The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published new guidance on skin cancer prevention and protection from exposure to the sun.
The guidance, which is available from the NICE website, recommends that workplace health practitioners and health and safety officers assess the risk of harmful exposure to the sun and develop, implement and monitor specially tailored policies to ensure that people are protected as much as possible.
They should also be ensuring that outdoor workers are encouraged to wear clothing to avoid getting sunburnt and to stay in the shade when possible.
The training needs of staff responsible for policy-making in outdoor, educational or leisure environments should be fully assessed, in particular, finding out if staff understand the risk factors associated with outdoor working or activities and exposure to the sun.
It is important to assess whether or not employers and managers need training in how to carry out risk assessments in relation to sun exposure during the working day, NICE added.
