Outdoor work and employer duty
Solar radiation at work is a health and safety matter, not a personal preference. Here is what the framework actually says and what a reasonable employer response looks like.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 an employer has a general duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health of employees at work, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable assessment of risks. Solar radiation on outdoor workers falls within that, and the Health and Safety Executive publishes specific guidance for employers of outdoor workers on sun protection.
There is a persistent belief on many outdoor worksites that the sun is weather, weather is not the employer's problem, and what an individual does about it is their own business. It is a reasonable-sounding position and it does not survive contact with the framework.
This article sets out what the framework says in general terms. It is not legal advice, it does not substitute for a competent person carrying out a risk assessment for your specific workplace, and anybody who needs a determination on their own situation should take proper advice. What it does is describe the shape of the duty accurately enough that a manager, a worker or a safety representative knows what questions to ask.
The general duty
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 places a general duty on an employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of employees. Health is included explicitly, and it is not limited to injuries. Long-term health effects arising from the work environment sit inside it.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees to which they are exposed while at work. For work that takes place outdoors over long periods, solar radiation is a foreseeable feature of the work environment and belongs in that assessment.
Employees have duties too. The same Act requires employees to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others affected by their acts or omissions, and to cooperate with the employer so far as is necessary to enable the employer to comply with its duties. This is not a framework in which one party carries everything.
What the HSE actually recommends
The Health and Safety Executive publishes guidance for employers of outdoor workers on sun protection, and its shape follows the ordinary hierarchy of control used everywhere else in health and safety: reduce the exposure at source first, use collective and physical measures next, and rely on measures applied to the individual last.
| Level | Measure | Examples in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce exposure | Change when and where the work happens | Reschedule the most exposed tasks away from the middle of the day, rotate staff between exposed and sheltered tasks, plan the sequence of work so shaded areas are used at the peak |
| Collective and physical | Provide shade and cover for groups | Shaded rest and break areas, canopies over static work positions, temporary structures, working under cover where the task allows |
| Clothing | Provide and require appropriate cover | Long sleeves and long trousers as standard, hats and neck coverage with a hard hat where one is required, specifying kit rather than leaving it to the individual |
| Information and training | Make sure people know why and what to do | Toolbox talks, induction content, seasonal briefings, guidance on what to look out for on skin |
| Personal measures | The last line, applied to the individual | Sunscreen available on site, lip products, encouragement to use them, but never as a substitute for the levels above |
Why sunscreen alone is not an adequate response
Providing sunscreen on a site is a good thing to do and a poor answer on its own. It sits at the bottom of the hierarchy for the same reason that personal protective equipment always does: it depends on each individual applying it correctly, repeatedly, throughout a shift, under conditions that make that difficult, and it fails silently when they do not.
Everything on this site about friction and sweat applies with more force at work than in sport, because the shift is longer, the kit is heavier and the equipment is not optional. A hard hat harness, a chin strap, a hi-vis collar, glove cuffs and a tool belt are all friction lines running for eight hours. An application made at the start of a shift is not doing what a manager might assume it is doing at three in the afternoon.
| Surface | Angle to the sun | Exposed for | What removes protection | Control that holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back of the neck | Horizontal whenever the head is down over a task | 4h+ | Hi-vis collar, hard hat harness, sweat | A neck flap on the helmet or a collared shirt worn up. Specify it |
| Face and ears | High, and lit again by reflection off pale material | 4h+ | Chin strap, sweat, wiping with a glove | A helmet with a brim where the task allows, plus provided sunscreen |
| Forearms | Rotating and forward-facing on almost every task | 4h+ | Glove cuff, sleeve edge, materials | Long sleeves as standard kit rather than an individual choice |
| Backs of the hands | Facing up on almost every task | 4h+ | Gloves on and off, materials, washing | Gloves, which are usually required anyway |
| Lips | Presented forward, and dried by wind and dust | 4h+ | Drinking, eating, wiping | Lip product provided alongside sunscreen. Rarely is |
| Whole body over a season | Repeated identically every working day | 4h+ | The cumulative total is what matters | Scheduling and shade, because nothing personal scales to a season |
Who this applies to, which is more people than expected
Construction is the obvious case, but the category is much wider: agriculture and horticulture, grounds maintenance, highways and utilities, delivery and postal work, refuse collection, railway and infrastructure work, forestry, fishing, outdoor education and activity instruction, sports coaching, groundstaff at clubs, lifeguards, and anyone whose job places them outside for the majority of a working day.
