Hot weather working advise

 

Watch out for heat exhaustion and heatstroke

During the hot weather, it can be easy to overheat. 

While heat exhaustion is not usually serious, as long as you can cool yourself down, heatstroke is a medical emergency.

Here's what to look for and what to do.

Heatstroke or heat exhaustion?

Heat exhaustion happens when your body is becoming too hot and struggling to regulate or cope.

It can affect anyone, including fit and healthy people - especially if they are doing strenuous exercise in high temperatures or have been drinking alcohol in the sun all day. It can come on quickly, over minutes, or gradually, over hours.

The symptoms you will feel are your body's way of warning you to cool down, fast.

Check out the BBC website  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62120167  for more info and what to do if you or someone is suffering

Is there a limit on working in heat?

There's no law for maximum working temperature, or when it's too hot to work. Employers must stick to health and safety at work law, including: keeping the temperature at a comfortable level, sometimes known as thermal comfort. providing clean and fresh air.

Click below and check out the guidance from the HSE 

Is it too hot to work? Temperature in the workplace

Remember simple precautions after rise in COVID cases during June

People in Oxfordshire are being reminded to remember simple COVID precautions in response to the county, and country as a whole, currently going through another phase of rising cases.

During the last two to three weeks case numbers in the county have doubled, with a new sub-variant of Omicron thought to be one of the chief drivers of the rises being seen in Oxfordshire and elsewhere.

Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director for Public Health, said: “It’s been great for everyone to relax after the difficult last couple of years we’ve had with rules of varying kinds meaning restrictions on our lives.

“Currently there are no restrictions but there is still good, solid guidance that people are advised to observe to protect themselves and their families, particularly vulnerable and elderly people.

“The main bit of advice is to stay at home if you feel unwell – but it’s also worth reminding people of all those things that we learned during the height of the pandemic to reduce the risk of COVID spreading.

“This includes ventilating indoor spaces and washing your hands. During periods of good weather being outdoors rather than indoors also helps reduce risks.

“We expect to see fluctuations in cases and it remains the case we need to learn to live with COVID, but we need to strike a sensible balance and I would ask people to take precautions while cases are on the rise. Let’s enjoy the summer and our regained freedoms but keep in mind that COVID-19 hasn’t gone away and we all need to play our part to live safely.”

How UNISON can help

UNISON’s member welfare charity, There for You, has a wide array of support services that can help members cope with the cost of living crisis.

UNISON is unique in the trade union movement in that it has its own member welfare charity, There for You, which provides a wide array of support services. Here are some that could be valuable right now.

UNISON Help with energy costs guide

This information guide contains details of organisations and schemes that can provide support and assistance, along with charities – including There for You – that may be able to give financial help towards heating bills, useful contacts and money-saving tips.

UNISON Debt Line

UNISON’s debt line, run by PayPlan, can help you deal with debt, from credit cards to mortgage arrears. It offers free, confidential advice with no hidden charges and a personal case officer to advise, with the aim to create a manageable debt plan to suit your circumstances.

Contact the UNISON debt line on Freephone: 0800 389 3302

Other financial assistance

Grants to address specific needs for members who are facing unexpected hardships can be considered.  Perhaps there’s been a recent change in your financial circumstances and help is needed, for example, with living costs, essential household bills, replacing a broken appliance or funding disability aids.

Temperature at work to hot?

As the  sun comes out and the air temperature rises the perennial issue of workplace  temperatures is a common questions asked of UNISON health and safety reps.

Here HOT off the press is our revised quick guide on Temperature at Work for H&S reps. http://ow.ly/EAij50JA95B

South East Equality Conference

You are invited to the UNISON South East Equality Conference which will help to equip your branch with the tools and resources to raise awareness of equality issues in the workplace.

After 2 years of Covid-19 putting live events on hold, we are delighted to be able to invite you back to London for the SE Equality Conference 2022, which will now take place on Friday 8 July at UNISON Centre.

With a mixture of guest speakers and workshops, we’re really looking forward to getting together again, and have a great programme planned for the day.

Equality Pay Gap Workshop

The aim of this workshop is to increase awareness of equality pay gaps, to understand that there are many ways in which workers experience a financial detriment at work, to consider the impact of equality pay gaps on workers in 2022 and beyond, work with others to identify possible areas of concern in your workplace and consider how UNISON can help to rectify this issue.

Examining Bias in Formal HR Procedures Workshop

How to use a data driven approach to establish whether there are patterns in members in HR processes, and what to do about it.

This workshop will explore the disproportionate number of branch level cases involving members with protected characteristics; what questions to ask your employer and how to use employer data to challenge bias.

