Communities and Local Government

1.1 The Working Time Regulations (WTR) limit the maximum working time of a worker and confer certain other rights in respect of the length of night work and rest periods. These Regulations apply to local authority fire and rescue services and impose a requirement to keep adequate records of the hours worked by staff. This is to ensure that they do not exceed 48 hours unless opt-out agreements are in place. Secondary employment is also a relevant consideration. Additionally, there is a need to keep adequate records of both working time and health checks for night workers and to carry out risk assessments in appropriate circumstances to protect the health and well-being of staff generally.

1.2 Regulations 10 - 17 deal with rest periods, rest breaks and leave entitlement and there are some minor derogations granted in respect of civil protection services under regulations 18, 20, 21 and 23.

1.3 Regulations 24 - 27 deal with compensatory rest, the armed forces and young workers.

1.4 Regulations 28 - 43 deal with miscellaneous matters involving, among other things, enforcement, offences, remedies, appeals and special classes of person such as agency workers, armed forces, police service and Crown employment.

1.5 These regulations do not override the requirements of the Health & Safety At Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health & Safety At Work Regulations 1999, which must continue to be met.

2.1 This note gives general guidance on the Working Time Regulations 1998 (Statutory Instrument 1833) as amended by the Working Time Regulations 1999 (SI 3372). It does not comment on all the implications of the legislation but offers an indication of how they might affect the Fire and Rescue Service. This document in no way removes the need for fire and rescue authorities to make their own assessment of the impact of the WTR on their workers.

2.2 All fire and rescue authorities are subject to health and safety legislation and should already have made an assessment of how the WTR affect them. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister cannot provide a comprehensive detailed document because fire and rescue authorities operate a mixture of different staffing arrangements and one size will almost certainly not "fit all". The WTR are complex and open to different interpretations and therefore the following guidance for managers should not be treated as definitive. This guidance remains subject to change in the light of discussions with the staff representative bodies and through emerging case law. It should be read in conjunction with the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1833) as amended by the Working Time Regulations 1999 (SI 3372), the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (SI 3256), 2002 (SI 3128), 2003 (SI 1684) and the DTI's "A Guide to the Working Time Regulations".

2.3 The following issues are common to most fire and rescue authorities and early consideration is advised of the need to:

• either reduce the total hours worked or arrange opt-out agreements for retained staff employed outside the fire service.The employee must have a written agreement with each of his employers
• ensure adequate records of total working time are maintained and monitored. These may be drawn from other existing records, but arrangements will need to be made with other employers for exchange of information;
• ensure retained staff in other employment are provided with adequate rest periods following work for the fire service. Arrangements for exchange of information with other employers will be required;
• offer free health assessments to staff deemed to be 'night workers'. This includes those working the 2-2-4 shift system;
• provide compensatory rest for staff unable to take part of their daily rest because of a changing shift pattern.

3.1 Application of the Working Time Regulations to the Fire and Rescue Service

3.1.1 The WTR 1998 provided new rights for all workers to ensure that they do not have to work excessive hours. There are certain derogations under the Regulations (because they are inappropriate in part), and certain areas where agreements can be made between the employer and worker to vary the Regulations. One of these derogations is where certain specific activities 'inevitably conflict' with the provisions of the WTR.

3.1.2 The WTR implement the Working Time Directive and the Young Workers Directive (in respect of adolescent workers) which are EU Directives. The WTR apply to fire and rescue service staff unless any particular activities inevitably conflict with the provisions of the Regulations. In such cases those Regulations in respect of the average 48 hours a week limit, rest periods and breaks, as well as some of the stipulations relating to night work may not apply - Regulation 18(c) refers.

3.2 Summary of the principal requirements of the Regulations

3.2.1 Maximum average working week

The maximum average working week taken over a 17-week reference period is 48 hours, excluding daily rest periods. Meal breaks and any stand-down periods (if these apply) for shift firefighters count as working time. The reference period can be varied by a collective or workforce agreement.

3.2.2 Opt out

A worker is permitted to agree with the employer in advance, in writing, that the 48-hour per week limit should not apply to him or her. There must be no coercion on the part of the employer. Where the 48-hour limit may be exceeded workers with more than one employer would need to have agreements with each employer.

