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A new report published today (Wednesday) by the TUC, A Hard Day’s Night, shows that night working has grown since the recession, and there are now over three million employees who are regular night-workers in the UK.

The report highlights the evidence that night working can have a negative impact on work-life balance and family life.

5 August 2015

A new report published today (Wednesday) by the TUC, A Hard Day’s Night, shows that night working has grown since the recession, and there are now over three million employees who are regular night-workers in the UK.

The report highlights the evidence that night working can have a negative impact on work-life balance and family life.

Growth of night working

In 2014, there were 200,000 more night workers than in 2007 – a total of 3,168,000 people. This is an increase of 6.9 per cent between 2007 and 2014.

And the proportion of employees who are night workers is creeping up too. In 2007 it was 11.7 per cent of all employees, and it 2014 it had risen to 12.3 per cent.

It used to be that night workers were mainly men in manufacturing plants. Men are still more likely to be night workers. In 2014, 14.9 per cent of male employees were night workers, compared to 9.7 per cent of female employees.

However, the number of women working nights is growing at a much faster rate. Regular night working by women has increased by 12 per cent since 2007, as opposed to a 4 per cent increase for men. And the top two sectors for the total number of night workers are female dominated – care workers and nursing (including midwives).

Plans to increase public transport provision at night, and proposals for a seven-day NHS, are likely to lead to further increases in night work. And the greater availability of night-time transport may lead to more retail and leisure services adopting night opening.

The work-life balance impacts of night working

The TUC does not oppose night working, but argues that employers must properly consider and address the implications for staff. Decisions to extend night working should always involve consultation and negotiation with workers’ representatives to ensure fair and safe outcomes.

The negative health impacts of night work are already well-documented, such as heightened risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression. However, less attention has been given to the impacts on home life and relationships.

A Hard Day’s Night reviews the available research, which shows that night working can increase the risk of relationship problems, can affect the emotional wellbeing of a night worker’s children, and is associated with higher childcare costs. But the negative impacts of night working are less when employees have more influence and control over their shift patterns.

Fairness and safety for night workers

The TUC recommendations that:

  • Employers and unions should ensure that night working is only introduced where necessary.
  • Where night working is introduced into a workplace, no existing workers should be forced to work nights.
  • Shift patterns should be negotiated between unions and employers.
  • Workers should have some element of control over their rota, so that they can ensure that the shifts they work are best suited to their individual circumstances.
  • Workers should always have sufficient notice of their shift patterns so they can make arrangements well in advance. Changes at short notice should be avoided.
  • The remuneration paid to those working nights should properly reflect the likely additional costs of childcare and inconvenience that night shifts can entail.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We all value night workers, whether they are cleaning our office, caring for a sick relative or driving all night so that there are fresh goods in our local shop. But night work is hard and it disrupts family life. So we must show our appreciation for the sacrifices night workers make by ensuring they have sensible rights and protections.

“It’s not right for employers to require night working without adequate consultation and negotiation. With night work increasing, employers must play fair and play safe, or public safety will be put at risk and the families of night workers will suffer.

“We are publishing recommendations today to better protect the wellbeing of night workers, and help them give a better service to the public. We encourage the government and employers to positively engage with trade unions on fair and sensible rights for night workers, so that we continue to enjoy the social benefits night workers give us without harm to them or the public.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The full report A Hard Day’s Night can be found at https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/AHardDaysNight.pdf

Proportion of the employee workforce that usually works night shifts

Male

Female

Total

2007

14.4%

9.0%

11.7%

2014

14.9%

9.7%

12.3%

Proportion of the employee workforce that usually works night shifts by sector, 2014

Major occupation group (main job)

Male

Female

Total

Managers, Directors And Senior Officials

9.9%

7.8%

9.2%

Professional Occupations

8.7%

13.2%

11.1%

Associate Professional And Technical Occupations

15.6%

7.1%

12.0%

Administrative And Secretarial Occupations

7.4%

1.8%

3.1%

Skilled Trades Occupations

13.3%

5.9%

12.5%

Caring, Leisure And Other Service Occupations

29.6%

18.5%

20.5%

Sales And Customer Service Occupations

10.8%

5.9%

7.6%

Process, Plant And Machine Operatives

23.9%

13.2%

22.5%

Elementary Occupations

23.4%

10.9%

17.8%

Total employee workforce

14.9%

9.7%

12.3%

Top 15 sub-sectors of employment for number of night workers, 2014

Sub-occupation

Male

Female

Total

Caring Personal Services

108,807

341,522

450,329

Nursing and Midwifery Professionals

31,990

229,227

261,217

Elementary Services Occupations

121,890

88,217

210,107

Protective Service Occupations

151,971

41,425

193,396

Elementary Security Occupations

100,900

12,849

113,749

Road Transport Drivers

106,241

911

107,153

Health Professionals

51,822

43,251

95,073

Process Operatives

77,221

13,976

91,197

Sales Assistants and Retail Cashiers

47,804

40,100

87,905

Teaching and Educational Professionals

26,418

49,833

76,251

Elementary Storage Occupations

68,929

2,264

71,193

Food Preparation and Hospitality Trades

55,553

9,346

64,899

Elementary Process Plant Occupations

42,580

12,689

55,270

Machining, Fitting, Instrument Making Trades

52,462

848

53,310

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

- Case study from a member of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA):

David is a ticket officer and station assistant on London Underground. He already has shift patterns which can start as early as 5am, and finish as late as 1am. He currently works around 35 to 40 hours a week, with shifts being 7.5 hours long.

The changes London Underground Ltd (LUL) wants will not mean David working more hours, but will alter his shift pattern making him work more unsocial hours. On some days, he will also have to work longer shifts of 12 hours. Ticket staff like him are being reclassified as ‘supervisors’, meaning night shifts will be compulsory for them and they may also have to do solo staffing of some stations. Other new responsibilities will involve opening and closing stations, so this will likely mean earlier starts and later finishes.

David has three children aged 15 (boy), 12 (girl) and 4 (boy). His wife works evenings from 5pm to 9pm and he currently does a shift pattern that allows him to look after the children when his wife is at work. He feels he already has too little time with his wife, but this will get worse under the new terms that LUL is demanding. He currently takes his oldest boy to RAF cadets and his daughter to karate in the evenings, but with the changes that will be forced to his shift pattern he fears he will no longer be able to, so they may be to stop going. He is also worried that their childcare costs will go up. They may have to pay for evening childcare, which can be more expensive.

David is also worried about safety. One problem is that he could be required to work 7 shifts in a week, and he would only be guaranteed a 12 hour gap between an all-night shift and his next shift. He worries about handling the level of responsibility being put on him with that level of fatigue. He worries about situations like a person being taken ill on the platform, or a drunken disturbance, when he is tired-out and working a station alone. He also worries about the risk of verbal or physical abuse to staff, which he expects will happen more often on all-night services.

David said:

“London Underground wants to force big changes to the terms and conditions of staff like me without proper consultation. There will be new shift patterns, including compulsory all-night shifts and solo staffing at some stations.

 “It’s going to be terrible for my wife and kids. It will wreck our current childcare arrangements, and it will mean I see less of my kids. They’re growing up fast and I don’t want to miss out. I’m worried I’ll be too tired to spend quality time with them because of chopping and changing between early morning, late evening and all-night shifts.

“I don’t object to night working, but these things have to be done fairly. Anyone would feel the same if their boss suddenly expected them to work all night. I think a lot of it is politics – the Mayor shouldn’t have promised a start date for night trains before negotiating fair shift arrangements with staff. He doesn’t want to admit he messed up, so he’s making out we’re the ones to blame.”

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
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