Site manager working 65 to 70 hours a week
A groundworks contractor with 45 employees is finishing a retail development. The site manager, who is also the only first-aider and holds the temporary works coordinator role, has worked 65 to 70 hours a week for nine weeks. He has become withdrawn, misses lunch, and last week failed to sign off a permit correctly; a colleague corrected it before work started. His brother has told HR that he is 'not himself' and drinking more. HR says: 'He is management and paid to cope; if we raise it, he will resign and we lose the only first-aider.' The company has a written stress policy, an EAP and a lone-working procedure, but no process for monitoring working hours. The employee says he is 'fine' and does not want a GP appointment or EAP contact.
1. Explain the employer's duties in this situation and why the employee's statement that he is 'fine' does not close the matter.
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Employer duties: HSWA 1974 section 2 requires health, safety and welfare of employees so far as reasonably practicable; MHSWR 1999 require risk assessment and health surveillance where appropriate; the Working Time Regulations 1998 limit average weekly working time to 48 hours unless a valid individual opt-out applies and require rest breaks. The permit error and 65 to 70 hour weeks are objective evidence of fatigue risk in a safety-critical role covering temporary works and first aid. The employee's self-report is relevant but not determinative: he may lack insight, fear stigma or be under pressure. The employer cannot force a GP appointment or EAP contact, but it can and should assess the work, reduce hours, provide cover and monitor fitness for work. 'Fine' does not override the employer's duty where there is a credible risk to him or others. HR's 'paid to cope' position is not a legal defence.
2. What are the individual's responsibilities, and how would you balance them with confidentiality and autonomy?
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Individual duties: take reasonable care of his own health and safety and that of others; cooperate with the employer on health and safety; report hazards and concerns; use controls provided. These duties do not mean he must disclose a diagnosis or accept every intervention. Balance: hold a confidential conversation, explain why the hours and permit error are being addressed as safety issues, and keep that separate from any disciplinary process. Offer OH voluntarily; if he refuses, document the offer and rely on workplace observation and risk assessment. Do not share his brother's information widely; check the lawful basis and keep it need-to-know. If safety-critical competence is in doubt, consider temporary reassignment pending assessment; that is a control, not a punishment. Give him the chance to propose solutions. If he refuses all support, the employer may need to make unilateral adjustments to hours and role, explaining the safety rationale. Record decisions and review them.
3. Recommend immediate controls and longer-term governance changes.
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Immediate controls: remove or share the temporary works coordinator role; arrange first-aider cover; reduce hours to a defined maximum, for example 48 including overtime, for four weeks; introduce a daily fatigue check and a second sign-off for permits; review the failed permit and near miss; ensure breaks are taken; offer EAP and OH again. Longer-term governance: introduce a working-hours monitoring and escalation procedure; include fatigue in risk assessments; train supervisors to spot changes in behaviour; add a fitness-for-work review after long-hours periods; review lone working; provide mental health awareness for managers; set up a confidential referral route; monitor hours, absence, near misses and permit compliance quarterly. Evaluate whether the role is adequately resourced; if one person is a single point of failure, that is an organisational risk. Report anonymised lessons to the safety committee.