Night Workers

[johnpagan]

My wife is a night carer for a private home. Often she is told she has to attend training. As today it is in the middle of her shift. This means that she can only sleep for 2 hours and then later another 3 hours. They keep doing this.They expect her to keep working with less sleep. can they keep doing this. Surely there are some legal rules on this.

[RATTER15]

If she is working the night shift either side of the day course then I would say no they cant and she could refuse to do it until they make alternative arrangements.

[RATTER15]

They need to arrange her course or her night shift so that she can get adequate sleep after or before her course.

[campbellking]

European working time directives advise a minimum of an eleven hour break between shifts, depends how adherent they are to them

[black_cat51]

if it's in hte middle of her shift, why is she asleep anyway? or is it a sleeping night?

[Maydup]

No they can't keep doing this.

Whether the training be during her sleep shift or during her home sleep time, its not appropriate. I suggest she make an appointment with her line manager to talk it through. Be positive and reasonable at this stage and then if no luck, be more forceful and put in a written grievance about it.

[nazia08]

I only get heartburn as i sit here all night stuffing my face and playing on the computer, and I drink about a gallon of tea at night and pee like a fountain.
Normal hours jobs are fine, but you have to put up with normal people then, I prefer the nutters who inhabit the night

[Dizmo]

I think JP means that his wife has to attend training 'between' shifts. I've read the question for about 20 minutes and I perceive that's what he means - no doubt I'm incorrect, I usually am.

[Maydup]

We might never know dizmo, JP hasn't come back.

He described the training as being in the middle of the shift, yet since the sleep is being broken it implies otherwise. we cannot be sure whether its night or day but I can't see a home running training shifts at night really.

[Blackiequine]

I read it as in the middle of a run of night shifts.

[bumble60]

Normally it`s in the middle of two night shifts. I.E. working Monday and Tuesday nights. The training is on the Tuesday after her shift has finished. This week finished at 7.30 am Tuesday.Back for training from 10 am till 1 pm Tuesday. then back Tuesday for her shift at 8.30 pm.I hope that's clearer