HSE ‘overlooking night workers’

Posted 31/05/2009

Many night workers in the UK could be at greater risk of personal injury at work, an academic has suggested.

According to Professor Andrew Watterson of Stirling University, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not tend to inspect employees who work nocturnally.

This means that some companies may be less inclined to comply with strict laws on safeguarding the health and safety of their workforce.

As a result, night workers could be more likely to experience personal injury or industrial disease than their counterparts who work in the daytime.

“There are no routine graveyard shift health and safety inspections by the HSE’s 1,300 workplace inspectors,” Professor Watterson told the Daily Record.

He added that the watchdog is also ignoring evidence that working at night can cause a number of health problems.

According to figures from the HSE, there are more than 3.5 million shift workers in the UK, many of whom are in sectors such as manufacturing, transport and the emergency services.