What rights do you have as a worker during the heat wave?

BarcelonaWork during episodes of extreme temperatures It can pose a very serious—even fatal—risk to the health of anyone who endures a full day's work in the sun. Despite the obligations that companies have to prevent these situations, they often fail to do so, and workplace deaths due to heat stress continue to occur. On Saturday, in the midst of a heat wave, A cleaning service worker in Barcelona died upon arriving home. After work.

The director of the Cleaning and Waste Collection Service for Barcelona City Council, Carlos Vázquez, stated in a press conference on Monday that the concessionaire company for which the victim worked, FCC, complied with the protocols in the face of rising temperatures, and the city council rules out an investigation. While waiting for the autopsy to clarify the causes of death, the unions once again expressed their concern about compliance with heat protocols in the face of high temperatures. What does the legislation say about workers' rights in these cases?

The Spanish law on the prevention of occupational risks dates back to 1995, and there have long been calls for the need to update it and adapt it to the context of the climate emergency. This regulation establishes that when workers are—or "may be"—exposed to a "serious and imminent" risk at work, the employer is obligated to inform them as soon as possible about the existence of this threat and take the necessary measures to protect them. In these cases, employees will have the right to interrupt their activity and, if necessary, immediately leave their jobs.

In the event of any retaliation by the company for being absent, lawyer and partner at the Colectivo Ronda law firm, Alex Tisminetzky, reminds us that workers have the "right to compensation" and cannot suffer "adverse consequences" in order to defend their labor rights. "The most appropriate way to do this is through occupational risk prevention representatives or members of the works councils, because they have special protection," he adds. As this lawyer points out, it is then the Labor Inspectorate that must prepare a report within the next 24 hours ratifying or annulling this work stoppage.

Regarding extreme heat situations, new temperature limits for enclosed workplaces were introduced in 1997 by Royal Decree-Law: between 17 and 27 degrees for sedentary office work, and between 14 and 25 degrees in premises where light work is performed. Relative humidity must be between 30 and 70%, except in spaces where there is a risk of static electricity, where the lower limit will be 50%. "There is a great deal of debate, in cases of extreme heat or cold, about whether a workplace is open or closed," explains Tisminetzky. For example, she has encountered companies that claimed that a space such as a garage or a restaurant, where doors open automatically and frequently, should be considered open and, therefore, were not required to comply with these conditions.

Following the recent heat waves, the Spanish government modified its regulations to specifically protect people who work outdoors and are exposed to high temperatures. Since 2023, certain outdoor work is prohibited during the middle of the day if the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has activated an orange or red alert for extreme heat events. In these cases, companies must adapt working conditions—modifying schedules, providing more frequent breaks, and providing sufficient water and protective equipment—to prevent health problems linked to high temperatures. Since last year, they have also been required to negotiate action protocols with workers' legal representatives to address these risks. "The specific regulations on heat in open-air facilities are too abstract and end up providing more generic protection. Case law precedes regulations, and there are quite a few rulings that analyze cases in which harm has already occurred," says Tisminetzky.

224 work-related accidents caused by heat

UGT sources recall that, according to provisional data from the Ministry of Labor, in 2024, 111 work-related accidents resulting in sick leave were reported during the workday due to heat and heatstroke, and 113 accidents, also resulting in sick leave, caused by the effects of extreme temperatures, light, and radiation. According to this count of 224 cases, there were no deaths linked to heat stress last year. However, among the 304 work-related accidents related to high temperatures in 2023, four deaths were recorded. In any case, the union believes that there is an "underreporting" of these types of incidents and is aware that at least four workers have already lost their lives due to the effects of heat this year.

The CCOO (Working Council of Workers' Workers' Union) assures that in the last weeks of June there have been at least five fatal accidents that "could be related to high temperatures" and the heat wave, including the cleaning worker who died this weekend in Barcelona. The other cases are that of a 63-year-old man who died in Valdemoro (Madrid) while working in a warehouse with high temperatures and no ventilation; an undocumented Pakistani man abandoned in a health center in Fraga (Huesca) after working in the fruit harvest; a 58-year-old man who died while installing a heat panel; and a 47-year-old man who died in Tarragona after falling from a height on a construction site after a suspected heat stroke.