UK bar, pub and club workers are being subjected to music so loud that they could lose or permanently damage their hearing, according to a report published by deafness charity RNID and the TUC.
Noise overload shows that music played in UK nightclubs is so loud that in some cases, it’s like working within two feet of an aircraft taking off.
The report argues that not enough is being done to protect the hearing of the 568,000 bar, club and pub workers in the UK from music played well above legal safe levels.
Under the Noise at Work regulations, employers have a legal duty to protect their employees’ hearing. Protection includes steps such as reviewing venue layouts, ensuring breaks for staff are in a noise-safe space, and supplying and enforcing the wearing of effective protection, such as earplugs.
Frances O’Grady, TUC deputy general secretary, said: “Employers can take simple steps to reduce the damage being done to staff without turning clubs into libraries.”
She called on local authorities to monitor and enforce the rules put in place to protect employees from noise overload.
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