Illegal noise exposure threatens staff hearing

by Ewan Turney

More than 500,000 pub, bar and club workers are in danger of losing or permanently damaging their hearing because of continual exposure to noiselevels well above the legal limit, according to a report.

Noise Overload, a joint report published by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID), blames local authorities for failing to enforce the Noise at Work regulations under which employers have a legal duty to protect their employees' hearing. It claims some workers are being subjected to conditions equivalent to working next to an aeroplane taking off.

"Ear-splitting noise levels are deafening and damaging the hearing of the UK's bar, club and pub workers," said TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady. "Employers can take simple steps to reduce the damage being done to staff without turning clubs into libraries. But it is up to local authorities to monitor and enforce the rules put in place to protect employees from noise overload."

Workers are due to get increased protection from tighter Noise at Work laws introduced by the EU, but these will not apply to the leisure industry until 2008 and will be ineffective without proper enforcement.

RNID spokesman Mark Hoda warned that many employers were currently in breach of noise regulations and that by implementing a few simple measures they could better protect staff. "Because noise damage is cumulative and the effects not immediate, employers often fail to enforce hearing protection for their staff," he said. "And yet, a simple measure of wearing quality earplugs would protect these workers from long-term irreparable damage."

How to protect staff's hearing

l Supply and enforce the wearing of earplugs

l Ensure staff take all breaks in a noise-safe place

l Review venue layout

l Alternate staff shifts