Night work

A night worker is defined as someone who works at least three hours of their daily working time during the night time “as a normal course” (Regulation 6).

Night time is a period of at least seven hours, including the period between midnight and 5am, as laid down in an agreement or contract or, in the absence of such an agreement, the period between 11pm and 6am (Regulation 6). A night worker must not normally work more than eight hours in each 24-hour period when averaged over any period of 17 weeks (the reference period).

If the length of night work is altered or excluded by a collective or workforce agreement, compensatory rest must be made available. Mobile workers are excluded from the night work limits. Instead, they are entitled to “adequate rest”.

The Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2002 changed the definition of night working hours to include all overtime (rather than just guaranteed overtime) in the calculation of average night working limits.

Some sectors (including hospitals, agriculture, retail trading, hotels and catering businesses, bakeries, fisheries and postal and newspaper deliveries) are exempted from the night working restrictions because of their particular operational needs. Work in bars and restaurants is also exempted.