TUC - Number of Black and ethnic minority workers doing nightshifts has “skyrocketed” by 360,000 over the last decade

Further, night workers face safety risks when travelling to and from shifts, particularly women.  

Employment Rights Bill will help night workers 

The TUC says the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill will lead to real improvements in working conditions for those doing regular night shifts. 

Night workers are twice as likely to be on zero-hours contracts. 

Under the government’s plans exploitative ZHCs will be banned. And workers will be given compensation if their shifts are cancelled at the last minute. 

According to the Department for Business and Trade, cleaners working night shifts – on an average annual wage of £21,058 – are among those who are set to gain new protections worth an extra £600 a year.   

Commenting on the challenges faced by night workers, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: 

“We all owe Britain’s night workers a huge debt for keeping the country running while the rest of us are asleep.   

“They do vital work. But too many night workers are on insecure contracts that can often lead to exploitation, excessive fatigue and a breakdown of personal relationships. 

“And it is no coincidence that the burden of nightwork now disproportionally falls on Black and ethnic minority workers. This is the result of persistent structural inequalities in our labour market. 

“The government’s landmark Employment Rights Bill will bring real benefits and protections for night workers – including a ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts and compensation for cancelled shifts. 
 
“Further, the Bill will ensure that workers have a stronger voice in the workplace – which can include proper consultation of workers around shift patterns they are expected to take on.”   

Sian Moore, Professor of Work and Employment, Anglia Ruskin University, said:  

“Scientific research shows that night work has significant impacts on workers’ physical and mental health.  

“Our interviews with night workers show that they are sleep deprived and permanently fatigued, with insufficient time for recovery between shifts and recovery eating into workers’ own time.  

“Women worked nights to enable them to take and collect children to and from school and in order to avoid childcare costs. There were reports of parents swapping children in car parks between their shifts.  

“Yet nightwork has negative effects on relationships with partners and children and on social lives.  

“Those on night shifts may be lone workers and thus face significant risk, including dealing with violence.  

“Many night workers are not paid extra or sufficiently to compensate them for these risks, which have particular impacts as workers get older.” 
 

ENDS