DOLE issues workplace heat stress guidelines

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday, 27 October, issued guidelines requiring employers to protect workers from heat stress during El Niño and other periods of extreme heat.

The department said Labor Advisory No. 20, Series of 2026, signed by Labor Secretary Francis, provides protocols for preventing and managing heat stress in workplaces.

The advisory, issued pursuant to the Labor Code of the Philippines, aims “to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for all workers, particularly those exposed to high ambient temperatures in indoor and outdoor workplaces.”

“All employers and workers are enjoined to observe the foregoing guidelines to protect workers’ health, safety, and welfare,” the advisory stated.

Under the guidelines, employers must implement control measures based on four Heat Index categories: Caution (27 to 32 degrees Celsius), Extreme Caution (33 to 41 degrees Celsius), Danger (42 to 51 degrees Celsius) and Extreme Danger (52 degrees Celsius and above).

Under the Caution category, employers should provide adequate drinking water, establish shaded or ventilated work areas, allow light-colored and breathable clothing, issue hydration reminders, and conduct training on heat stress awareness, early symptoms and first aid.

For the Extreme Caution category, employers must enforce structured work, rest and hydration cycles; establish designated cool-down areas; implement peer monitoring; provide personal protective equipment; schedule strenuous tasks during cooler hours; and ensure immediate access to trained occupational safety and health (OSH) first-aiders.

Under the Danger category, employers must implement flexible work arrangements or telecommuting. In Extreme Danger conditions, they may be required to suspend, relocate, reschedule or substantially modify work operations.

The advisory also directs employers, through their OSH personnel and committees and in consultation with workers, to conduct and document hazard identification, risk assessment and control (HIRAC) procedures for occupational heat stress and related El Niño impacts.

“The assessment shall consider environmental heat, humidity, radiant and solar heat, work intensity, exposure duration, acclimatization, clothing, and personal protective equipment, worker susceptibility, water availability, ventilation and cooling reliability, power interruptions, dust or smoke exposure, emergency access, and other relevant workplace conditions, consistent with applicable OSH (Occupational Safety and Health) requirements,” the advisory stated.

Employers were also instructed to monitor Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) advisories on El Niño, seasonal climate outlooks, Heat Index information and observed Heat Index data.

The HIRAC assessment must be reviewed and updated periodically based on information released by PAGASA.

The advisory further reminds employers to ensure that workers are enrolled in the Social Security System and that their contributions are paid.