Австралия (охрана труда) Порядок организации сменной работы

Home | About Us 10 tips to manage the risks of shift work Tuesday, 21st October, 2014, by Joanna Weekes In today's Health & Safety Bulletin: Do you know what the health and safety risks of shift work are? 10 tips for managing shift work to reduce the risk for your workers and your business Dear Reader, Depending on your business, it may be necessary to have some or all of your staff engaged in shift work, especially in industries such as hospitality, transport and logistics. Shift work involves rostering workers throughout a 24-hour period (e.g. 8-hour shifts to cover the morning, afternoon and night) and/or giving workers extended shifts (e.g. 12-hour shifts). Shift work can pose significant health and safety risks as well as organisational risks that you need to manage. Your obligation to minimise the risks associated with shift work stems from your general duty to provide safe systems of work and a safe working environment for all your workers. You should take every reasonably practicable step to reduce the risks for shift workers, both while they are at work, and while travelling to and from work. It’s important to give shift workers sufficient breaks during their shifts and scheduled days off so they have adequate time to rest and recover. What health and safety risks are associated with shift work? Shift work can have negative effects on a person’s health. For instance, working at night and sleeping during the day can disrupt the body’s natural circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are the body’s natural cycles that control a person’s appetite, sleep, mood and energy level. Interfering with a person’s circadian rhythms can result in: stress; fatigue; depression; headaches; high blood pressure; and an increased risk of developing stomach ulcers and heart disease. Continued below… .................................................Advertisement................................................. The issue of annual leave seems to raise a lot of questions, such as:   ➢  How much annual leave can be carried over from one year to the next? ➢  Can we ask our employees to take their accrued paid annual leave? ➢  Can an employee ‘cash out’ their annual leave entitlements? ➢ If an employee gets sick during their annual leave, do we treat these days as personal leave or annual leave? ➢  Does an employee on long service leave accrue sick leave and annual leave while not in the workplace? ➢  Are casual employees entitled to annual leave?   Click here to find out how you can get the answers to these and manymore questions about annual leave, today! ........................................................................................................................... Shift work also has organisational risks Workers are at their least competent and watchful at the end of a shift. Fatigued workers are more likely to make mistakes and to have poor concentration and response times. Workers at the end of a long shift who are responsible for part of a worksite might: leave the workplace in an untidy and dangerous way; fail to conduct proper handover for the next worker about to begin their shift; neglect to properly carry out a safety process; and fail to identify safety risks for themselves and other workers. 10 tips for managing shift work Follow these 10 tips to effectively manage shift workers: Ensure that a worker’s work cycle includes no more than six consecutive 8-hour shifts or four consecutive 12-hour shifts. Keep night work to a minimum. Workers should be given as few night shifts in a row as possible. Make shifts shorter when the work is particularly hazardous or exhausting. Ensure that workers who work 12-hour shifts or night shifts do not regularly work overtime. Ensure that workers rarely work more than 7 days in a row. If possible, keep workers’ shift cycles consistent. Give adequate notice of roster changes. Ensure that workers have sufficient breaks during their shifts, particularly for those working long shifts and undertaking high-risk work. Give workers adequate time between the end of one shift and the start of another to rest and recuperate. Have a handover policy in place to ensure effective handover for the next worker. For more information about how to reduce the risks for shift workers, refer to chapter S6 Shift Work in your Health & Safety Handbook. If you are not a subscriber, but would like to know more, click here. Have a great week, Joanna Weekes Editor Health & Safety Bulletin Like the Health & Safety Bulletin? Check out our other free bulletins: Workplace BulletinGet the very latest employment law tips, ideas, news and practical advice sent straight to your inbox. Click here to sign up now. Self-Managed Super Fund Bulletin Receive all the information, ideas and tips you need to manage your own super fund. Click here to sign up now. Please whitelist the Health & Safety Bulletin to make sure you get every edition delivered to your inbox. The information in this email is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorised. If you are not the intended recipient, please return the message to the sender and delete it from your records. All content is © 2007-2013 Portner Press Pty Ltd All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer: We research our recommendations and articles thoroughly, but disclaim all liability for any inaccuracies or omissions found in our publications. Click here to view our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. Queries: For general enquiries, email cs@portnerpress.com.au or call 1300 782 911. Health & Safety Helpdesk: Paid subscribers to the Health & Safety Handbook can ask our experts for advice. Syndication: To republish an Health & Safety Bulletin article, please email cs@portnerpress.com.au for information. Health & Safety Bulletin ISSN 1837-6533 Portner Press Pty Ltd 96-98 Bridport Street Albert Park VIC 3206 Australia