How to book:

SE Equality conference is open to all activists who have in interest in equality issues in the workplace. 

Please download an application form today and seek approval from your branch.

Completed forms can to be sent to equalitySE@unison.co.uk 

The conference will run from 9:30am – 4:30pm and lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please ensure you let us know of any dietary requirements when booking your place.

Closing date for applications: 24 June 2022

There for you when you need support

 

TUC demo: Seven bonus reasons to enjoy a day out in London

Doing the right thing doesn’t have to be angst-ridden. You can argue for a change in how the government copes with the cost of living crisis and have some fun with your friends and family.

You can demand better and have a good time too.

1. Take in the sights. Let’s face it, all the marches through the centres of the UK’s great capitals have some great views. Closed off roads at the start of summer, doing some sightseeing, what’s not to like?And for those going on the London march, treat it as your own tour of those infamous partygate venues. Spot the Tesco!
2. Get some sun. Overseas travel is opening up again, but the cost of living crisis means that no-one can afford to go on holiday. So … get some vitamin D here at home – and do something useful at the same time. It’s June, in the UK, honestly, what could possibly go wrong …?
3. Get physical. It’s approaching summer. No carbs till Marbs. Come on, after two years of working at home and binge-watching box sets the opportunity to get out and about and remind your legs what they were invented for is not to be missed.‘Step up’ for public services, as we once famously said.
4. Just do it! What a great message to send to the children of today, taking pictures of their food and doing TikToks – let’s remember the almost forgotten art of the protest. Great things have been achieved by people giving a damn, getting off their sofas and marching.You want a better response to the cost of living from this government – do something about it. Stop being a keyboard warrior and be an actual warrior.
5. Swipe right. Fighting the good fight can have some positive unintended consequences on your love life. If you’re looking for love (or even just a change?!) there’ll be thousands of other people there who, in all likelihood share your own view on the world.So go along and 18 June will be a memorable day for lots of reasons.
6. “We wanna be together …” Variation on a theme – come along and meet some fellow UNISON members. Two years of a pandemic tends to play havoc with that sense of togetherness that being in a union offers. There’s a clue in the name. We are a union. In unison.
7. You wear it well. Much like the much-missed, diminutive pop legend Prince, we love rocking the purples (and the greens). Such a difficult colour to pull off. But use it as an opportunity to get dressed up (or down, see 2 and 5 above) and brand it up in UNISON’s legendary ‘sea of purple and green’.

See you on the streets on 18 June.

To book a coach click HERE

Disabled members equality

 

UNISON’s priorities on disability are led by the union’s own disabled members. We help disabled members by fighting discrimination and campaigning and organising at workplace, regional and national levels.

There are more than 10 million disabled people in the UK. Cuts to public services and benefits have a disproportionate effect on disabled people, especially as over one and a half million of them live in relative poverty because of low benefit levels and the lack of suitable accessible jobs.

There for You (UNISON Welfare)

Members experiencing financial and emotional difficulties can contact our welfare charity, There for You, which provides a confidential advice and support service for members and their dependants.

Are you suffering financially as a result of coronavirus? Apply to our COVID-19 response fund for a grant to help you during this difficult time.

We have received generous grants from UNISON and the CHSA (COVID-19 Healthcare Support Appeal) which enable us to support members who are struggling.

Worried about rising energy costs and keeping warm?

Help is available. This information guide contains details of organisations and schemes that can provide support and assistance, charities – including UNISON’s own charity – that may be able to give financial help towards heating bills, useful contacts and money saving tips.

 https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2022/02/26687_fuelcosts.pdf

Webinar: Protecting workers' mental health

            

Event details

Date

Wed, 18 May 2022 - 14:00 to 15:00

Cost

Free

Register here

YOUR UNION - HAVE YOUR SAY

 

Now is the time for you to have your say on who represents you on your service group executive committee.

The committees' jobs are to make decisions that will help the union improve your pay and conditions and protect your interests at work. They are made up of ordinary members across the country doing similar jobs to you; or working for similar sorts of employers. It's important that your union represents every member, so please use your vote.

Voting is open from 28 April 2022 and closes at 5pm on 25 May 2022, so there's plenty of time for you to have your say. It only takes a few minutes.

Civica Election Services (formerly Electoral Reform Services) is administering the election on behalf of UNISON. As well as a postal pack, this year you are receiving voting instructions by email, to enable you to cast your vote online. Voting online is quick and very straightforward and, importantly, saves the union money.

Please click here to vote and view information on the candidates. This link is unique to you and should not be forwarded on to anyone else.

This is your union - so have your say.