Late closes, overnight hotel shifts and early bakery starts all take a toll on the body. Under the Working Time Regulations, a night worker regularly works at least three hours during the night period, and their normal hours shouldn't exceed an average of eight in each twenty-four, calculated over a reference period. Employers must offer night workers a free health assessment before they start and regularly after that. Beyond the law, the science is clear that disrupted sleep affects mood, judgement, appetite and long-term health.
Practical help includes stable rotas rather than constant swapping between days and nights, safe ways to get home after public transport stops, healthy food on shift, and enough rest between a late finish and the next start. Night porters and lone overnight staff also need proper lone working arrangements. Respecting sleep is one of the cheapest ways to reduce mistakes and sickness.
What we ask on the show
- How does working nights change your life outside work?
- What do employers owe staff who get home at 3am?
- Can you ever really adjust to night shifts?
- Are health assessments for night workers taken seriously?