Working in heat: from 11 January 2027, a 35°C limit indoors and 32°C outdoors
New health and safety rules set, for the first time, a temperature at which work must stop — and employer duties from 25–28°C.
From 11 January 2027, Polish occupational health and safety (BHP) rules will include an upper temperature limit at work: 35°C indoors and 32°C outdoors for heavy physical work. When the heat exceeds this threshold, the work may not be performed. The rules take effect in winter, but employers must prepare their measures before the first hot days — and some of them require consulting employees.
Two thresholds: when to act, when to stop
The new § 30a of the regulation on general health and safety at work sets two kinds of thresholds.
Threshold from which the employer must act (when the temperature rises because of the weather):
| Where you work | Type of work | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| indoors (hall, warehouse, office) | any work | above 28°C |
| indoors | heavy physical work | above 25°C |
| outdoors | any work | above 25°C |
Threshold above which work may not be performed:
- 35°C indoors — for any work,
- 32°C outdoors — for heavy physical work.
The ban applies to the time when the temperature actually exceeds the threshold — not to the weather forecast. The exception: when technological reasons do not allow it.
In the rules, “heavy physical work” means work with energy expenditure above 1,500 kcal per shift for men and 1,000 kcal for women — e.g. construction work, unloading, farm work.
What the employer must do
Once the action threshold is exceeded, the employer:
- Indoors — provides technical measures that lower or limit the rise in temperature (e.g. air conditioning, ventilation, cooling), unless technological reasons prevent it, or applies organisational measures.
- Outdoors — applies organisational measures, e.g. extra breaks, moving working hours to cooler times, rotating workstations, shortening work in full sun.
- Consults the organisational measures with employees in the health and safety committee (komisja BHP). If there is no committee — with employees or their representatives (Article 237¹¹ᵃ of the Labour Code) and after obtaining the opinion of the occupational health doctor.
- Informs employees of the agreed rules in the way usual at the company (e.g. a notice, email, noticeboard).
The rules do not give a closed list of measures — they must be suited to the conditions and type of work.
Who is not covered by the 35°C and 32°C limits
The upper limits do not apply to, among others, some of the work listed in Article 151¹⁰ of the Labour Code (including rescue operations and fixing breakdowns, continuous operations, transport and communication), staff of nurseries and children’s clubs, and officers of uniformed services and soldiers. The duty to act from 25–28°C has no such exceptions.
What this means for you
If you are an employee:
- From 11 January 2027 you can expect your employer to introduce specific measures in hot weather and to stop work above 35°C indoors (32°C for heavy work outdoors).
- Ask at work what rules have been set for hot weather — the employer must inform you about them.
- The regulation does not say how much you will be paid for the time when work is stopped. If you have doubts about your pay, ask the HR department or the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP).
- Working through a temporary work agency? Safe and healthy conditions at the workplace are provided by the company where you actually work (the user employer, pracodawca użytkownik) — report problems there and inform the agency too.
If you are an employer:
- You have until 11 January 2027 — use the winter: measure temperatures in your halls in summer, plan cooling and prepare a hot-weather procedure.
- Set organisational measures after consulting the health and safety committee or employees and the occupational health doctor — and inform the team about them.
- Plan how you will organise work when the 35°C or 32°C threshold is exceeded (shifting shifts, night or early-morning work, breaks).
- For temporary workers, agree with the agency who passes on the hot-weather rules to them.
Legal basis: Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 9 July 2026 amending the regulation on general health and safety at work (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 927) — § 30a of the regulation of 26 September 1997; in force from 11 January 2027; Labour Code (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 277, as amended), Arts. 151¹⁰, 237¹¹ᵃ, 237¹², 237¹⁵; Act of 9 July 2003 on the employment of temporary workers, Art. 9; PIP, “New employer obligations during heatwaves” (10.07.2026). Legal status as of 28 September 2026.