Heat leave or Air-Conditioned Offices?

What Rights Do Employees Have During Extreme Summer Heat?

Are employees entitled to air-conditioned rooms or even “heat-free”?
The clear answer: No! Employees have no legal claim to either “heat leave” or air-conditioned workspaces.

However, there are still important obligations for employers to observe.

Duty of Care

As an employer, you are legally obligated to protect the health and well-being of your employees.
This means you must prevent risks to life and health as far as the nature of the work allows (§ 618 (1) German Civil Code – BGB, §§ 4, 5 Occupational Safety and Health Act – ArbSchG).

So, what must or should you do as an employer?

Legal Requirements

There are several statutory regulations you must follow:

• Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG)
  According to § 5 (1) ArbSchG, employers must assess the risks associated with work activities and take appropriate protective measures.
• Workplace Ordinance (Arbeitsstättenverordnung – ArbStättV)
  Regarding heat and the warming of workspaces, § 3 (1) of the Workplace Ordinance, point 3.5 in the Annex, require that workplaces be set up and operated in a way that ensures healthy indoor temperatures and protection from excessive sunlight. However, no maximum temperature is explicitly defined here.
• Technical Rules for Workplaces – ASR A3.5 “Room Temperature”
  These rules provide more specific guidance to implement the ArbStättV:
  • According to point 4.2 (3), the air temperature in work and social rooms should not exceed 26°C. This is a target value, not a binding limit.
    Moreover, this refers only to internal heat sources like machinery or lighting—not external heat from summer temperatures.
  • External summer heat is addressed in point 4.4, which introduces a tiered model outlining measures depending on the room temperature.
    Even at temperatures of 35°C or higher, employees are generally still expected to work—provided appropriate protective measures are taken (see Table 4 of ASR A3.5 for examples).

Case-by-Case Assessment Is Key

As an employer, the measures and decisions you need to take must be based on a case-by-case assessment that takes into account the specific circumstances.
This includes considering whether an employee belongs to a particularly vulnerable group, such as pregnant employees or those with severe disabilities.
For more in-depth guidance, we recommend two publications by the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA):

• “Recommendations for Hot Summer Days in Workplaces”
• “High Indoor Temperatures in Workplaces: What the Law Allows and When Employers Must Take Action”

Working Outdoors

But what about employees who work outdoors in high temperatures—for example, in construction or agriculture?
They are not only exposed to extreme heat but also to direct sunlight.

To ensure their work can be carried out without health risks, the following protective measures are recommended:

• Shift physically demanding tasks (where possible) to cooler days or times of day
• Avoid working in direct sunlight—for example, by providing shade over work areas
• Use air-conditioned cabins in vehicles
• Reduce the physical demands of the job
• Adjust work pace to match heat-related reductions in physical performance
• Increase the number and duration of rest breaks
• Provide artificial airflow (e.g. fans in break rooms)
• Make sunscreen available at the workplace
• Provide shaded and cool break areas
• Offer cool drinks close to workstations
• Organize short drinking breaks approx. every 20 minutes (or more frequently)
• Train employees on company-specific heat protection measures, how to behave properly during heat, how to recognize symptoms of heat-related illnesses, and how to administer first aid

You can find more detailed and comprehensive information, for example, in the brochures “Sun Protection for Construction Work” or “Well Protected Through the Summer.”