Permissible temperature in the office in winter and summer

In our country, as in any civilized state, standards have been developed that determine what the permissible temperature in the office, as well as a number of other factors. Compliance with these rules is really important, because it depends on it, whether the employees will be healthy, and also their productivity. The better the working conditions, the better the result of the process. On the contrary, having put people in a bad position, forcing them to work in a hot or cold office, the employer will not only fail to achieve a positive result, but also remain without staff, because those who do not quit will necessarily fall ill.

About the norms

The standards, according to which the permissible temperature in the office is regulated, are taken from the Regulation adopted in 1992 and describing comfortable working conditions. In addition, there is a state-of-the-art safety technology. These documents deal with different categories of work, from the most difficult conditions with increased danger to life, to the most simple.

Despite the prevailing stereotypes that everyone can work in the office, this activity entails certain difficulties and dangers. Office workers are people of mental labor, and strong stresses force you to be in tension all the time. This, as well as contact with technology during long working hours, being in a room where there is too little natural light, a number of other factors make the work difficult.

How about the rules?

The main rule of the position, indicating what the permissible temperature in the office, is that "during the work, the air heating should be normal."

It seems empty words? Not surprisingly, because the recommendation is generalized for any existing types of jobs. In a particular case, an individual standard is developed.

In the office, air heating is maintained at least 16 ° C. The humidity of the room, the quality of air ventilation are taken into account.

What can I do to avoid overheating?

The situation suggests that if the conditions are uncomfortable, the premises are too hot, the employer takes care of the work on:

• Insulation of pipelines;
• Installation of air cooling system;
• Darkening of windows;
• Placement of workplaces away from heat sources.

In general, these measures are sufficient to achieve an acceptable temperature in the office without overheating.

Comfort worker - the key to success

Sanitary rules governing the conditions allow the employee of the company to be:

• Effective;
• Healthy;
• Effective;
• Workable.

Remember, the temperature norm in the office must be strictly observed, as this is the law. Special bodies have the right at any time to come with a check to make sure that the employer complies with the prescribed by the legislation of the country.

So, specific figures. If we are talking about the managerial sphere, at the same time, mainly at work, employees are forced to sit, experience only a slight physical strain, then we are talking about the category of labor 1a. In this case, the permissible temperature in the office in the winter varies from 22 to 24 ⁰ C. In summer, the norm is slightly higher - from 23 to 25 ⁰ C.

And if it does not work out?

What to do if it so happens that the minimum allowable temperature in the office is unattainable? Say, does the heating system function poorly or did an accident occur?

According to the current rules, in this case, the working schedule should be adjusted. The colder in the room or, conversely, hotter, the less time you can keep a person in place. It is unacceptable to reduce wages.

If the permissible temperature in the office has been violated in the summer, and the room has become hot to 29 ⁰ C, then the employee must remain in his place for three to six hours, but no more. The specific figure is determined by the category of the work area.

To ensure that employees comply with the norms established by the employment contract, the employer, as established by law, is obliged to provide them with comfortable conditions. Consequently, any violations of the norm should be eliminated by the enterprise, and in the shortest possible time. To the temperature in the office was within the reasonable, you can put a conventional air conditioner. This will be inexpensive and will help improve the efficiency of employees, avoid shortening the working day and, therefore, profitability of the company.

And how will they punish?

In the event that the permissible temperature in the office in the winter or in the summer was violated, and it was at this point that the check came up, the employer would have to shell out, or even suspend its activities. According to the current standards, a fine is prescribed in the amount of 10-20 thousand rubles, and the company may be closed for three months even.

The check does not always come suddenly. For example, workers who are dissatisfied with the conditions of work have the full right to apply to the appropriate bodies that will send out specialists.

How to fight?

In order to always be comfortable in the office, it is recommended to install microclimate control systems. If you are sure of the heating system, then there will be enough domestic air-conditioner, which would cool the air in a strong heat. If the building is weakly heated, it is necessary to think over more thorough methods of influencing the climate in the room.

Another difficulty in winter: if the heating is powerful, and the windows of the building are facing south and the sun is shining in them, then the room is very hot, and it is not easy to cool it, because the outside air conditioner can not cope with the load from outside.

The most effective methods to combat heat in office buildings in winter:

• Powerful ventilation system;
• Air conditioning system, capable of cooling the air even in frost.

In the first case, you will have to install large-sized equipment that costs a lot of money, and only a prosperous company can afford it. Air conditioners that cool air when outdoors minus, allow to stabilize the climate so that all the time there was a permissible temperature in the office. Ukraine, which operates similar to Russia's standards, in the past few years has noted a surge in demand for such equipment, which is probably due to climate change.

Effective options:

• Heat pumps;
• Chillers with glycol contour;
• Cooling towers with glycol;
• VRF-system.

What depends on the employee?

The Labor Code operating in the territory of the Russian Federation states that an employee has the right to apply to the head of the company in writing if the office does not comply with the temperature standards. He may refuse to perform work, since being in too cold or overheated air is associated with increased danger to health and life.

It is worth remembering that in accordance with the law for the period of refusal the employer is obliged to pay the employee a salary and in general to keep for him all the privileges of the employee of the company. This is confirmed by the current regulatory, legal acts, the laws of the country, the Labor Code.

What is the employer's responsibility?

If you refer to the laws, you can find out that from the side of the enterprise organizing the workplaces, you must provide:

• Safety in the operation of all facilities with which the work process is associated, as well as materials and equipment;
• Control over the use of exclusively certified protective equipment. This applies to both individual and collective. It is necessary to take into account the directives of the country's legislation;
• Compliance with labor protection standards, taking into account the individual characteristics of the specific workplace;
• Compliance with the work regime, rest taking into account the recommendations given in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the requirements of legal acts.

Remember the nuances

According to the laws, the employer must accept that employees are not required to work out fully the time when the building is too cold or unbearably hot. But remember: the concept of "residence time" is different from the term "working time". Consequently, the company that abides by the law is obliged to change the mode of work, rest, so that the time of finding employees fit into the norms established by law.

How to proceed? Accepted practice:

• Workers can go home sooner;
• Introduce breaks;
• Arrange a room for breaks;
• Open other places that meet the standards;
• Reduce the time spent in the building.

If there are two violations of the rules of the offense, since they are not taken into account:

• Sanitary rules;
• legislation.

If the organization does not shorten working hours in uncomfortable conditions, and the employee does not write an official application, demanding that for this period of time to release him from his duties while maintaining the privileges, he can expect bonuses. Every hour of work above the legal limit in uncomfortable conditions should be calculated as overtime.

On practice

So, specific figures:

To find out whether the conditions correspond to normative or if overheating is observed, a special commission is formed from the company. Its main task is to measure the temperature, fix the data officially. As a result of the activities, a protocol is made in which the received data is entered, comparing them with the norms.

If the norms are exceeded, an order is introduced for the enterprise, in which the length of the working time is adjusted. This document necessarily contains a reference to the minutes of the commission. If employees are dissatisfied with the results of the commission, they can turn to independent experts from the labor inspection.