Enlarge image
A little bit of air keeps you fit for work - but you are not allowed to plug in a fan in the company without consultation
Photo: Kniel Synnatzschke / Westend61 / imago images
It's getting hot in Germany, the 30-degree mark will be cracked in many places this Wednesday, it should stay that way for a few days - and summer has only just begun.
Most of them still have to work.
But you can make it a little more pleasant.
If you work from home, you could easily get the idea of moving your workplace to the children's paddling pool - or to the outdoor pool.
But is it that easy, is it allowed?
Answers to the most important questions.
My workplace is glowing.
At what temperatures is work still reasonable?
A set of rules with the cool name of »Workplace Directive« helps against heat.
According to this, the temperature in work rooms should not be above 26 degrees Celsius.
Sounds good, but: Employees also have to work at temperatures of 35 degrees and more.
In that case, however, the Workplace Directive provides for protective measures.
How does the company have to protect me from heat?
Windows and glass walls must therefore be protected from direct sunlight, for example with blinds.
If it still gets unbearably hot in the office, employees should point this out to their boss or call in the works council.
If air conditioning is in use, it shouldn't be too cool in the office either.
Experts recommend that it should be a maximum of six degrees colder inside than outside.
Those who work outside must also be protected from direct sun.
To this end, employers can, for example, put up awnings or provide protective clothing such as hats.
Sunscreen with a high sun protection factor or free water should also be provided.
Employees should wear sunglasses to protect their eyes.
This year, in addition to the heat, there is also the corona mask.
Do I have to wear this thing even if I sweat profusely?
"A mask must be worn wherever it is mandatory to wear a mask - even at high temperatures there are no exceptions," says Andrea Kröpelin, specialist lawyer for labor law and partner in the Hamburg law firm Möhrle Happ Luther.
The Corona Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance stipulates that masks are to be worn especially when several people are working in one room or when minimum distances cannot be maintained.
They are also mandatory on the way to and from the workplace within buildings.
Employees who violate the mask requirement are threatened with a warning.
more on the subject
Corona news on Wednesday: Brits report the highest level of new infections since February
More flexible rules: almost everyone on Facebook could soon be working from home
In the individual office, however, there is no mask requirement.
Once you have arrived there, you can remove them.
In any case, the regulation will still apply until June 30, 2021. It has not yet been determined whether and in what form it will be extended.
"The general tendency is more towards not loosening the mask requirement indoors," says Kröpelin.
Can I come to work in shorts?
Is it so hot that even the keyboard sweats?
It is only understandable when employees come to work with light clothes.
But shorts and flip-flops may be okay in your free time, but not necessarily in the office.
The boss is allowed to set a dress code.
This is especially important for those who have a lot of customer contact.
Anyone who does not adhere to it risks a warning.
In addition, occupational safety must be guaranteed in every case.
Taking off the hard hat or safety shoes because of the heat is not an option.
But bosses are not allowed to forbid everything.
The following principle applies: clothing and appearance must be suitable for the position.
When in doubt, just ask the bosses - or watch carefully how they dress themselves.
For example, if he or she comes in shorts, you should be okay too.
Read here how unusual a man reacted when he wanted to work in shorts in the office, but was not allowed to.
But in the home office, I can take it easy, right?
Only wearing swimming trunks, feet in a bowl of cold water - in principle, you can do whatever you want in the home office.
However, the principles that apply in operation are not ineffective: When dealing with customers or in video conferences, you should be appropriately dressed - at least the part of you that the camera records.
You also have to pay attention to occupational safety.
So you'd better not go into the paddling pool with your laptop.
Can I set up a fan in the company?
A fan is useful for temperatures above 30 degrees.
However, employees must first ask their boss for permission: the electricity that comes from the company's sockets is part of the work equipment.
And they should actually be used for work and not to make yourself comfortable at your desk.
There is another reason why it is problematic to operate your own electrical appliances without prior consultation: If one of them burns out and half of the operation is set on fire, there can be problems with the insurance company.
What if my child has no heat?
In the summer, school can be canceled, even if it is only for a few hours.
There is no uniform regulation in Germany as to whether or not there is heat free and who decides.
In most cases, the school management is allowed to make a decision from a certain temperature.
If she now decides that it is too hot to study, many working parents are faced with a problem: Who will take care of the child now?
In many cases, students can continue to be cared for at school.
If that does not work and you, as parents, cannot find any other care option for your child, you must take time off and hope that the employer will understand.
However, he cannot ask that you leave a young child under the age of 12 unattended.
A compromise option is the home office, if that works in your company.
Speaking of heat-free: Can I, as an employee, have that too, please?
Unfortunately, employees have no right to heat-free, only the cool rules from the workplace ordinance.
Exceptions are pregnant women and employees who can prove with a certificate that they get health problems from certain temperatures.
You can request a certain room temperature from your employer.
If the boss cannot provide cooling, there is heat-free for them.
I don't want to work in the greatest heat, but rather take a siesta and do my job in the cooler hours.
Is the?
If there is no heat-free, then it is advisable to distribute the work sensibly over the day: If possible, work can be moved to the cooler early morning or late evening.
At least that is what the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends.
There should also be several additional short breaks that are spent in cooler areas.
However, this is not possible for all activities.
Those who work flexitime anyway have an advantage here.
In any case, however, you must observe the applicable rules of operation: For example, opening times or certain availability times must often be covered;
some meetings are mandatory.
Even then, you are not entirely free to organize your time, warns specialist lawyer Kröpelin: "A siesta that is too long can lead to violations of the Working Hours Act if the prescribed rest period of eleven hours between two working days is not met." The company and legal requirements for working hours generally also apply in the home office.
Anyone who violates it risks a warning.
Can I also move my home office to the outdoor pool?
Sounds tempting, but Andrea Kröpelin advises against: "Confidentiality and data protection can hardly be guaranteed in public, so you deal with big problems." Other disaster scenarios: The work laptop falls into the water or is stolen. And she points out: "Although the protection of the statutory accident insurance has recently been expanded to include work in the home office and for mobile work, it should not cover a swimming accident."
