Employers urged to protect staff from sun exposure

UK employers have been urged to do more to help protect staff who work outdoors from the potentially harmful effects of sun exposure.

New research from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) claims many of the 2,000 people who die as a result of skin cancer every year will have suffered harmful exposure to the sun whilst at work.

With a hot summer predicted this year the TUC has published new guidance for employers and unions on how to protect the thousands of people who work outdoors from the risks of UV radiation.

The TUC claims it is “simply not good enough for employers to say they have no control over the weather or leave it up to individual workers to protect themselves from getting sunburnt”.

“Employers have a legal duty to protect the health of their employees and there is much they can do from changing working patterns to providing sun canopies, lightweight protective clothing and sunscreen,” a statement declares.

Every year there are around 100,000 new cases of skin cancer, with 8,000 of these in the form of malignant melanoma, the most serious and fastest growing form, the TUC reports.