asked the Minister for Labour the minimum temperature prescribed by law for shops and factory premises in which people work and the penalties prescribed for enterprises which fail to comply with the necessary standards.
Written Answers. - Prescribed Minimum Temperatures.
343.
The Shops (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1938, provides that suitable and sufficient means shall be provided to maintain a reasonable temperature in every part of a shop. Penalties for offences are a maximum fine of £20 on summary conviction and, for subsequent conviction, a fine not exceeding £50, or £5 for every day since the first conviction, whichever is the greater.
The Factories Act, 1955, provides that a reasonable temperature must be secured and maintained in each workroom. The Act stipulates a temperature of not less than 60ºF(15ºC) as a reasonable temperature after the first hour in a room where a substantial proportion of the work is done sitting and does not involve serious physical effort. The Act empowers the Minister for Labour to prescribe, by regulation, a standard of reasonable temperature, for any class or description of factory. Regulations have been made under the Act which contain specific requirements as to temperature levels in factories engaged in manufacture of lead compounds and pottery, processing of wool and hair, woodworking and melting and founding of non-ferrous metals.
The fine for offences against these provisions of the Factories Act and Regulations is a maximum of £20; there is a further fine of up to £5 a day for a continuing offence.