Night Workers Assessment
A night worker is an employee who is scheduled to work at least 3 hours of their daily working time during night time on the majority of days on which they are scheduled to work. Night time is defined as the period between 11pm and 6am.
The Working Time Regulations 1999 provide workers with certain entitlements. These include special protection for night workers who must be offered free and confidential health assessments prior to commencing work, on a regular basis, or as appropriate to the individual. Although it is not mandatory that employees take up this offer, it gives an opportunity for the employee to report any health concerns or medical conditions that may be not be compatible with night work or exacerbated by working night time hours.
New employees or those transferring from days should as a minimum complete a Night Workers Medical Questionnaire preferably before they start.
A night workers screening questionnaire forms part of the night workers risk assessment. This may also involve a telephone consultation should there be any concerns with regards to the information provided on the night worker questionnaire, to ensure that a full overview of health is obtained. Employees are only referred for a medical in the event of any medical trigger points being acknowledged.
If an employee does suffer from one or more health conditions, it does not necessarily mean that they are unsuitable for night working. During the assessment, issues may be identified along with all risk factors. The employer will be provided with advice to ensure any issues highlighted can be managed effectively and that the employee's health is not put at risk and other people’s safety remains unaffected.
www.gov.uk/night-working-hours/health-assessments
Citi Health provides this service, should you wish to receive any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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