Glossary · UK
What is Night Worker Rights?
Statutory protections under the Working Time Regulations for employees who regularly work at least three hours during the night period, including a limit on average night working hours and a right to free health assessments.
Full Definition
A "night worker" under the Working Time Regulations 1998 is someone who normally works at least three hours of their daily working time during the "night period" -- defined by default as 11pm to 6am, though employers and workers can agree a different seven-hour period covering midnight, as long as it always includes the hours between midnight and 5am. Someone qualifies as a night worker either because their contract specifies night work, or because, as a matter of fact, they regularly work night hours as described, even if their contract is silent on the point. Night workers are entitled to a maximum average working time of 8 hours in any 24-hour period, calculated over a reference period (usually 17 weeks, though this can be varied by collective or workforce agreement), rather than an absolute daily cap -- meaning occasional longer night shifts are permitted provided the average across the reference period does not exceed 8 hours. Workers whose night work involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain, as identified by a risk assessment, are subject to a stricter absolute 8-hour limit with no averaging permitted at all. Employers must offer night workers a free health assessment before they start night work, and at regular intervals afterwards (commonly annually, though there is no fixed statutory frequency beyond "regular"), to check whether the worker is fit to continue night working; a worker's response to a health questionnaire can itself satisfy this requirement in many cases, without a full medical examination being needed each time. Where a registered medical practitioner advises that a worker's health is being affected by night work, the employer must, wherever possible, transfer them to suitable day work. Night workers retain all other Working Time Regulations rights on the same basis as day workers, including rest breaks, weekly rest periods, and statutory annual leave, and young workers (under 18) are generally prohibited from night work altogether, subject to narrow exceptions.