Heatwave jobs: rescheduling scripts that keep customers onside

The UK has no legal maximum temperature for work. That does not make a loft at two in the afternoon safe.

On a hot day a roof space can be far hotter than the air outside. Up on a roof you have direct sun and hot surfaces, and you are a long way from the ground if you come over dizzy.

Customers understand heat. What they do not forgive is finding out at 8am that you are not coming.

• Check the forecast two days ahead, not on the morning.
• Move start times earlier.
• Set your own cut-offs for loft and roof work, and stick to them.
• Swap hot jobs for cool ones where the diary allows.
• Message customers the day before with a new time or date.

The coolest working hours are the first ones. A 7am start gets four good hours in before the worst of the heat.

Ask the customer first, and think about the neighbours if the work is noisy.

Then finish early. Pushing on through the afternoon to make up time is how mistakes and accidents happen.

Decide now, while it is cool, what you will and will not do. For example:

• Loft and roof-space work: finished by 10am on a hot day, or moved.
• Roof work in direct sun: mornings only, and not at all when there is an extreme heat warning.
• Outdoor work: shade, water and a break every hour.

Use your own numbers. The point is that the decision is already made when a customer is pressing you to carry on.

Heat changes materials too. Sealants, adhesives, paint and mortar can all cure too fast or fail in hot sun, so sometimes the job is better done on a cooler day anyway.

Look at the week as a whole. Indoor ground-floor jobs can take the hot afternoons. Loft, roof and south-facing outdoor work take the early mornings or move to next week.

A customer offered a swap, such as 7am tomorrow in place of 1pm today, usually takes it.

Forecasts give several days' notice of a hot spell. Use it.

Message the day before with the reason and a firm new slot. One clear message is enough.

Give the safety reason plainly. "It will be too hot in your loft to work safely" is better than a vague "something has come up".

Keep water in the van, more than you think you need. Wear a hat and sun cream for outdoor work.

Know the signs of heat exhaustion: headache, dizziness, feeling sick, cramps. Stop, get into the shade and drink. It gets worse quickly if you carry on.

You are the business. A day lost to heat costs less than a week lost to a fall.

• Write your hot-weather limits down.
• Check the forecast against next week's diary.
• Mark the loft, roof and full-sun jobs.
• Save the two messages below on your phone.

Earlier start:

Hi [name], it is forecast to be very hot on [day]. To do the job properly and safely I would like to start at 7am, not [time]. Is that OK with you?

Moving the job:

Hi [name], with the heat forecast for [day] it will not be safe to work [in your loft / on your roof] that afternoon. I can do [day] at [time] or [day] at [time]. Sorry for the change. I would rather move it than rush it.