Light at work: The basics

Lighting at work is a health and safety issue. It is also a health and productivity issue.

Whether employing shift workers or remote workers, many organisations are developing a deeper understanding of how light affects worker health, cognitive performance, fatigue and sleep. But regardless of how advanced that understanding is, there are legal standards that apply to every employer to ensure workplace lighting is safe and suitable.

The team at Insight Workplace Health see and support with challenges across the lighting spectrum- from lighting for performance to lighting for compliance. Welcome to the first article in the Insight on Light Series! The aim of this series is to shed some light… on light at work. Before we get to optimisation, we need to talk about the minimum.

The legal baseline in the UK

Did you know that employers have legal responsibilities around lighting at work? Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, employers must ensure lighting is:

• Suitable

• Sufficient

• Appropriate for the task

This applies across workplaces: from offices to warehouses, healthcare settings, kitchens, factories, and in many cases, to home working arrangements where display screen equipment (DSE) regulations apply.

The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on lighting at work centres around ensuring lighting is adequate to see comfortably and safely.

What can go wrong with lighting at work?

You have probably experienced poor lighting at work, through lighting effects such as glare or flicker. Glare occurs when brightness in the visual field interferes with vision or causes discomfort. It can come from sunlight or artificial light sources on screens or from reflections on glossy surfaces. Flicker occurs when light output fluctuates at certain frequencies- commonly from poor-quality LED lighting and aging fluorescent lighting. It can cause eye strain, headache, impact concentration and in some rare cases, seizures in those with photosensitive epilepsy.

Are there minimum, measurable standards for lighting at work? 

The Health and Safety Executive defines recommendations in two aspects of lighting standards that make up minimum requirements at work. 

1- Illuminance on task 

This refers to the amount of light falling on the work surface, measured in lux. Different tasks require different levels. Work requiring fine visual detail, such as assembling electronic components, requires higher average and minimum illuminance than work requiring limited perception of detail, such as kitchen tasks. 

2- Illuminance ratios

This refers to the relationship between lighting levels in the task area and surrounding areas. Differences between adjacent areas can cause difficulty adapting when moving between zones and increased accident risk. Acceptable ratios depend on the layout.

The Health and Safety Executive also signposts out to more comprehensive guidance published by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. 

How about lighting with display screen equipment? 

DSE work is visually demanding.

Screens are only one component of a workstation setup, but they are a light source and also interact directly with environmental lighting. Under UK regulations employers must conduct DSE assessments and provide and fund an eye test for a DSE user who requests one. Employers are legally required to plan work to enable short breaks from DSE work. 

When assessing a workstation, the screen element should include:

• Appropriate text size 

• Stable, flicker-free image

• Adequate screen resolution for the task

• Adjustable brightness and contrast

• Swivel and tilt functions

• Ability to adjust blinds or reposition the workstation

Lighting…more than the bare minimum 

There is a legal minimum standard for lighting- even though many employees, and even employers may not know this. 

Forward thinking organisations are moving beyond this, recognising that lighting can be leveraged for productivity because it can impact cognitive performance, fatigue management and other aspects of the relationship between work and health. 

This blog is the first article in the Insight on Light series. We will layer on to these basics with expert interviews, product reviews and more!

Creating Healthier, More Effective Workspaces

Lighting is often overlooked, but it plays a fundamental role in how we feel and perform at work.

From visual comfort and fatigue to concentration and long-term health, the right lighting should be considered alongside other ergonomic factors such as workstation setup, posture and display screen equipment.

At Insight Workplace Health, we support organisations in creating environments that are not only compliant, but optimised for employee wellbeing and performance.

If you would like support reviewing your workplace setup, from lighting and DSE to wider ergonomic considerations, our team is here to help, contact us here or call us on 01792 321010!