Yes it was very hot in my building, around 33C, but also we cannot open the windows because they are fixed, and the building was designed with built-in air conditioning. So even if you have fans or even if the temperature is not so hot, you are continually breathing the same air, the Carbon Dioxide level goes up and it can be quite dangerous.

When we came in yesterday, the air conditioning was off, so our Union people approached the management and agreed a cut-off time to get it working, which they did. However, it wasn't able to clean up the backlog of stale air and we got sent home mid afternoon.

Today only one of two motors was working, and that was struggling as a result, and struggling motors take huge amounts of electricity. As we are dependent on an internal computer network, it was felt that if the one motor was forced to cope, along with our computer system and fans around the office, we could overload our electricity supply.

Three requirements to get sent home in extreme heat:

1 - Trade Union
2 - Good shop steward or Health and Safety Officer

or

3 - Managers who put staff above business needs when the situation calls for it.

You need 1+2 or 3, but it's better if you have all three, and in my place we do.