Heat, work and telework: Europe wrestles with 'heatwave leave'

As a fierce summer pushes temperatures and wildfire risk to record levels, the question of who pays when heat makes work unsafe has become a live policy issue across Europe – with no EU-wide standard in place. Spain now grants paid “climate leave”, Italy activates an INPS wage-support mechanism when work has to stop, and Greece imposes ad-hoc bans on outdoor work (typically 12:30–16:00 when temperatures exceed about 35°C). In each case, remote work is named as the mitigation of choice wherever a job can be done from home.

In Spain, Article 37.3.g of the Workers’ Statute lets employees take up to four days of paid leave when official adverse-weather or civil-protection warnings make it unsafe to reach the workplace, and employers may require temporary telework where the role allows. The provision has been invoked repeatedly during the current heat and wildfire emergencies.

Why this matters

For remote and hybrid workers, heat is becoming a concrete part of employment rights rather than a footnote. If you work in Spain, you may be entitled to paid leave – or to work from home – when a red weather warning hits, and your employer can direct temporary telework rather than dock your pay. Across Europe the rules differ sharply by country, so where you are employed decides what you are owed when the mercury climbs.

The patchwork exposes a gap the EU has not filled: there is no binding occupational-heat regime setting temperature thresholds, automatic work restrictions and paid compensation, and platform and seasonal workers are the least protected of all. Expect pressure for a common framework to grow with each hotter summer.

For the practical side, see our guides to beating the heat while working from home and the hidden costs of working from home in Spain. This is general information, not legal advice – check current entitlements with official Spanish guidance or a qualified adviser.