Sports coaches are a group worth calling out specifically, because they usually think of themselves as being in sport rather than at work. A tennis coach on court for five hours a day through a summer, or a football coach running back-to-back sessions, has an occupational exposure profile and is owed the same consideration as any other outdoor worker by whoever employs them.
Lifeguards and swimming teachers sit at the boundary and get the wrong advice from both directions. Water-focused guidance addresses the immersion part and misses the eight hour static exposure beside a pool or on a beach.
For anyone supervising water rather than being in it, the exposure profile is occupational and static: full shifts, no shade, high reflection off water and pale surfacing, and equipment that does not come off. It is a work problem, not a swimming one.
What a good response looks like
- Solar radiation appears in the risk assessment for outdoor work, with the specific tasks and seasons identified rather than a general sentence.
- The work programme is arranged so that the most exposed tasks avoid the peak of the day where the job allows it, and staff rotate between exposed and sheltered work.
- Shaded rest areas exist and are actually where people take breaks.
- Long sleeves, long trousers and neck coverage are part of specified kit rather than an individual preference, and the kit provided is suitable for hot weather so that people do not remove it.
- Sunscreen and lip products are available on site at no cost to the worker.
- There is a seasonal briefing that includes what to look out for on skin and where to go with a concern.
- Somebody reviews it after the summer and changes what did not work.
Duties depend on the specific circumstances of a workplace and require assessment by a competent person. For the framework itself, the Health and Safety Executive is the authority. For anything about your own skin, see a GP. If you have a concern about safety at work that is not being addressed, a safety representative, a trade union or the HSE are the routes.
Raising it if you are the worker
The practical route is usually not confrontational. Solar exposure is a straightforward addition to a risk assessment and most employers will treat it as such once it is raised, particularly if it comes with specific suggestions rather than a general complaint. Ask whether it is in the assessment, ask where the shaded break area is, and ask whether kit can include long sleeves in a fabric that is bearable in July. Those three questions cover most of what matters.
Questions
Is sun exposure at work covered by health and safety law?
The general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 covers employees' health so far as is reasonably practicable, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. Solar radiation is a foreseeable feature of outdoor work and belongs in that assessment. The Health and Safety Executive publishes specific guidance for employers of outdoor workers.
Does an employer have to provide sunscreen?
Guidance treats provision as good practice rather than as a substitute for the measures above it in the hierarchy of control. An employer that provides sunscreen and nothing else has addressed the weakest level and left scheduling, shade and clothing untouched.
Can an employer require long sleeves in hot weather?
Kit specification is a normal part of workplace safety management, and cover is one of the more effective measures available. The practical requirement is that the kit provided is suitable for heat, because unsuitable kit gets removed and then protects nobody.
Are sports coaches outdoor workers?
If they are employed or engaged to deliver sessions outdoors for long periods, their exposure profile is occupational regardless of how the sector thinks of itself. Clubs and coaching providers that employ people should be considering it in the same terms as any other outdoor employer.
What if my employer will not act?
Raise it through a safety representative or a trade union if one is available. The Health and Safety Executive publishes guidance and provides routes for concerns about workplace safety. This site cannot advise on an individual case and does not give legal advice.
This article has no commercial links. Nothing in it is sponsored, no product is named and no payment of any kind was received for anything written here. Water Resistant SPF is published by Northbank Media and recommends no products at all. Our funding is set out in full on the about page.
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