperature?
September is not too early. Grit, heating servicing and the seasonal risk assessment all want doing before you need them, and outdoor lighting is best checked before the clocks change rather than after.When should we start preparing for winter?
Review it before winter, not during
Call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form on this page to talk about health and safety, risk assessment or first aid training for your team.
Winter conditions belong in your risk assessment rather than in a separate policy. Workplace risk assessment sets out how, our health and safety courses cover it in depth, and workplace first aid requirements covers the provision side. The seasonal version of the same problem is in workplace accidents at Christmas.
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