Spain shifts work routines as extreme heat reshapes daily labour

MADRID: Spain is changing how outdoor work is carried out as hotter and longer heat spells force employers and authorities to adjust schedules, safety rules and monitoring systems.

In Barcelona, city authorities have distributed 1,400 wristbands this year to municipal employees who work outside. The devices contain sensors that monitor body temperature and trigger a red light and sound if a worker becomes dangerously hot and faces a heightened risk of heatstroke. Antonio Reina, a 54-year-old gardener, said the device helps workers act before symptoms appear.

"It’s an extra layer of security. As it’s supposed to go off before you have symptoms, it lets you leave wherever your place of work is, drink water, and get under the shade,"

Spain, long used to high summer temperatures, is now facing greater pressure to adapt as climate change makes extreme heat more intense, more frequent and longer-lasting. The urgency has increased across Europe after an exceptional heatwave last month pushed temperatures to record levels, was linked to thousands of excess deaths and disrupted everyday life on a continent where air conditioning is not widely used.

Following heat-related deaths among outdoor workers in Spain in recent years, summer working hours for some employees have been moved earlier and shortened. In addition, workers are following protocols that include hydration breaks, wearing caps and avoiding working alone.

Earlier starts and shorter shifts

In Madrid, where temperatures can rise above 38 degrees Celsius during heatwaves, workers at a company run by Eli de Sousa begin installing solar panels at 7am. De Sousa, a 41-year-old Brazilian, said the workday must end at 1pm because conditions become too harsh.

"We have to stop at 1pm come what may, because it’s impossible to work,"

He added that the company keeps water in a small refrigerator and halts work altogether if the heat becomes too intense, making up the lost time on another day.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 56, who installs equipment on rooftops for a telecommunications company, said he is required to come down at intervals to cool off and drink water. He said working at height while wearing a harness and other equipment makes breaks necessary. "We who work at height have to have the harness and all the equipment. So, obviously, the time comes when you need to get down, cool off and take off the harness.”

Spanish law dating back to the 1990s sets the maximum temperature for closed workplaces at 27 degrees Celsius. However, that limit is not always enforced, even as complaints have increased about overheated classrooms.

Labour ministry fines for heat-related violations have risen sharply, from 706,419 euros in 2022 to nearly 1.6 million euros last year. Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz has said: "In the 21st century, no one should fall ill or die in their workplace."

Legal changes after worker deaths

The death of a 60-year-old street cleaner from heatstroke in Madrid in July 2022 marked a turning point. Carmen Mancheno, work health coordinator at the CCOO union, said the episode changed public and official attitudes.

"galvanised the population, society and the government"

Mancheno said the leftist government then introduced a law in 2023 requiring employers to adjust working hours so outdoor tasks are not carried out during the hottest hours of the day. She said employers must also have a protocol to modify working conditions when the state weather agency issues its two highest heat alerts.

Mancheno said the rules are widely applied in urban cleaning services and construction, but in other sectors they are observed “little”. The government also introduced a climate leave measure after the deadly floods that hit the eastern region of Valencia in 2024, allowing workers to stay away from work during extreme weather events. Mancheno said the measure is harder to apply during heatwaves because high temperatures do not make it impossible to travel to work.

For some self-employed workers, adaptation options remain limited. Fernando Garcia, 64, who continues to open his ice cream stall in central Madrid, said coping with the heat comes down to endurance. “Drink water, sprinkle yourself with water, and tough it out… there’s no other way.”