Sunday working and night working

The rules about working at night

If any of your workers do night work - even casual, freelance and agency workers - there are special regulations you must comply with.

The regulations define night time as the period between 11pm and 6am, though this can be slightly varied by agreement between you and your workers. A night worker is someone who regularly works for at least three hours during this period.

In general, night workers:

• should not work more than an average of eight hours in a 24-hour period, averaged over 17 weeks
• can't opt out from this limit unless it is allowed for by a collective workforce agreement, although in a number of cases you can average night work over a 26-week period - read about exceptions to the Working Time Regulations at the DTI website 
• must be offered a free health assessment before they start working nights and on a regular basis after that (a follow-up examination by a health professional should be provided where necessary) - see a sample health questionnaire at the DTI website

For some workers - those dealing with special hazards or under mental and physical strain - there can be no averaging at all - the eight-hour daily limit is absolute.

In general workers under 18 are not permitted to work at night. There are quite a few exceptions though. Find out about special night work limits for young people at the DTI website and read our guide on employing young people.

It is your responsibility to comply with the night work regulations. You should keep records to ensure workers don't exceed their night working limit and records of your night workers' health assessments for two years or, if they didn't accept the offer, record when it was made.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• The rules about working on Sunday
• The rules about working at night
• Shift working involving Sunday/night work
• Terms and conditions for Sunday and night workers

 

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