Do you let your staff 'rest' during working day?

Working Time Regulations 1998 provide that a worker is entitled to an uninterrupted weekly rest period of not less than 24 hours in each seven-day period during which he works for his employer (Sunday - Monday unless agreed otherwise - Reg 11(4) and (6)). This is on the top of the 11 consecutive hours of daily rest.

These statutory entitlements were implemented for health and safety reasons. New official guidance from Public Health England suggests that staff should be given places to rest at work. The purpose is to boost productivity. 'Sleep and recovery: a toolkit for employers' shows link between lack of sleep and hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. Interestingly people are more vulnerable to infection after a short period of reduced sleep. Moreover, brain function deteriorates which may increase probabilities of accident/injury.

Did you know that:

• The annual cost of sleep loss to the UK is £30 billion;

• 200,000 working days lost in the UK each year due to insufficient sleep;

• 1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by insomnia?

Employers, especially SMEs where an illness of one worker can have a big negative impact on the business, are encouraged to realize how important is a good job design to help reduce the risk of physical and emotional stress. Does your organisation have a well-being policy/strategy? Are your employees provided quiet spaces for rest where they can switch off?