Following is a question by the Hon Lam Wai-kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (October 28):

Question: 

     As extremely hot weather has become increasingly frequent, the Labour Department (LD) has earlier on announced further enhancements to the Heat Stress at Work Warning (Heat Warning) system, including lowering the threshold for triggering the Heat Warning in extremely high temperatures. However, workers engaging in frontline outdoor work and working in high-temperature environments have relayed that, while the latest mechanism has enhanced the sensitivity of the warning and increased the frequency with which higher-level warnings are issued, it still fails to accurately reflect the actual heat stress levels in specific working environments (such as construction sites and restaurant kitchens). Furthermore, as the Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work (GN) lack legal effect, it is difficult to enforce the rest periods for employees stipulated in the GN. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the LD has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of cases of employees suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion or even sudden death while working in hot weather over the past three years (from 2023 to 2025); among these, of the respective numbers of cases successfully confirmed as "work injury" and covered under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance; if so, the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) as there are views that the latest enhancements to the Heat Warning system still underestimate the heat stress levels experienced by workers who are directly exposed to the sun while working outdoors, whether the Government will consider enacting legislation to make it mandatory for employers to carry out on-site heat stress risk assessments for their employees (particularly in outdoor high-temperature workplaces or in workplaces lacking air conditioning, such as restaurant kitchens and food processing factories); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) given that even with the lowering of the threshold for triggering the Heat Warning, frontline workers may still be forced to work in high temperatures due to the need to catch up with the construction schedule and are unable to enjoy the rest periods stipulated in the GN, whether the Government will consider conferring legal status on the GN to enhance their effect; whether it will consider establishing clearer legal liabilities for employers in cases where they require workers to work in high temperatures on the grounds of catching up with the construction schedule, resulting in workers having to stop work, be hospitalised or even die due to heat stroke; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) as it is learnt that the LD currently conducts inspections and institutes prosecutions against employers who fail to provide appropriate heat stroke preventive measures under the general duty clauses of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509), of the specific numbers of prosecutions, inspections and convictions over the past three years (from 2023 to 2025); and

(5) as the GN lack specific standards for heat stroke preventive equipment for outdoor workers, whether the Government will draw up clear safety specifications for outdoor heat stroke preventive equipment; whether it will consider including mandatory clauses in government public works contracts and outsourced service contracts across various departments, requiring contractors to provide outdoor workers with heat stroke preventive equipment that meets the specifications?

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the Hon Lam Wai-kong's question is as follows:

(1) The numbers of heat stress-related work injury cases registered by the Labour Department (LD) from 2023 to 2025 are tabulated below. There was no death case during the period.
 

Year	2023	2024	2025
Number of cases	31	29	33

     Among the aforesaid 93 cases, most of them have been settled after the employers paid compensation (65 cases), or the employers and employees had reached a private settlement (3 cases). In 17 cases, employees withdrew or did not pursue their claims further. Seven cases are still being processed, while the remaining case did not fall under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.

(2) The LD launched the Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work (GN) and established the Heat Stress at Work Warning (HSWW) system based on the Hong Kong Heat Index in 2023 to help employers and employees formulate appropriate heat stroke preventive measures in response to the territory-wide general heat stress level reflected by the HSWW and the risk assessment of individual workplaces, based on the risk-based principle and thorough consultation, thereby reducing the risk of employees suffering from heat stroke at work.

     The HSWW system indicates the territory-wide heat stress level using the same principle as internationally commonly used methods, which comprehensively assesses the territory-wide heat stress risk level by combining various factors such as temperature, humidity, air movement and radiant heat. The LD has continuously enhanced the HSWW system, including establishing the linkage between the Amber HSWW and the "Extremely Hot Weather" Special Alert issued by the Hong Kong Observatory in 2024, adjusting the cancellation mechanism of HSWW to avoid re-issuance of warning within a short time after cancellation, and including data from more locations to adjust the criteria for issuing the HSWW to enhance the sensitivity and coverage of the system in April 2026. In the end of August 2026, the LD further enhanced the system by introducing additional triggering conditions and a level-raising mechanism on top of its original functions to enhance the warning alert under abnormally high temperatures.