3.2.3 Night workers

The maximum average limit for night workers is 8 hours in a 24-hour period. If the night work involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain or if such risk is identified in a collective or workplace agreement; or an employer's risk assessment, the 8-hour limit is absolute and cannot be averaged over a period of time. The risk to firefighters is recognised as being reduced or removed by procedures and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). As such, it is not identified in any national collective or workplace agreement or employers' risk assessment as a special hazard or risk. Regulation 6(7) is therefore, deemed not to apply.

3.2.4 Health assessments

An employer is required to offer free health assessments to night workers before they take up the assignment and at regular intervals afterwards. This may be done annually with a questionnaire and where someone declines an offer, his or her name and the date should be recorded.

3.2.5 Rest breaks

An employer is required to give workers adequate rest breaks where the work is organised in such a way as to put workers at risk because the work is monotonous or the work-rate is predetermined.

3.2.6 Record keeping

An employer is required to keep adequate records to show whether the weekly and night work limits are being complied with and also about the health assessments provided to night workers (see Appendix D attached for examples). Where any category or group of staff works an established shift pattern or set hours and work overtime only on a very infrequent basis it should not be necessary to monitor their working time more than once or twice per year. In the case of staff members who regularly work additional hours, e.g. retained and day-crewing personnel, it will be necessary to monitor on a more frequent basis.

Although it is a requirement of the regulations to keep records for only two years it should be noted that the possibility of civil claims exists for three years and the COSHH Regulations require health records to be retained for a much longer period than this . Existing pay and other records can be used for monitoring purposes.

3.2.7 Daily rest period

A daily rest period of not less than 11 consecutive hours must be provided in each 24-hour period during which an adult worker works for an employer. Regulation 10(1) does not apply to the period between night shifts where this is less than 11 hours and the shift pattern is part of a collective agreement. (see Regulation 23 and the "Grey Book").

3.2.8 Weekly rest period

An uninterrupted rest period of not less than 24 hours in a 7-day period or 48 hours in a 14-day period must be provided. Meeting this should pose no problems for most fire and rescue services.

3.2.9 Rest breaks

A worker whose daily working time exceeds 6 hours is entitled to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes, subject to any collective or workforce agreement to the contrary.

3.2.10 Inevitable conflict with the Regulations

Where certain activities of the civil protection services inevitably conflict with the WTR, there are exceptions to the 48-hour limit, length of night work, health assessments for night workers, rest breaks for monotonous work, rest periods and breaks, entitlement to annual leave and payment for leave not taken. These exceptions will not normally apply to the fire and rescue service as inevitable conflict rarely arises.

3.2.11 Unmeasured working time

Where the duration of working time is not measured or predetermined or can be determined in whole or in part by the employee, the 48-hour limit, length of night work and rest periods and breaks do not apply. Where an employee can determine part only of his/her working time, that period does not count towards the 48-hour limit. This derogation is most likely to apply to principal officers and some flexi-duty officers.

3.2.12 Continuity of service

Where there is a need for continuity of service, then subject to compensatory rest under regulation 24, the night work limits and rest periods and breaks for workers in the civil protection services do not apply. This derogation is unlikely to be necessary in relation to most fire and rescue service activities other than for short periods where incidents continue past change of shift or where it is necessary to wait for relief crews.

3.2.13 Shift workers

Subject to compensatory rest under regulation 24, where at the change of shift (ie. days to nights and vice versa) a shift worker cannot take a daily or weekly rest period as appropriate between the end of one shift and beginning of the next one, or where periods of work are split up over the day (e.g. cleaning staff), the entitlement to such rest periods does not apply. The period between night shifts, in cases where this is less than 11 hours is acceptable if it forms part of a collective agreement.

3.2.14 Collective and workforce agreements

Collective and workforce agreements can be used to modify or exclude the restrictions on the length of night work, rest periods and breaks and, where necessary for objective or technical reasons or reasons concerning the organisation of work, modify the length of the reference period up to 52 weeks

3.2.15 Compensatory rest

Where a worker is required to work through what would otherwise have been a rest period or rest break because their provision has been excluded by regulation 21 or 22 or modified or excluded by a collective or workforce agreement, an employer must provide compensatory rest wherever possible or afford such other protection as may be appropriate to safeguard the worker's health and safety.

