Workplace Report November 2017

Health & safety news

Protections for night staff 


The TUC has called for strong rights and protections to safeguard the health and safety and work-life balance of night workers, whose numbers are on the rise.


The TUC’s demand came after its new analysis found that the number of people regularly working nights has shot up by more than a quarter of a million (260,000) over the past five years. As a result of the 9% increase, nearly 3.2 million or one in 9 (12%) workers now work at night and that figure increases to one in six (18%) black workers. 


“Night work can play havoc with family and social life, and have long-term health impacts,” said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady. 


“Many of the jobs are tough and often solitary. That’s why night workers deserve strong rights and protections at work, to make sure they can get on with the job safely and happily.”


Night-working should only be introduced where necessary, and no existing workers should be forced to work nights, says the TUC. 


It also calls for shift patterns to be negotiated between unions and employers, and for workers to have some control over their rotas and sufficient notice of their shift patterns so they can plan well in advance. Changes at short notice should be avoided and as working nights leads to extra costs and inconvenience for workers, especially around childcare, night work wages should reflect this.


www.tuc.org.uk/news/260000-more-people-working-night-past-five-years-finds-tuc