From 11 January, work will be suspended at 35°C. Lewiatan counts the costs.
Employers face strict temperature limits and an obligation to cool workstations or change work organization. An employers' organization estimates that in some companies adaptation will cost millions of zlotys and wants the regulations suspended.
The new limits are introduced by a regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 9 July 2026, which amends the general OSH (occupational safety and health) regulations. It was published in the Journal of Laws (opens in a new tab) on 10 July (item 927). It will come into force six months later, on 11 January 2027. Work indoors will be suspended after 35°C is exceeded, regardless of its type. In open spaces, the threshold will be 32°C, but only for heavy work.
The regulation also sets lower thresholds. From 28°C indoors, and for heavy work from 25°C, the employer will have to provide cooling, additional breaks, shorten working time or move tasks outside the hottest hours. The solutions are determined after consultation with the OSH committee or employee representatives and after obtaining the opinion of the physician providing preventive health care to the workforce. Work will be suspended only in the event of an actual exceedance of the limit, and not on the basis of weather forecasts. The suspension provisions will not cover, among others, continuous-process and rescue work.
According to preliminary analyses by the Lewiatan Confederation, cited by pulsHR.pl (opens in a new tab), adaptation in some companies may cost from several to more than a dozen million zlotys, and modernization of ventilation and air-conditioning may take from three to five years. In earlier statements, the organization had even spoken of several dozen million. These are estimates from the employers' side, not an independent valuation. Lewiatan also points out that in some plants it is impossible to install additional systems for structural reasons, and that in large halls it is difficult to maintain the required temperatures.
The organization is demanding that the regulation be suspended, that consultations be reopened, and that a regulatory impact assessment be carried out taking into account the specific nature of industries, including continuous production.
Just over two months remain until the regulations come into force. This is the time to agree with the OSH committee or employee representatives how the company will cool workstations or change work organization.