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Temperature at Work
Cold
The Offices, Shops & Railway Premises Act obliges employers to maintain a 'reasonable' temperature and defines the legal minimum temperature as being 16º C (within one hour of starting work) but it does depend on what work you do. The accepted zone of thermal comfort for most kinds of work is between 16º-24º C.
The Approved Code of Practice to the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 states that 'all reasonable steps should be taken to achieve a comfortable temperature' and defines 'reasonable' as being at least 16º C.
Both acts specify that a sufficient number of thermometers must be provided so that the temperature may be measured.
The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers recommends that the temperature in offices and banks should be around 20º C. The World Health Organisation recommends a maximum working temperature of 24º C.
Hot
The legal requirement for workplace temperatures to be 'reasonable' applies in summer as well as in winter but there's less guidance on what constitutes 'reasonable' when it's very hot.