3.3 Scope of the Regulations

3.3.1 All members of fire and rescue service staff whether uniformed or not are subject to these Regulations, except for any hours worked in the capacity of a self-employed person. The application of the regulations to agency and independent contract staff is a matter for their separate employers. The Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2002 amend the Working Time Regulations 1998 primarily in order to implement certain provisions of Council Directive 94/33/EC on the protection of young people at work. With the exception of regulations 5 and 7 which apply to all workers, the protection afforded by the provisions does not extend to workers who have reached their 18^th birthday.

3.3.2 While the limits and entitlements of WTR are intended to apply to all workers currently within the scope, it is recognised that in some circumstances certain provisions of the Regulations cannot be applied in full because of conflicting needs. In particular, Regulation 18 states that some provisions do not apply to certain specific activities in the civil protection services where these "inevitably conflict with the provisions of these Regulations."

The HSE has interpreted this to mean that in most circumstances the duration and pattern of working time for those in the fire and rescue service must still conform with the provisions of Part II (Rights and Obligations) of the Regulations (subject to modification by workforce or individual agreements). This exclusion has to be considered in the light of specific activities: it is not intended to mean that every aspect of fire and rescue service operational activity or other work "inevitably conflicts" and that the Regulations do not therefore apply. However, where firefighters are still actively engaged in firefighting activities at the point where the work time limit is exceeded, this derogation would apply. Hours worked under these circumstances would not count towards the average 48 hour week.

3.3.3 Where a fire and rescue service believes it has identified activities that give rise to "inevitable conflict" their relevance should be discussed and agreed with the appropriate representative body on a case by case basis. Any such agreement as to what constitutes inevitable conflict will be used as a guide by the HSE should they ever have the need to investigate.

The HSE gives examples of the types of activities that might fall outside the scope of the Regulations such as dealing with civil unrest, terrorism and natural and technological disasters. The time spent on these and similar activities would not be subject to the WTR. Where the issue is purely related to staffing matters (such as long duration incidents in remote locations) the exclusion provided by regulation 18 would only apply to periods of unplanned overtime unavoidably worked while relief crews are being organised and transported, which should be done without undue delay.

3.3.4 For the most part the Regulations apply in full and all reasonable steps should be taken to manage fire and rescue service activities in a way that complies with the requirements. If the fire and rescue service has control over the timing and duration of a specific activity, then it is unlikely that it could attract the "inevitable conflict" exemption. Examples would include fire safety work or training.

3.3.5 At a practical level it is suggested that fire and rescue services have to:

a) be mindful of the possibility that individual employees could exceed the limits because of, for example, a series of major incidents within a particular reference period. This would give them an opportunity to manage working patterns to try and ensure that the limits are complied with; and

b) where it transpires that the limits have been exceeded, examine the reasons why. If these were related to taking part in specific activities that attract exemption, then this could be claimed.

3.4 Definition of working time

3.4.1 For the purposes of the WTR, working time is defined as being "that time when a worker is working, at their employer's disposal and carrying out their activities and duties". This would include the time when a firefighter is summoned to active duty from standby at home.

It will also include any period during which a worker is receiving training and any additional period defined as working time under a relevant agreement. However, time when a worker is "on call", but otherwise free to pursue their own activities, (for example, a flexi-duty officer at home or social venue) would not be counted as working time.

3.4.2 This definition may not be easily applied to some aspects of work (such as driving outside work hours) and so a workforce agreement can be made to define additional periods of time as being working time for the purposes of the Regulations. DTI guidance states that time spent travelling to and from a place of work is unlikely to be counted as working time as the worker would probably be neither working nor carrying out their duties, unless engaged in travel that is required by the job. Examples of the circumstances that would count as working time from a fire and rescue service perspective are outlined in 3.4.3 below.

3.4.3 The following circumstances will normally count as working time:

• Travel outside of normal rostered duty hours, to and from duty at a place other than the normal place of duty, e.g. travel to and from detachment to a fire station.
• Travel to and from training courses other than at the normal place of duty.
• On those occasions where a worker is at the disposal of the service (and actively engaged on service business) during their meal breaks and rest breaks.
• Where a worker is on call and is actively working at the service's disposal and performing their activities or duties including travelling time when called out.
• Where a worker is travelling in the exercise of their work duties, excluding time spent travelling between home and the normal place of work. An example would be travelling to a business meeting or such occasions as an individual may be required to work at, or report to, a location other than their normal place of work (except as in 2 above).
• Where work is performed away from the normal place of work on a basis agreed with the individual's manager and the time is properly recorded, for example welfare visits to workers at home, drafting a document at home.
• Where a worker is required to attend work-related functions as part of their duties.
• Where a worker is spending agreed time carrying out staff association, trade union or health and safety responsibilities.

