Breaks and Work Suspension in Cold and Hot Weather Conditions – Rules and Conditions

Breaks and Work Suspension in Cold and Hot Weather Conditions – Rules and Conditions



In recent days, we have been facing certain difficulties with arriving to work on time due to continuous rainfall. So, under what circumstances can an employee be absent from work due to weather conditions? Or in which cases is the employer obliged to suspend work or provide breaks because of the weather? Expert Nusrat Khalilov provides clarification on these issues.

According to Article 233 of the Labour Code, employees are entitled to breaks for warming up or suspension of work when working outdoors in low temperatures and strong winds, or in unheated indoor areas during the cold season. Employees must also be granted breaks or have work suspended under this article when working in hot and open-air environments with temperatures exceeding 41°C, or in enclosed but unheated buildings with temperatures below +14°C during the cold season.

These breaks are considered part of working hours, and wages during the breaks are paid based on the employees’ tariff salary. If work is suspended, the downtime is compensated as idle time not caused by the employee’s fault and paid at no less than two-thirds of their tariff salary.

According to paragraph 1 of Annex 2 to the Labour Code, all types of work must be halted when the temperature exceeds 41°C in open air or in enclosed buildings, rooms, and other workplaces without cooling equipment. When the temperature falls to -10°C or lower and wind speed exceeds 3 on the Beaufort scale, all types of work outdoors must be stopped or breaks must be provided for warming.

In areas where continuous production makes work stoppage impossible, shifts must be arranged to replace suspended work. These shift arrangements must be established by the employer with the consent of the trade union. Decisions on halting work, granting warming breaks, and determining the number and duration of such breaks are made jointly by the employer and the trade union. Paragraph 2 of the Annex states that when wind speed exceeds 6 on the Beaufort scale, all types of crane work on land must be stopped.

Work must be suspended during construction activities under the following conditions:

- When wind speed exceeds 2: during crane installation work;

- When wind speed exceeds 3: during the installation or dismantling of hoisting equipment;

- When wind speed exceeds 6: during formwork and timber work, including dismantling;

- When wind speed exceeds 3: during relocation of portable timber formworks.

When working at sea, work must be suspended under the following conditions:

- When wind speed exceeds 4: construction, installation, and dismantling work on individual platforms using crane vessels;

- When wind speed exceeds 4: loading and unloading barges and crane vessels near permanent offshore platforms and trestle areas;

- When wind speed exceeds 8: all work related to lifting tools from wells during drilling;

- When wind speed exceeds 6: operations at wells in use on permanent offshore platforms;

- When wind speed exceeds 6: major and routine underground well repairs at trestle areas on permanent offshore platforms;

- When wind speed exceeds 8: work on top of platform or trestle deck;

- When wind speed exceeds 8: work underneath the deck of the platform or trestle area;

- When wind speed exceeds 4: all types of welding with the seam in a downward position;

- When wind speed exceeds 3: all types of welding with the seam in a vertical position;

- When wind speed exceeds 3: all types of welding with the seam in an overhead position;

- When wind speed exceeds 5: construction and dismantling without floating means or equipment on individual platforms;

- When wind speed exceeds 4: crane installation work on trestles;

- When wind speed exceeds 5: pile driving using a pile driver;

- When wind speed exceeds 4: dismantling of marine oil and gas facilities;

- When wind speed exceeds 5: installation, dismantling, and raising (lowering) of derricks on permanent offshore platforms;

- When wind speed exceeds 5: repairs and replacement of the slide arms of the travelling block, suspension cable of the drawworks, roller or crane block in the derrick, equipment of the deadline anchor, depth measurements, and production testing in wells;

- When wind speed exceeds 5: raising derricks of mobile units for routine or major well repairs at trestle platforms;

- When wind speed exceeds 10: all works on the drilling rig except well flushing.