Some 339,000 in the north west – 11.4 per cent of the region’s workforce – are regularly working night shifts.
That’s according to analysis from the TUC, which showed the number of people working night shifts in Britain has hit the highest level since the Office for National Statistics began collecting records in its current form in 2005.
The North West has the third highest number of people working night shifts. The South East has the most night-shift workers, at 435,000, followed by London at 415,000.
Nationally, 3.25m people – more than one in nine workers – work in Britain’s night-time economy, up by 100,000 compared to five years ago.
Workers over 50 years old accounted for all the growth in night-shift workers since 2014, with 924,000 over 50s working night shifts in Britain, up from 751,000 five years ago.
Some 222,000 are over 60, while 69,000 are over 65, the analysis showed.
The TUC has called on the government to increase protection for night-shift workers in Britain, as it said working into the night can affect family life, while health risks, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression, are heightened for older workers.
Recommendations include introducing legislation to ensure workers have sufficient notice of their shift patterns to make arrangements in advance; ensuring pay reflects likely additional costs of any childcare and inconvenience; and tightening rules on night working so workers can enforce their rights at an employment tribunal.
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The TUC North West regional secretary James McKenna said: “Britain’s loyal army of night workers has been boosted significantly by older workers.
“We all owe them a huge debt for keeping the country ticking over while we are asleep.”
He continued: “Night work can be really hard – disrupting family life and placing a strain on people’s health.
“The government is not doing enough to protect these workers. They need better notice of their shifts and proper compensation if work is cancelled.”
The TUC cites older employees staying in work longer and more jobs created in sectors more likely to employ older workers, such as social care, as reasons why numbers of night workers over 50 have risen.
Care workers are the most likely to work night shifts, followed by nurses and midwives.