3.5 Maximum 48 hour week

3.5.1 A worker's working time, including overtime, is limited to a maximum of 48 hours for each seven-day period. This maximum is an average, based on the number of hours worked over what is called a 'reference period'. Workers not exempted or derogated under the above regulations may sign personal agreements to waive their rights.

3.5.2 The Regulations set the reference period at 17 weeks, but where there are technical or objective reasons, or reasons concerning the organisation of work, a workforce agreement can be made to reduce the reference period or extend it, up to a maximum of 52 weeks. Where a worker is employed for less than 17 weeks, the reference period will be the period worked.

3.5.3 Where there is a need for continuity of service, regulation 21 exempts workers in the civil protection services from some provisions of the Regulations (including those relating to night work). They are still subject to the weekly working limit but the reference period is extended to 26 weeks. Where a fire and rescue service's shift patterns cannot be conveniently averaged over the 17 week reference period it may wish to use this regulation.

3.6 Calculation of the average working time

3.6.1 The average weekly working time is calculated by dividing the total number of hours worked by the number of weeks in the reference period.

3.6.2 The calculation of average weekly working time must take account of periods where a worker is absent due to annual leave, sick leave, flexi leave, maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave. Any working days covered by an agreement in which the worker has agreed to work in excess of the weekly working time limit must also be counted. These days are known as "excluded days" and MUST be added back in to calculate an accurate average.

3.6.3 If any such time falls within the reference period, extra time must be added to the total hours worked to compensate for the absence. To do this, take the first working days immediately after the end of the reference period to substitute for those days missed in the reference period. The number of working days taken into account should be the same as the number of days missed from the reference period.

3.6.4 The Regulations provide for 4 weeks paid annual leave, which may include public and bank holidays. Because there is no statutory entitlement to public or bank holidays (these are simply days where a worker may receive leave under the terms of their contract) an employer may use these days to discharge his responsibility for providing statutory leave.

3.6.5 To calculate the average weekly working time use the equation:

A+B

C

Where: A is the total number of hours worked during the reference period;

B is the total number of days (expressed in hours) worked immediately after the reference period, equal to the number of "excluded days" (days missed through annual, sick, maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave and agreement under Regulation 5), and

C is the number of weeks in the reference period.

Extra time is added to the [17] week reference period to compensate for such absences.

3.7 Agreement to exclude the maximum

3.7.1 Regulation 5 allows an agreement to be reached, on an individual basis between a worker and their employer, to exclude the maximum of 48 working hours in a seven-day period. The agreement may relate to either a specified period or apply indefinitely, but the worker must be able to terminate the agreement by giving a period of notice to their employer. The period of termination must not be less than seven days, but may be extended by agreement up to three months. See paragraph 3.22.

3.8 Unmeasured working time

3.8.1 Under regulation 20, certain provisions of the WTR do not apply to workers where, because of the work they carry out, their working time is not predetermined or measured, or can be decided by the worker themselves. The structure and responsibilities of fire authorities appear to preclude those ranks below Chief Fire Officer and certain other Principal Officers from applying this derogation unless, in the case of flexi-duty officers they have discretion to attend incidents or not and to determine at what point they leave that duty.

3.9 Rest periods

3.9.1 The Regulations provide for the following entitlements:

• A worker is entitled to a rest period of 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period during which he or she works for their employer, (12 hours if they are under 18 years of age). See paragraph 3.13.
• Additionally, a worker is entitled to an uninterrupted rest period of not less than 24 hours in each 7 day period, although this may be averaged over a 2 week period allowing for two days' (48 hours) rest a fortnight. In the case of workers under age 18, the rest period should be 2 days in each 7-day period and must not be averaged.