     The GN is applicable to work that needs to be carried out under hot weather or in high-temperature environments, such as work conducted in outdoor locations without shelters and work conducted in indoor locations without air-conditioning system installed. Employers should conduct risk assessments of the heat stress faced by employees working at these locations, and take effective preventive measures according to the assessment results. The prevailing GN has clearly indicated that, due to the special circumstances of the workplace (e.g. geographical location, working environment), if employers believe the HSWW does not fully reflect the real-time risk of heat stress posed to employees at work by the weather conditions or environment in the workplace, they have the responsibility to make assessment accordingly, such as seeking occupational health professionals to measure the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index at the workplace for evaluating the level of heat stress faced by the employees, and taking corresponding preventive measures including risk management, control strategy and provision of personal protective equipment based on the results to reduce the risk of heat stroke at work. The LD will continue to review the operation of the system for prevention of heat stroke at work and make improvements when necessary to safeguard the occupational safety and health of employees.

(3) Under the general duty clauses of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO) (Cap. 509), employers are required to provide or maintain a working environment and systems of work that are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health. Therefore, employers are required to conduct risk assessments on the heat stress of employees at work, and take appropriate measures based on the assessment results to prevent employees from getting heat stroke at work. The GN outline various factors that employers have to consider when conducting heat stress risk assessments for employees, including work environment, work nature and personal factors, and introduces preventive and control measures that are applicable to different risk factors. It helps employers implement appropriate preventive and control measures according to the actual work situation in order to reduce the risk of heat stroke posed to employees working in hot environments. 

     Employers may face prosecution if they endanger the health of employees without providing suitable heat stroke prevention measures. The LD will continue to step up inspections targeting workplaces with a higher risk of heat stroke (including those for workers in the construction and catering services industries) and enhance enforcement actions, coupled with enhanced publicity and education, to ensure that employers have taken appropriate measures to prevent employees from suffering heat stroke at work.

(4) From 2023 to 2025, the LD conducted a total of 21 493, 23 620 and 23 054 inspections respectively related to risk control measures against heat stress during summer and issued 993, 1 031 and 708 warning letters to relevant stakeholders. The warnings were mainly related to failure to conduct a heat stress risk assessment in accordance with the GN to ensure the implemented heat stroke preventive measures are appropriate and effective, failure to keep records of heat stress risk assessment, or failure to take adequate preventive measures to reduce the risk of heat stroke at work. We did not find any serious contravention in the period of inspection that warranted prosecution under the general duty provisions of the OSHO. We believe that most employers recognise the need to prevent their employees from getting heat stroke at work and are willing to take necessary measures against heat stress in accordance with the recommendations in the GN. However, as climate change is expected to bring more frequent and higher heat stress conditions, the LD will make corresponding adjustment on the actions of surprise inspections and review whether the enforcement thresholds need to be adjusted. 

(5) The risk of heat stroke for employees working in hot weather or high-temperature environments depends on multiple risk factors, such as environmental temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, workload, employees' clothing, personal health status and the acclimatisation to work in a hot environment. To effectively prevent heat stroke at work, employers should, based on the risk assessment results of individual workplaces, adopt a series of control measures, including engineering controls (such as setting up shade covers, providing ventilation and heat dissipation equipment), administrative control (such as rescheduling work periods, job rotation and rest arrangements) and personal protection (such as providing cooling vests and sun protection clothing). Currently, there are no widely recognised and unified safety specifications or standards internationally for outdoor heat stroke preventive equipment. The LD will continue to monitor the latest international developments in the prevention of heat stroke at work, including new technologies for heat stroke preventive equipment and related standards.

     Since 2023, the Government requires tenderers bidding for relevant government service contracts to submit a Heat Stroke Prevention Work Plan for non-skilled workers to safeguard the occupational safety and health of workers. Currently, various government departments have incorporated heat prevention requirements into government service contracts, such as requiring outsourced service suppliers to adopt work uniforms featuring breathable and sweat-wicking functions, and providing portable waist fans to outdoor working staff.

Ends/Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:46

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