Do your Employees Need Night Work Assessments
Night workers are employees who regularly work at least three hours at night, usually between 11pm and 6am. As an employer you have a duty of care to make sure that your employees who work at night, do not have health problems that will be aggravated by their hours of work
Why do we need Night Workers Assessment
To comply with The Working Time Regulations 1999 employers are required to offer Night Worker Health Assessments at the start of employment and then yearly. This is to ensure employees with medical conditions are not affected with working shifts and in particular night work. Medical conditions that can be aggravated with shift work include
- Endocrine problems
- Epilepsy
- Heart disease
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Mental illness
- Sleep problems
What does a Night Worker Assessment involve?
The employee completes a Night Worker Questionnaire which is screened by an occupational health nurse. If there are medical conditions that may be affected then the nurse will follow this up with a telephone assessment. A certificate of fitness with any recommendations is issued to both the company and the employee.
Do all Night Workers require an Assessment?
Although the employer has to offer the Night Worker Health Assessment the employee can decline the offer if they wish. If the employee does not participate in the assessment then the employer will not be aware if there are health issues that need to be addressed so it is in the employee’s best interest to participate