3.9.2 Subject to the granting of compensatory rest, where the above rest periods cannot be taken between one shift and the next, the rest period restrictions in regulation 10(1) do not apply in the case of shift workers. Where an adult worker is engaged in activities involving periods of work split up over the day, for example cleaning staff, then again subject to the granting of compensatory rest, neither regulations 10(1) or 11(1) and (2) apply in relation to daily or weekly rest periods.

3.10 Rest breaks

3.10.1 The Regulations provide that a worker is entitled to an uninterrupted break of not less than 20 minutes when daily working time is more than 6 hours. In the case of workers who are under 18 years of age, the rest period should be 30 minutes when daily working time is more than 4 ½ hours.

3.10.2 The provisions for rest breaks do not apply to workers exempted/derogated under regulations 18, 20 or 21 though compensatory rest has to be provided in respect of the latter. Adequate provisions for rest periods for all staff are included in their respective conditions of service. Regulations in respect of rest periods are enforceable through employment tribunals, not the Health & Safety Executive.

3.11 Annual Leave

3.11.1 The Regulations provide for a minimum of 4 weeks paid leave a year, but public holidays, bank holidays and privilege days, where appropriate, may be counted against this entitlement. They also provide for payment for leave outstanding on termination of employment and for providing notice for the taking and cancellation of leave.

3.11.2 Conditions of service for all fire and rescue service staff make adequate provision for the annual leave requirements of the Regulations. Personnel managers should try to ensure that all staff take any outstanding leave before leaving the service, but where this is not possible the following approach should be adopted.

3.12 Compensation related to entitlement to annual leave

3.12.1 Regulation 14 provides that, on termination of employment during the course of a leave year, "where the proportion of leave taken by the worker is less than the proportion of the leave year which has expired, their employer shall make them a payment in lieu of leave". Thus, a worker who, on termination of service has taken less than their annual leave entitlement under the WTR, is entitled to payment in lieu of the outstanding days.

3.12.2 Where, on termination of service a worker has not been able to take all of their leave then the provisions of regulation 14 should apply to all of the remaining annual leave entitlement, and not limited to the annual leave entitlement under the WTR.

3.12.3 The formula in regulation 14(3) should be used to make the calculation. This states that the payment due shall be a sum equal to the amount that would be due to the worker under a relevant agreement or regulation 16 (i.e. at the rate of a week's pay in respect of each week of leave calculated by reference to sections 221-224 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as modified). For this purpose a day's pay comprises, for a full time member, a week's pay divided by 5 and, for a part-time member, a week's pay multiplied by the appropriate factor for that member and divided by 5. Alternatively, the annual salary could be divided by the number of days worked if that is more appropriate. The period of leave in respect of which payment is due is determined according to the formula:

(A X B) - C

Where : A is the period of leave to which the worker is entitled;

B is the proportion of the worker's leave year which expired before the termination date, and

C is the period of leave taken by the worker between the start of the leave year and the termination date.

3.13 Shift workers

3.13.1 The entitlement to daily rest will not apply in relation to the shift worker where the worker changes shift and cannot take a full daily rest period between the end of one shift and the start of the next one. However, the employer must provide them with an equivalent compensatory rest period for the amount of rest time the worker has missed.

3.13.2 Where a worker is unable to take part of their daily rest, or rest periods because of the changing shift pattern, the equivalent period of compensatory rest should, if possible, be given as soon as is reasonably practicable. This will not be a problem for fire and rescue services where the periods between the change of shift pattern (e.g. days to nights and vice versa) exceed 11 hours. Where the period between shifts is less than 11 hours (e.g. between night shifts where those shifts exceed 13 hours) this is covered by a collective agreement.

3.13.3 Only in exceptional circumstances is the employer allowed not to provide equivalent compensatory rest, but this does not absolve the employer from taking steps to ensure the health and safety of their worker is not put at risk by the hours worked.

3.13.4 For the purposes of the Regulations:

'Shift worker' means any worker whose work schedule is part of shift work;

'Shift work' means any method of organising work in shifts whereby workers succeed each other at the same workstations according to a certain pattern, including a rotating pattern, and which may be continuous or discontinuous, entailing the need for workers to work at different times over a given period of days or weeks.

Compensatory rest

3.14.1 In circumstances were the entitlement(s) do not apply i.e. where an agreement modifies the right, the worker must:

• be permitted to take an equivalent period of compensatory rest, or
• in exceptional cases, where providing equivalent compensatory rest is not possible, be given other appropriate protection.

