Summer Holidays or Safer Hours? How Extreme Heat Is Changing the Working Day

13 August 2026

Annual leave is counted across the year, not allocated to a particular season. But as temperatures rise, the hottest months are forcing a more urgent conversation: when should work start, pause or stop?

Ask workers when they take the most time off, and many will answer “summer”. School breaks, factory shutdowns and travel traditions make summer the most visible holiday season in many countries.

Legally, however, the comparison between summer and winter is not so simple.

Paid annual leave, public holidays and heat-related work stoppages are three different things. WageIndicator’s Labour Law hub reflects that distinction by organising national information on working hours, leave entitlements, contracts and workplace protections as separate, but connected, parts of employment law.

• Annual leave provides time for rest and personal life.
• Public holidays follow national and religious calendars.
• A suspension of work during extreme heat is an occupational safety measure, not a holiday.

The international benchmark established by the ILO Holidays with Pay Convention, 1970 (No. 132), binding on countries that have ratified it, is at least three working weeks of paid annual leave for one year of service. In the European Union, the Working Time Directive provides for at least four weeks.

Neither standard allocates more leave to summer or winter.

Why a global summer-versus-winter total would mislead

A worldwide count of “summer holiday days” and “winter holiday days” would compare very different realities.

Summer falls between June and August in much of the Northern Hemisphere, but between December and February in the Southern Hemisphere. Public holidays may generate time off, additional pay or a substitute day, depending on national law and the worker’s occupation. Employees may also choose, or be required, to take annual leave at different times of the year.

A worker in the Netherlands, a construction worker in Qatar and a farm worker in South Africa may therefore have similar annual leave entitlements but completely different seasonal experiences.

WageIndicator’s Labour Law per Country directory helps readers examine those differences country by country. For a more visual comparison, Labour Laws in Maps and the Labour Rights Index place national rules in a wider comparative context.

The more meaningful seasonal question is not simply how many days people receive in summer or winter. It is whether working time changes when seasonal conditions make ordinary schedules unsafe.

The hottest season is becoming a working-time issue

The climate data make this debate increasingly urgent.

The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Global Climate 2025 confirmed that 2025 was one of the three warmest years on record, at approximately 1.43°C above the 1850–1900 average. The years from 2015 to 2025 were the eleven warmest in the observational record.

Heat exposure is already part of working life for most of the global labour force. An ILO report published in April 2026 estimates that 2.41 billion workers, around 71% of the world’s workforce, face excessive heat at work every year.

The health consequences are substantial. According to the World Health Organization, excessive occupational heat is associated with more than 22.85 million workplace injuries annually. It can contribute to dehydration, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, impaired kidney function and neurological problems.

Heat also affects concentration, judgement and physical capacity. This can increase the risk of errors and accidents even before a worker develops a recognised heat-related illness.

Heat cannot be measured with an ordinary thermometer alone

Air temperature tells only part of the story.

Humidity, direct sunlight, wind, clothing, protective equipment and the physical intensity of the job all affect the heat absorbed by the human body. This is why occupational health specialists use the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature, or WBGT, to assess heat stress.

WHO reports that worker productivity declines by approximately 2–3% for every degree that WBGT rises above 20°C. Around 30% of workers who are regularly exposed to workplace heat stress report productivity losses.

The ILO has also projected that, by 2030, heat stress could cause the loss of 2.2% of total working hours worldwide, the equivalent of 80 million full-time jobs.

The hottest season is therefore not only a health issue. It is a question of working time, income, productivity and decent work. WageIndicator’s Decent Work Check offers a broader framework for examining whether working conditions meet basic labour standards.

Three ways countries are adapting working hours

National approaches show that there is no single model for organising work during extreme heat.

Qatar: a seasonal ban combined with a heat threshold

Qatar prohibits work at exposed sites from 1 June to 15 September, between 10:00 and 15:30. Employers must also stop work whenever WBGT exceeds 32.1°C, even outside the prohibited hours.

The country’s heat-stress protection rules also require training, appropriate protective equipment and annual health checks.

This combines a predictable seasonal schedule with a real-time scientific threshold.

United Arab Emirates: a fixed midday break

In 2026, the United Arab Emirates implemented its Occupational Heat Stress Prevention Policy for the twenty-second consecutive year.

Under the policy, work in open areas and under direct sunlight is prohibited between 12:30 and 15:00, from 15 June to 15 September.

This fixed midday break is simple to communicate and inspect. However, fixed calendar dates alone may become less sufficient as severe heat occurs earlier, later or outside the traditional summer season.

Spain: working time linked to weather warnings

Spain follows a more flexible, warning-based approach. Employers must assess risks caused by adverse weather and may need to prohibit certain tasks during dangerous hours.

