Yorkshire has highest number of night shift workers, new study finds

Yorkshire was found to be one of two regions with the highest rates of night shift working in the country, as new analysis shows the number of people working nights has risen by 260,000 over the past give years.

Britain’s late-night workforce has almost reached 3.2 million after a 9 per cent rise, said the TUC.

The analysis showed that Yorkshire and the North West have the highest rates of night working, with one in nine workers on night duty.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “As the clocks change, most of us can look forward to an extra hour in bed, but while we sleep, Britain’s late-night workforce will be busy.

“Whether it’s firefighters keeping watch, or drivers delivering packages across the country, we all depend on the UK’s army of night workers.

“Night work can play havoc with family and social life, and have long-term health impacts. Many of the jobs are tough and often solitary. “That’s why night workers deserve strong rights and protections at work, to make sure they can get on with the job safely and happily.”

One in eight people now work nights, rising to one in six for black workers.

Three out of five night workers are male, the study found.

Night working is most common in sectors such as security, logistics, manufacturing and healthcare.