Regulation change · 9 Jul 2026
The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 became law on 9 July 2026.
Your duties do not change until most of it commences on 1 April 2027, so use the lead time to evidence fatigue as a serious-harm risk.
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Fatigue in the news
Findings, prosecutions and regulation changes on workplace fatigue in New Zealand, newest first.
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Stories and regulation changes
8 upcoming regulation changes
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks', and following an approved code becomes deemed compliance. The 2024 code for loading and unloading cargo gets that safe-harbour status from commencement. Fatigue is not on the Schedule 1A list, so it counts only where likely to cause death or notifiable harm.
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks', and following an approved code becomes deemed compliance. The 2025 forestry and harvesting code (approved 28 July 2025) gets that safe-harbour status from commencement. Fatigue is not on the Schedule 1A list, so it counts only where likely to cause death or notifiable harm.
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks'; fatigue is not on the Schedule 1A list, so it counts only where likely to cause death or notifiable harm. Where the Civil Aviation Act manages the same risk, complying with it can satisfy the matching HSWA duty. Small firms (under 20 workers) manage critical risks only.
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks'; fatigue is not on the Schedule 1A list, so it counts only where likely to cause death or notifiable harm. Where the Land Transport Act manages the same risk, complying with it can satisfy the matching HSWA duty. Small firms (under 20 workers) manage critical risks only.
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks'; fatigue is not on the Schedule 1A list. Where the Maritime Transport Act manages the same risk, complying with it can satisfy the matching HSWA duty. Separately, Maritime Labour Convention amendments are expected in force on 23 December 2027; hours of rest are unchanged.
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks'. Fatigue is not on the Schedule 1A list, so it counts only where it is likely to cause death or notifiable harm. Firms under 20 workers manage critical risks only; following an approved code is deemed compliance; officer duties become governance-level.
- Aged Care & Disability Services
- Call Centre & BPO
- Childcare & Early Childhood Education
- Corrections & Custodial Services
- Defence & Military
- Education
- Emergency Services
- Financial Services & Banking
- Food & Beverage Processing
- Government & Council
- Healthcare & Nursing
- Insurance & Workers' Compensation
- Manufacturing
- Mental Health & Allied Health
- Professional Services
- Rail
- Retail & Hospitality
- Security Services
- Technology & Software
- Telecommunications
- Utilities & Energy
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks'. Fatigue is not on the Schedule 1A list, so it counts only where likely to cause death or notifiable harm. If you have fewer than 20 workers you manage critical risks only, so a fatigue-linked vehicle or machinery risk must be on your critical list. Following an approved code is deemed compliance.
1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027 HSWA centres on 'critical risks'. Hazards under the mining and petroleum regulations are listed in Schedule 1A, so your regulated risks sit in the critical tier; fatigue elsewhere counts only where likely to cause death or notifiable harm. Following an approved code is deemed compliance; officer duties become governance-level.
July 2026
February 2025
Story · Feb 2025 · Southland, New Zealand
Log truck driver flagged four times by in-cab drowsiness monitor diagnosed with severe sleep apnoea; dismissal paused once CPAP treatment starts
- Legal
A log truck driver for a log transport company in Southland triggered four in-cab 'Fatigue - drowsiness' alerts from the company's driver monitoring system within two weeks. After he was suspended, a company-supplied sleep study found severe sleep-disordered breathing, his doctor would not clear him to drive, and he was dismissed for medical incapacity. Once he started CPAP treatment, an occupational physician confirmed he met national driver licensing requirements. The Employment Relations Authority ordered interim reinstatement on condition that he prove he was using CPAP consistently.
Case NZ-transport-21Report an issue
January 2025
Story · Jan 2025 · Auckland, New Zealand
Night-shift recovery support worker filmed sleeping wins unjustified dismissal case after employer tolerated sleeping
- Legal
- Financial
A long-serving recovery support worker who worked 12-hour night shifts alone at a 24-hour residential service for high-needs residents, run by a community trust, was secretly filmed sleeping for up to about three hours a shift and summarily dismissed. The Employment Relations Authority found night staff had a legitimate expectation, from a 2021 meeting, that they could sleep during a combined two-and-a-half-hour break (though no contractual entitlement), that management had turned a blind eye to sleeping, and that the trust had cut 16-hour shifts to 12 hours partly because staff could nod off. The dismissal was unjustified; reinstatement was declined and remedies were reduced 25% for contribution.
Case NZ-healthcare-04Report an issue
December 2024
Story · Dec 2024 · New Zealand
Stevedoring firm entitled to bargain to scrap four-consecutive 12-hour shift limit; fatigue experts agree controls must come first
- Legal
During collective bargaining, a stevedoring contractor proposed replacing a rule requiring a 36-hour stand-down after four consecutive shifts (in practice a limit of four consecutive 12-hour shifts) with a fortnightly maximum of 108 hours; non-union staff had already agreed to weekly and fortnightly caps of 60 and 108 hours. The union argued this would force members to accept unsafe working hours, but the union's fatigue expert and the company's roster expert largely agreed that whether longer runs of shifts were safe could not be judged without seeing the fatigue controls. The Employment Relations Authority said it was not deciding whether the change was safe. It found the company was entitled to bargain for the change and had not breached good faith, assuming it would carefully analyse the fatigue effects and put controls in place.