When meteorological authorities issue an orange or red warning, and existing preventive measures cannot adequately protect workers, employers are required to adapt working conditions. This can include reducing or changing scheduled working hours.

This approach connects working-time decisions to the actual level of risk rather than relying only on fixed summer dates.

Spain also has a familiar social and commercial rhythm that is relevant to this discussion. The midday pause commonly associated with the siesta is not a statutory heat break and should not be confused with the legal obligation above. However, Spain’s official tourism portal notes that, although continuous shop opening from 10:00 to 21:00 is now common, some shops close between 14:00 and 17:00, especially in summer.

That pattern is not universal. Major shopping centres and department stores generally stay open throughout the day, while shops in large cities and tourist areas may keep longer hours. The example nevertheless shows how seasonal commercial schedules can move some activity away from part of the hottest period, even when they arise from a mixture of meal customs, local practice and business choice rather than occupational-safety law.

From a labour perspective, the distinction matters: a midday closure is protective only if workers are genuinely able to rest. If it merely creates a split shift and extends the working day later into the evening, its effect on working time, pay and work–life balance may be very different.

Are shorter hot-season hours a form of holiday?

No. Heat-related breaks, modified shifts and work stoppages should not be confused with paid annual leave.

Annual leave gives workers time for rest and personal life. Heat measures prevent injury during periods when work would otherwise be unsafe. Deducting heat-related stoppages from a worker’s holiday entitlement would transfer the cost of occupational risk from the employer or society to the worker.

Similarly, moving all lost hours into longer evening or weekend shifts may reproduce the same health and fatigue risks in a different part of the day.

The connection between the workweek, overtime and compensation for Sundays or public holidays can already be seen in WageIndicator’s recent explanation of changes to working time in Colombia. Heat protection adds another layer: hours may need to be reorganised for safety as well as for compliance with ordinary working-time limits.

The key questions are therefore:

• Are heat-related rest breaks paid?
• Do hourly and informal workers retain their income?
• Are contractors, migrant workers and platform workers covered?
• Can workers report unsafe heat without retaliation?
• Will reduced hours lead to unsafe overtime later?

These questions are especially important in the gig economy, where responsibility for occupational risks may be less visible. WageIndicator’s Platform Economy resources explain the wider rights challenges facing workers whose jobs are organised through digital platforms.

Who bears the time cost?

Not every worker can respond to heat by working remotely or choosing a different shift. Agricultural workers, construction workers, street vendors, delivery workers, fishers, factory workers and people working in hot kitchens or warehouses often have far less control over their schedules.

Schedule changes may also interact with unpaid care responsibilities. As WageIndicator explored in Who Really Works More? Rethinking Working Time through a Gender Lens, paid working hours do not capture all the time people spend on household and caregiving work.

A shift moved from midday to early morning or evening may be safer from a heat perspective while creating new transport, childcare or personal-safety challenges. Heat policies therefore need worker participation, not only technical instructions.

What should a hot-season working-time plan include?

The WHO–WMO guidance on workplace heat stress recommends occupational heat-action programmes adapted to local climates, industries and worker vulnerabilities.

For employers and policymakers, a credible plan should include:

• Heat-risk assessments based on WBGT and the physical intensity of each job;
• Earlier or later shifts for physically demanding tasks;
• Regular work-rest cycles in shaded, ventilated or cooled areas;
• Accessible drinking water and adequate sanitation;
• Gradual acclimatisation for new and returning workers;
• Training to identify heat exhaustion and heatstroke;
• Emergency procedures and access to medical assistance;
• Protection for indoor workers exposed to furnaces, kitchens, factories, warehouses or poorly ventilated buildings;
• Income protection when work must be reduced or stopped;
• Worker and trade-union participation in designing heat policies.

In April 2026, ILO experts representing governments, employers and workers also agreed on the need for evidence-based exposure thresholds, stronger occupational health surveillance and documented workplace risk assessments. Their conclusions on extreme weather and occupational safety are expected to inform future national and workplace policies.

From seasonal holidays to climate-smart working time

There is no universal winner in a comparison between summer and winter holiday days. Annual leave laws, public holiday calendars and actual leave-taking practices differ too widely, and the seasons themselves are reversed across hemispheres.

But there is a clear global trend: the hottest season is changing the organisation of work.

The future of working time will require more than counting holiday days. It will require schedules that respond to real heat exposure, protect earnings and recognise that rest during dangerous temperatures is a safety measure, not a privilege.

Use WageIndicator’s Labour Law information and country directory to check national rules on working hours, annual leave, public holidays and workplace protections.