Your body works hard.
Take care of it.
Health guidance for factory workers, food processors, and manual labourers. Know your rights, protect your body, look after your mind. Sourced from NHS, WHO, CDC, and global health authorities.
Common Factory Worker Issues
Latest Questions
Can my employer cut my hours to zero because I complained about safety?
Since I raised concerns about broken machinery, my employer has stopped giving me shifts. I am on a zero-hours contract.
My employer locks the water fountain during shifts to prevent people wasting time.
We are only allowed water during our 2 breaks (15 min each). In a hot factory with physical work, this feels dangerous.
There is no first aider on our shift. Is this legal?
I work nights and there are 40 of us in the factory but no trained first aider. Last week someone fainted and nobody knew what to do.
My line manager bullies me constantly. I feel sick every morning before work.
My manager shouts at me in front of others, gives me the worst jobs, and mocks my accent. I am from Romania and feel targeted.
What should I eat on night shifts to stay healthy?
I work 10pm to 6am and end up eating junk food from the vending machine. I have gained 2 stone since starting nights.
I am pregnant and work in a factory. What are my rights?
I am 14 weeks pregnant and work on a production line that involves heavy lifting and standing for 10 hours. My employer says I should just get on with...
I got metal fragments in my eye at work. My employer did not provide safety glasses.
I was using a grinding wheel and a small piece of metal flew into my eye. It was extremely painful and I had to go to A&E. My employer has never provi...
I am an agency worker and feel like I have no rights. Can I refuse unsafe work?
I work through an agency at different factories. I am often asked to operate machines I have not been trained on. I am scared to say no because they w...
My shoulder is agony from reaching above my head on the production line all day.
I work on an overhead conveyor line loading products onto hooks. I reach above shoulder height hundreds of times per shift. My right shoulder is now i...
The floors in our factory are always wet and slippery. Three people have fallen this month.
We work in a food processing plant and the floors are constantly wet from cleaning and spillages. People keep slipping. Management says it is our faul...
I drive a forklift 8 hours a day and my whole body vibrates. What health risks does this cause?
I am a full-time forklift operator in a warehouse. My lower back aches constantly and I get pins and needles in my legs.
I cough up dust after every shift in the woodworking factory. Can this cause long-term damage?
I work cutting MDF and plywood all day. There is sawdust everywhere and the extraction system is broken. I cough constantly.
My hands tingle and go numb after using power tools all day. Is this serious?
I use a pneumatic impact wrench and angle grinder for 6-8 hours a day in an engineering factory. My fingers tingle at night and I am losing grip stren...
How do I deal with extreme heat in a factory with no air conditioning?
Our factory has ovens and fryers running constantly. In summer the temperature reaches 40°C on the production floor. I feel dizzy and sick.
What should I do if I have a workplace accident but my employer says not to report it?
I fell on a wet floor at the factory and injured my knee. My supervisor told me not to report it officially.
Can I access the NHS if I am on a work visa in the UK?
I am on a Skilled Worker visa. Do I have to pay to see a GP? I am scared to use the NHS in case it affects my visa.
Is it legal to work 12-hour shifts 6 days a week?
My factory makes us work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week during peak season. I am exhausted but scared to say no.
The factory is very loud. At what point does noise damage my hearing?
The machinery in my factory is extremely loud. I sometimes have ringing in my ears after my shift.
I keep getting stomach bugs. Could it be from working with raw food?
I work handling raw fish and chicken. I wash my hands frequently but get stomach upsets almost every month.
Can working in cold rooms cause breathing problems?
I have developed a persistent cough and wheeze since starting work in a 2°C fish processing room. Could this be related?