Shift work
Shift work is often thought of as when staff work more unsociable hours — for instance, very early in the morning or late at night. But the term can also refer to work carried out at any time of day provided that the work is scheduled and that there’s a degree of variation to the hours an employee is given.
Although the hours staff work will vary dramatically from business to business shift work is especially common in sectors and industries such as:
- Care homes
- Healthcare
- Emergency services
- Retail
- Restaurants, cafes & bars
- Hotels & resorts
- Security firms
- Delivery companies
- IT providers
and more.
Shift workers tend to work different shift patterns, which often rotate every few weeks or months, usually to allow staff who are scheduled to work through the night, be on call, or get up extremely early to recuperate or to have a turn working slightly more sociable hours.
