Tag: shift workers

World Sleep Day: Daunting data denotes dread for drowsy drivers

  • For World Sleep Day on Friday March 14, 2025, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) highlights the serious risks of drowsy driving, with over 430 people killed or seriously injured, and 1,276 collisions, linked to tiredness in 2023
  • RoSPA is working with the Fatigue Group, a non-profit organisation led by award-winning NHS anaesthetists, to provide advice to workers and their employers on managing the risk of fatigue, the importance of regular rest and recognising when people are too tired to drive
  • RoSPA also wants government to take actions including standardised tests for fatigue (similar to breathalyser tests), and public awareness campaigns targeting high risk groups such as shift workers
  • Spokespeople from RoSPA and the Fatigue Group are available for interview
World Sleep Day 2025

“If you’re tired, don’t drive” – that’s the message from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) ahead of this year’s World Sleep Day on March 14. The charity is raising awareness about the significant risks associated with drowsy driving, after over 430 people were killed or seriously injured, and there were 1,276 collisions, linked to tiredness in 2023.

RoSPA is working with the Fatigue Group, a non-profit organisation led by award-winning NHS anaesthetists, to raise awareness of the dangers of driving after working long hours. The Fatigue Group was formed after tragic incidents in which colleagues were killed while driving home exhausted.

The Group is continuing the work of the #fightfatigue campaign originally designed for NHS staff, although much of the advice will help anyone who works long hours or night shifts keep themselves and others safe.

These include the HALT principles, which advise against driving if you are Hungry, Angry, Late or Tired, and recommendations to take regular rest breaks at work.

Although the issue is particularly serious in the health service – with a recent Medical Defence Union (MDU) survey revealing that 90% of doctors feel sleep deprived at work – fatigue presents a risk across the entire workforce. That’s most apparent in physically demanding industries such as haulage and construction, but can also affect people putting in long hours at an office before driving home.

RoSPA emphasises that anyone who begins to feel tired when they are driving stop as soon as is safe and possible, and ideally try and find somewhere safe to sleep until they feel rested. Although two strong coffees and a 15 minute nap might help in the short-term, this should never be done more than once per journey.

RoSPA is also calling upon employers to ensure their staff are well rested and safe, for example by ensuring workers take regular breaks, and incorporating effective staff fatigue risk management in working patterns.

In addition, RoSPA wants the government to introduce standardised tests for assessing fatigue at the scene of road traffic collisions, similar to breathalyser tests for alcohol, establish a national registry of drowsy driving incidents, and run public awareness campaigns targeting high-risk groups such as shift workers.

The Fatigue Group advocates that healthcare organisations should have the same regulatory requirements for fatigue risk management as exist for all other safety-critical industries.

Caitlin Taylor, Road Safety Manager at RoSPA, said: “Drowsy driving is responsible for many serious and fatal collisions each year. Fatigue impairs driving ability similar to drink or drug driving but gets much less attention. This must change.

“Fatigue slows reaction times, reduces awareness, and affects decision-making, putting everyone at risk. RoSPA calls on employers, policymakers, and the government to act now by improving workplace fatigue management, investing in public awareness campaigns, and collecting better data on fatigue-related crashes. No one should lose their life due to preventable driver fatigue.” 

JP Lomas of The Fatigue Group said: “‘We have our own personal experience of the perils of driving while tired, having had colleagues die driving home after night shifts.

“Although not every journey ends in tragedy, the pressure on healthcare staff leads to many feeling forced to take risks, with research showing that 57% of trainees and 45% of consultants had experienced an accident or near miss driving tired post-shift.

“Working long hours without adequate rest breaks not only puts the patients they care for in danger – with evidence demonstrating that surgery performed at night or after hours is associated with higher mortality rates – but also other people outside of hospitals.

“With such a large number of tired employees on the roads all day and night, this is an urgent problem in the healthcare sector. We call for hospitals to provide dedicated rest time and spaces for staff.   

