If employees are working very long hours or shift work what are the implications under duty of care?
The issue of long hours or shift work for duty of care is whether or not employees or other people in the workplace are at risk of injuring themselves or others at the workplace. An employer may be in breach of his or her Section 8 OHS 2001 Act obligation to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all employees if this is the case. An employer, under this general duty, must ensure that the systems of work and the working environment of the employees are safe and without risks to health. For example, if employees operate machinery through long hours, this may lead to fatigue which could increase the probability of an accident occurring. To meet their duty of care, employers should identify the risks which long hours or shift work may raise and implement control strategies to remove or minimise the risks.
