Danish government to pay compensation for breast cancer after long spells working nights.

Monday 23rd March 2009

The Danish government has begun paying compensation to women who have developed breast cancer after long spells working nights. This is the first time compensation has been paid over a system of work, rather than type of work or associated risks such as chemicals, hazardous materials etc.

The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) have advised the Danish Govt that studies conclude that working night shifts over a long time can lead to the body creating reduced levels of melatonin one of the chemicals produced that reduces the risk of cancer.

Union leaders and experts in the UK are calling for the UK government to do more to tackle the dangers.

Assistant general secretary of the Scottish TUC, Ian Tasker, thinks the UK is lagging behind. Workers are entitled to regular health checks which they may be missing out on.

The HSE are also involved in the debate, and already have a fatigue index listed on their website, where a shift pattern can be given a rating in terms of fatigue.

There could also be other associated health risks. Professor Andrew Watterson, an occupational health specialist at Stirling University, said we are far behind Scandinavia in recognising the dangers. The evidence has been good over a long period of time about cardiovascular disease and night work, gastro-intestinal problems and nights. Work indicates there may be risks in terms of low birth-weight babies and longer pregnancies for women.

What should companies do where there is a need for night working and rotating shift working?

Working time remains a specialist field, latest research and studies prove that more factors need to be considered when creating systems of work than ever before. Expert advice must be sought before embarking on any kind of working time change. Health checks of current practices should take place to ensure risks of fatigue and health problems are reduced. Once working arrangements are in place, ongoing monitoring of working time has to take place to ensure the original plan is adhered to, work time is recorded and no breaches in current regulations take place.

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