Posted By Malcolm Greenhouse I seem to recall that before a person can work nights they must have a health check. Once on nights the person can ask for a health check yearly. Can anyone point me in the direction of the regulations/ACOP that clarifies this please?

Posted By Ken Taylor It's the Working Time Regulations, Malcolm and you only have to offer them the health check and they don't have to have one if they decline. We give ours a questionnaire asking whether they suffer from certain health conditions, etc and our head of nursing care then assesses whether to refer them to our occupational health doctor.

Posted By George Wedgwood A quick resume for reference is below; WORKING TIME REGULATIONS SECTION 4: HEALTH ASSESSMENTS FOR NIGHT WORKERS • If you are an employer you must offer night workers a free health assessment before they start working nights and on a regular basis while they are working nights. In many cases it will be appropriate to do this once a year, though employers can offer a health assessment more than once a year if they feel it is necessary. • Workers do not have to take the opportunity to have a health assessment (but it must be offered by the employer). • A health assessment can be made up of two parts: a questionnaire and a medical examination. The latter is only necessary if the employer has doubts about the worker’s fitness for night work. • Employers should get help from a suitably qualified health professional when devising and assessing the questionnaire. This could be from a doctor or nurse who understands how night working might affect health. • The health assessment should take into account the type of work that will be done and the restrictions on the worker’s working time under the regulations. • If a worker suffers from problems which are caused or made worse by night work, the employer should transfer him or her to day work if possible. • New and expectant mothers should be given special consideration. • Special consideration should be given to young workers’ suitability for night work, taking account of their physique, maturity and experience. Employers must check: • How to conduct the health assessment. • How often health checks should be carried out. • Whether any workers should be transferred to day work. • What records need to be kept [more]. More detailed information To be sure workers are fit for night work, employers must offer a free health assessment to anyone who is about to start working nights and to all night workers on a regular basis. Health and working at night Every employer should regularly assess the health and safety risks to which their workers are exposed. They should identify hazards, assess how harmful they could be and take steps to reduce any risks. We simply contract the check out and provide every night worker with a health screening form to fill out if they wish. In practice only a few are returned for scrutiny by our health service provider and none so far have thrown up any problems.