The so-called ‘hero’ culture where people continue working despite being exhausted for fear of looking ‘weak’ or letting others down, needs to be replaced by a safety culture where staff mitigate the impacts of fatigue with power naps and rest breaks.

“Our message is simple – getting enough rest is a necessity not a weakness, and could save lives.”

Almost two fifths of workers given less than a week’s notice of shifts

Close to two-fifths (37%) of UK workers in full or part-time employment are given less than a week’s notice of their shifts or work patterns, according to new research conducted by the Living Wage Foundation. 

The research – based on two surveys, of over 2,000 UK adults in each case – addresses a gap in the UK’s labour market data and understanding of hours insecurity, being the first recent study to assess notice periods for work schedules across the workforce.

The study found that among the 59% of workers whose job involves variable hours or shift work, over three-fifths (62%) reported having less than a week’s notice of their work schedules. At the extreme, 12% of this group – amounting to 7% all working adults – had less than 24 hours’ notice.  

While short notice periods affect workers throughout the UK, they are particularly common in London, where  almost half (48%) of all workers received less than a week’s notice of work schedules. Scotland (35%), the South of England excluding London (34%), and the North of England (33%)  are areas where short notice periods were less common.  

A second survey conducted by the Living Wage Foundation homed in on the experience of full-time, low-paid workers, finding that they were particularly hard hit by short notice of working hours.

Of those working full time and paid below the real Living Wage of £10.85 in London and £9.50 in the rest of the UK, more than half (55%) had less than a week’s notice of work schedules, with 15% having less than 24 hours’ notice. 

Low-paid, full-time workers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds (68% of whom had less than a week’s notice of work patterns) and those with children (64%) were also disproportionately affected. 

Despite this, and the challenges facing many employees and businesses, some employers are stepping up to commit to stronger standards on shift patterns to better support workers and families. 

This includes Scottish energy provider SSE, which has today been announced as an accredited Living Hours Employer, joining, amongst others, Aviva and Standard Life Aberdeen as employers committing to provide workers with secure, guaranteed working hours.  

The Living Hours programme requires employers to both pay a real Living Wage and commit to provide at least 4 weeks’ notice for every shift, with guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within this notice period. 

Living Hours employers also provide a guaranteed minimum of 16 working hours every week (unless the worker requests otherwise), and a contract that accurately reflects hours worked. 

The Foundation’s research shows that currently just 10% of workers who have variable working hours or conduct shift work received at least four weeks’ notice of shift patterns.  

Laura Gardiner, Director, Living Wage Foundation, said: “Without clear notice of shift patterns provided in good time, millions of workers have had to make impossible choices on childcare, transport and other important aspects of family life.

“Low-paid workers have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, with millions struggling to plan their lives due to the double whammy of changing restrictions on economic activity and insufficient notice of work schedules from employers. 

“Despite this, and the challenges many employers have faced, some have stepped up during this crisis and committed to provide workers with secure, guaranteed hours and notice of shift patterns. These are the businesses that will help us rebuild and recover, and we encourage more employers to follow their example.” 

John Stewart, SSE HR Director, said: “The real Living Wage movement has been an incredible phenomenon, championing the fundamental truth that people should be able earn enough to live a decent life. 

“Living Hours is the other side of that coin. The amount of pay employees take home can be affected by irregular and unpredictable hours. The majority of our direct employees are already on contracts which meet the Living Hours requirements, but it is right that a company like SSE, headquartered in the UK and delivering some of the biggest projects in the fight against climate change, should guarantee higher standards for workers.

“This is fundamental to ensuring there is a fair and just transition to net zero. Like with our Living Wage accreditation, the most important impact of Living Hours is that, in time, it will flow through our supply chain activities and benefit those working regularly on our behalf too.

“It is the right thing to do and we are very proud to have achieved this accreditation and hope it will help show others the way.”