3.14.2 An equivalent period of rest should be considered to be a period of rest equivalent to that which the worker was entitled to but not able to take. It should also be provided within a reasonable time from when the entitlement to rest was modified, (if possible, immediately following the work period that deprived the worker of his/her rest entitlement).

3.14.3 In practice, cases where it is not possible to take compensatory rest due to 'exceptional circumstances' will be rare, but it will be self-evident. This flexibility is not something that should be used on a routine basis.

3.15 Is compensatory rest appropriate?

3.15.1 The following formula can be used to determine how much compensatory rest is owed:

Rest Entitlement per 7 days =

1 x 24 hrs weekly rest;

6 x 11 hrs daily rest;

6 x 20 mins rest period

Total Rest Entitlement = 92 hrs

Total Hours in 7 day period = 168 hrs

[7 x 24hrs]

168 hrs minus 92 hrs = 76 hrs

The 76 hr total represents the maximum amount of hours workable in a 7-day period utilising all rest entitlements that are applicable to the worker.

If the worker is working in excess of 76 hrs per week on average, then they are not receiving all their entitlements to rest - compensatory rest is therefore applicable.

If workers hours are below 76 hrs per week on average, the balance can be used to offset the amount of compensatory rest owed.

3.16 Night Workers

3.16.1 Fire and rescue authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the normal hours of their night workers do not exceed an average of 8 hours for each period of 24 hours over a 17-week period unless this limit is varied or excluded altogether by a collective agreement. This is calculated as:

A

____

B - C

Where: A is the total number of hours worked during the reference period;

B is the number of days in the reference period, and

C is the number of days of entitlement to weekly rest periods (i.e. one day for each seven-day period).

3.16.2 Night workers whose duties involve special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain or if such risk is identified in a collective or workplace agreement or an employer's risk assessment , the 8-hour limit is absolute and cannot be averaged over a period of time (regulation 6(7) refers). As the risk to firefighters in this regard is mitigated by procedures and PPE, and is not identified in any national collective or workplace agreement or employers risk assessment, regulation 6(7) does not apply. Also, where there is an inevitable conflict with the provision of these Regulations because of a need for continuity of service, or where working time is not measured or predetermined or is determined by the worker himself, an exemption/derogation under regulations 18, 20 or 21 would apply.

3.16.3 Fire and rescue authorities should identify any night workers not exempted/derogated from the night work limits whose working arrangements exceed the hours allowed. In any such cases the fire and rescue service must consider adjustments to the working arrangements to ensure that the limits are not breached. Annex B provides a flow chart of the considerations necessary.

3.16.4 Night-time is a period of at least 7 hours, which includes the period from midnight to 5.00am. The period is usually taken to be 11pm to 6am although an alternative can be determined by local agreement (e.g. 12am to 7am). A night worker is defined in the WTR as a person who works at least three hours of their daily working time between 11pm and 6am ("night-time") as a normal course. This definition was further clarified in the WTR as a person who "works as a normal course (without prejudice to the generality of that expression) if he works such hours on the majority of days on which he works." DTI guidance on this definition was confirmed and strengthened by a Northern Ireland High Court decision

(R. v. Attorney General for Northern Ireland ex parte Burns [1999] IRLR 315).

3.16.5 The decision in the Burns case was that a worker on a 'standard' rotating shift system (where one in three shifts is at night) is a 'night worker' for the purposes of the Regulations (even though the night shifts do not occur on the majority of days worked). The 2,2,4 or other similar system would qualify firefighters as night workers. In the light of this decision the following definition of a 'night worker' seems appropriate for the purposes of the fire and rescue service:

"That a worker who regularly works shifts that include nights (e.g. at least 1 night per week, every week) should be deemed to be a 'night worker' for the purposes of the Working Time Regulations, irrespective of the shift pattern actually worked".

3.16.6 Any worker classified as a night worker must, under the terms of regulation 7, be given the opportunity of a free health assessment before undertaking night work and be moved from night work where a doctor has advised that their health may be suffering. However, many fire and rescue authorities already offer free health checks to operational staff as part of good practice under occupational health arrangements and these could be adapted as appropriate to cover this requirement. Where this is not the case appropriate procedure and practice will need to be introduced (see 3.17.2 below)

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