Black and ethnic minorities more likely to work at night

The TUC is calling on the government to deliver better pay and conditions for the millions of night workers, as it released analysis showing that black and ethnic minority people are 53% more likely to regularly work nights than white people.

The analysis, published ahead of the clocks going back tonight, reveals that one in 10 workers regularly work nights, around 3 million workers nationwide.

Using Labour Force Survey data from the Office for National Statistics, the TUC found that 14.4% of black and ethnic minority workers regularly do night work compared to 9.4% of white workers. The union body said this was evidence of “structural racism in action”.

Night work is routinely low-paid and insecure, and comes with heightened health risks, not to mention the significant disruption it causes to workers’ lives. Men are more likely to work nights than women (11.9% vs 8.4%).

The TUC found that more than half of all night workers (53%) earn less than £12 an hour, the newly announced rate for the real Living Wage for 2023-2024 outside of London, and 85% of night workers earn less than £15 per hour, approximately the median wage in the UK.

Night workers are more than twice as likely to be on zero-hours contracts compared to the wider workforce (7.1% compared to 3.1%).

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Britain’s night workers keep the country ticking while the rest of us are asleep. They do vital work. But too many night workers – especially in key sectors like care – are on low pay and insecure contracts.

“Night workers are at higher risk of health problems and face disruption to their daily lives. And it’s black and ethnic minority workers who disproportionately work nights. This is structural racism in action. It’s time night workers got the fair pay and conditions that they deserve.”

Last year, a YouGov poll commissioned by personal safety charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, found that 44% of women and 26% of men working at night had been harassed at work or on their way to work in restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

The TUC says employers should consider the health hazards of night working – including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression – in risk assessments and take responsibility for workers’ safety travelling to and from work at night.

Care workers account for the largest number (375,000) of night workers in Britain and recent data from Skills for Care showed that 50% of domiciliary care workers are on zero-hours contracts. Nurses were second largest group to work nights (231,000) followed by other “elementary services occupations” (182,000).

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