In Japan, fines will be introduced for companies that do not create proper working conditions in the heat. About this informs Bloomberg.
Special safety measures will come into effect if the temperature in the workplace exceeds +31°C for more than an hour or a total of four hours per day. If an employee becomes sick due to the heat, the employer is obliged to arrange his transportation to a medical facility. For violation of the temperature regime, enterprises face a fine of $3,475.
Large corporations have already started changing work schedules according to weather conditions and using sensors to track workers’ body temperatures. Also, one of the courier companies plans to provide 75,000 employees with special vests with ventilation.
According to data from the International Labor Organization for 2019, a temperature of 33–34°C can reduce worker productivity by up to 50%. In 2024, heat at workplaces caused the death of 30 people in Japan, and another 1,200 people were injured. In the summer of 2024, the number of heat stroke cases in Japan quadrupled. In a number of cities, the air temperature exceeded +40°C.
