Night work: average hours limit

The average hours a night worker's normal working time may not exceed, measured over the reference period rather than any single night.

8hours

Primary source only Statutory Instrument Great Britain in force since 1998-10-01

Checked against its sources: statute verified 2026-09-21

Scope: An average of eight hours per 24, for a NIGHT worker as regulation 2(1) defines one — not a limit on any individual shift, and not the 48-hour weekly limit in regulation 4(1), which is a separate figure. Unlike the 48-hour limit there is no individual opt-out: regulation 6 may be modified or excluded only by a collective or workforce agreement (reg 23) or by the Part 3 exceptions. A young worker's night work is prohibited outright by regulation 6A rather than limited, so this figure does not apply to one.

Current sources

Source A · Legislationhttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/made (SI 1998/1833 reg 6(1) as made: "A night worker's normal hours of work in any reference period which is applicable in his case shall not exceed an average of eight hours for each 24 hours"; in force 1 October 1998, reg 1(1))

retrieved 2026-09-11

History

Value	From	To	Status	Sources
8	1998-10-01	—	Primary source only	Legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/made (SI 1998/1833 reg 6(1) as made: "A night worker's normal hours of work in any reference period which is applicable in his case shall not exceed an average of eight hours for each 24 hours"; in force 1 October 1998, reg 1(1)) retrieved 2026-09-11

Receipt

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Figure ID: employment.working_time.night_work_limit_hours
Record fields (source type · unit · jurisdiction · status): si·hours·GB·single_source_A
Record hash (canonical JSON, SHA-256): sha256:d1e969e61f2b73f88dd4ca52be9d304949f4cced7f6191036bf96b8c99a071ed
Source snapshots (SHA-256): Legislation: sha256:702d61bf3f06765266766b01fd082464b0d0750526f6a1d8019d63ab3a2c9c26
Listed in the signed manifest: release 3.0.0 manifest · record_hashes["employment.working_time.night_work_limit_hours"]
Machine-readable record: /v1/figures/employment.working_time.night_work_limit_hours · current only: /v1/figures/employment.working_time.night_work_limit_hours/current

Compiler's notes

An SI carry (ADR-0014), and a HOST-STATES one: no textual amendment touches regulation 6(1), so the 1998 Regulations state the value by their own words and their as-made text is its own frozen witness. Both documents are hashed into this record and the verdict recomputed at Gate 2. Contrast regulation 4(1) in the same instrument, whose 48 hours the probe CANNOT carry: SI 1999/3372 substituted the opening words of that paragraph, so the host-states claim fails and the amender's as-made text does not contain the value either. No archived GOV.UK page states this limit, so the record is single_source_A by design.