TOO HOT TO WORK
MILLIONS of us will bunk off work and declare today an unofficial bank holiday as sizzling Britain nudges 32C.
Up to 750,000 workers were set to call in sick on top of the millions already on annual leave.
Experts say it could cost the economy £300million in just one day.
Temperatures hit a high of 31.6C at London’s Heathrow yesterday – hotter than the 28C in Hawaii.
Around 70% of workers are tempted to call in sick in hot weather, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development research shows.
And productivity drops 8% when temperatures top 30C, a study at the London School of Economics found, costing £1.5billion in a week.
Breaks
Brighthr, which monitors 250,000 employees at 10,000 workplaces, said: “The dates lockdown restrictions ease are among the most requested days off this year.”
And a spokesman at the Federation of Small Businesses said: “Employees’ days off in hot weather do happen and can be a big problem.”
The TUC urged bosses to look after workers in the heat.
A spokesman said: “Employers can help workers in hot weather by allowing flexible working, relaxing dress codes and allowing frequent breaks.”
Today’s Freedom Day is set to kick off the hottest week of the year. A 1,000-mile-wide “Spanish surge” will see highs pushing 29C until Thursday.
Over the weekend, 300,000 visitors rammed Brighton, with 200,000 in Blackpool, 150,000 in Bournemouth and 150,000 in Great Yarmouth.
Daytrippers clogged roads – with jams on coastal routes including the A23 to Brighton, A31 to Dorset, A30 to Cornwall and M55 to Blackpool.
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “There are heatwave conditions across the UK with settled, fine weather expected to persist well into the week.”
Levels of pollen are at their highest at the moment, forecasters say, and will stay up throughout the week.