Night Work & Health: Regulations for Worker Safety

Posted on Mar 25, 2025 in Law & Jurisprudence

Health Assessment and Transfer of Night Workers

Member States shall take the necessary measures to:

  1. Night workers receive a free health assessment before their assignment and thereafter at regular intervals.
  2. Night workers suffering from health problems, whose relationship with night work is recognized, are transferred whenever possible to day work to which they are suited.

Guarantees for Night Work

Member States may subject certain categories of night workers to specific guarantees, under conditions laid down by national legislation and/or practice, when the night work involves a hazard to the safety or health of workers performing it.

Protecting Social Security

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure:

  1. Night workers and shift workers have a level of health and safety protection appropriate to the nature of their work.
  2. Services or facilities providing protective and preventive safety and health for night workers and shift workers are equivalent to those applicable to other workers and are available at all times.

Pattern of Work

Member States shall take steps to ensure that an employer who intends to organize work according to a certain pattern takes account of the general principle of adapting work to the person. This is to alleviate monotonous and rhythmic work, depending on the type of activity, and requirements for safety and health, especially regarding breaks during work time.

More Specific Community Provisions

These provisions do not apply to the extent that other Community instruments contain more specific requirements concerning the organization of working time in relation to certain occupations or occupational activities.

More Favorable Provisions

These provisions are without prejudice to the right of Member States to apply or introduce laws, regulations, or administrative provisions more favorable to the protection of the safety and health of workers, or to facilitate or permit the application of collective agreements or agreements between social partners that are more conducive to protecting the safety and health of workers.

Reference Period

Member States may provide for:

  1. Implementation of the article on weekly rest period of reference not exceeding 14 days.
  2. Implementation of the article on maximum weekly working time, a reference period not exceeding four months. The periods of paid annual leave, granted in accordance with Article 7, and periods of sick leave are not taken into account or be neutral in the calculation of the average.
  3. Implementation of the article on the duration of night work, a reference period defined after consultation of social partners through collective agreements or agreements concluded at national or regional level between social partners. If the minimum period of 24 hours weekly rest required by the article on the rest day falls within that period, it will not be taken into account in calculating the average.

Exceptions

While respecting the general principles of protection of safety and health of workers, a Member State may not apply Article 6, provided they take steps to ensure that:

  1. No employer requires a worker to work more than 48 hours over a period of seven days, calculated as an average reference period mentioned in point b) of Article 16, unless they have obtained the consent of the worker to perform such work.
  2. No worker may be prejudiced by the fact that they are not willing to consent to perform such work.