Under the  Working Time  Regulations Night Workers have the following rights:

there is a limit of an average of 8 hours work in 24 which night workers can be required to work.

•  Free health assessments.

•  11 hours rest a day.

•  A day off each week.

•  An in-work rest break if the working day is longer than six hours.

•  Four weeks paid leave per year.

Where a night worker’s work involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain, there is an absolute limit of eight hours on the worker’s working time each day – this is not an average.

Work will involve a special hazard if it is identified as such by agreement between an employer and workers in a collective agreement or workforce agreement; or as posing a significant risk by a risk assessment which an employer has conducted under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992.

 

Night Worker

A night worker is someone who normally works at least three hours at night.

 

Working Hours

Night workers should not work more than eight hours daily on average, not including overtime except guaranteed overtime.

 

Night Time

Night time is the period between 11pm and 6am, though employers and workers can choose a different period. If they do, it must be at least seven hours long and include the period from midnight to 5 am. Nightly working time is calculated over 17 weeks. This can be longer in some situations.

 

Health Assessments

Night Workers must be offered a free health assessment before they start working nights and on a regular basis while they are working nights. In many cases it will be appropriate to do this once a year.

A health assessment can be made up of two parts: a questionnaire and a medical examination. The latter is only necessary if the employer has doubts about the worker’s fitness for night work.

Employers should get help from a suitably qualified health professional when devising and assessing the questionnaire. This could be from a doctor or nurse who understands how night working might affect health.