a) Health assessment before assignment
Article 9 of the Directive entitles all ‘night workers’ under Article 2(4) (see Chapter IV above) to a health assessment before assignment. This provision is comparable to that in Article 4 of ILO Convention 171 which provides that ‘At their request, workers shall have the right to undergo a health assessment without charge and to receive advice on how to reduce or avoid health problems associated with their work: (a) before taking up an assignment as a night worker; […]’. The health assessment must take place before the worker’s assignment to night work, i.e. before the worker concerned starts performing night work. Unlike the ILO Convention, the Directive does not refer to a worker’s request but entitles all night workers to health assessments before taking up an assignment.
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.