A CAMPAIGN is being launched by the Co-op to improve the physical and mental health of the growing army of night shift workers.
The group called on employers to show a “duty of care” for the seven million people working at night across Britain, 54 per cent of whom were identified as key workers at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Co-op, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust and Liminal Space, has made a number of suggestions to help address the health and social issues being created by the move towards a 24-hour society, including moves to raise the profile of night workers.
The retailer added that companies should be held legally responsible for the consequences of night work unless mitigating action is taken.
The Co-op’s supply chain and logistics director Andy Perry said: “It is essential that we, as employers, do everything in our power to establish a recognised framework of best practice which places the interests of night shift workers at its heart and that policy is put in place to protect their physical and mental health.”
Co-op research shows that night shift workers are twice as likely as others to miss out on key family events.
