What are the legal rights of night workers in relation to working hours?
Adult workers cannot be required to work at night for more than an average eight hours in any 24-hour period, calculated over a reference period of 17 consecutive weeks (which may be extended in prescribed circumstances to a reference period of 26 or 52 weeks). With some exceptions, young workers under the age of 18 must not be permitted to work at night between 10 pm and 6 am or, if their contract requires them to work after 10 pm, between 11 pm and 7 am. Adult workers assigned to night work have the right to free health assessments; while young workers have the right to free health and capabilities assessments. On a doctor’s advice, any worker experiencing health problems associated with night work must, if possible, be transferred to day work.