Case NZ-ports-04Report an issue
September 2024
Story · Sept 2024 · New Zealand
Sleep-deprived lead developer worked about 25 extra hours a week; excessive hours an unjustified disadvantage
- Legal
- Financial
The only full-time software developer at a software company, leading a game project to a client deadline, worked roughly 25 extra hours a week over 11 weeks, including late-night and early-morning code commits, and told his employer he was struggling with sleep deprivation. After he posted about his hours on social media late one night while exhausted, the company dismissed him for serious misconduct. The Employment Relations Authority found the excessive hours were an unjustified disadvantage and the dismissal unjustified, awarding NZ$3,000 and NZ$12,000 compensation plus six months' salary halved for his contribution.
Case NZ-tech-01Report an issue
July 2024
Story · Jul 2024 · New Zealand
Fatigued engineer misses loose servo bolt in duplicate inspection
- Safety
A light helicopter rolled and hit terrain while landing after a bolt securing a hydraulic servo came loose in flight; both occupants had minor injuries. TAIC found the engineer who certified the second half of the independent duplicate inspection was likely experiencing cumulative fatigue, linked to disrupted sleep, that contributed to the error.
Case NZ-aviation-01Report an issue
June 2024
Story · Jun 2024 · New Zealand
Police officer driving home after extended shift falls asleep, crosses centre line and hits oncoming car
- Safety
- Legal
A police officer driving home in an unmarked police car at the end of an extended shift fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the centre line and collided with an oncoming vehicle. No one was significantly injured but the police car was written off. The officer was charged with careless driving, completed diversion, and went through a confidential employment process; the Independent Police Conduct Authority was satisfied police took appropriate action.
Case NZ-emergency-04Report an issue
January 2024
Story · Jan 2024 · New Zealand
Cruise vessel runs aground after master falls asleep at the helm
- Safety
An overnight cruise vessel ran aground in a fiord at about 6.07pm with 57 passengers and 9 crew aboard; several people had minor injuries. TAIC found it virtually certain the master fell asleep while navigating, that he was very likely suffering workload-induced fatigue (about 16-hour days), and that the operator's safety system had not recognised or mitigated it.
Case NZ-maritime-01Report an issue
October 2023
Story · Oct 2023 · Auckland, New Zealand
Overnight urgent-care receptionist caught asleep on CCTV twice gets final warning; constructive dismissal claim fails
- Legal
A medical receptionist working 11pm to 7am shifts at a 24-hour urgent care clinic was reported by a night nurse for sleeping on shift, and CCTV showed her asleep on two night shifts in 2023, some months after she had been told that sleeping on shift put patients and the business at risk. She admitted sleeping and the employer treated it as serious misconduct, issuing a final written warning rather than dismissal. She resigned and later claimed constructive dismissal, but the Employment Relations Authority found she left voluntarily, having said she was unhappy working nights.
Case NZ-healthcare-07Report an issue
September 2023
Story · Sept 2023 · New Zealand
Container terminal operator with severe sleep apnoea medically retired without specialist review; interim reinstatement ordered
- Legal
A container terminal operator employed by the national rail operator in a category 2 safety-critical role was found to have severe obstructive sleep apnoea in a 2023 sleep study, and in 2025 was assessed unfit because of poor diabetes control and untreated sleep apnoea. The employer medically retired him in 2026 without the sleep physician opinion and specialist diabetes review its own chief medical officer had said were needed. The Employment Relations Authority found a seriously arguable case of unjustified dismissal and ordered interim reinstatement, noting he could return to active duty only once cleared under the rail health standards.
Case NZ-rail-18Report an issue
December 2022
Story · Dec 2022 · New Zealand
Truck driver 15.5 hours on duty without rest breaks crosses into path of shunt train
- Safety
In the early afternoon a truck and trailer drove over a level crossing near a regional city without stopping and was struck by a shunting train, which derailed; a rail worker riding the train broke a collarbone. The truck's crew had started their shift at 11.15 pm the night before and, by the time of the collision, had been on duty about 15.5 hours without taking the statutory rest breaks. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found it likely that the driver's ability to scan and perceive the road environment was reduced by fatigue, on top of the distraction of a phone call.
Case NZ-transport-03Report an issue
November 2022
Story · Nov 2022 · Waikato, New Zealand
Night-shift worker on heavy overtime crosses centreline driving home; killed in collision with school bus
- Safety
A night-shift worker who worked 9pm to 7am shifts, commuted about an hour and a half each way and had been doing a large amount of overtime crossed the centreline at 7.37am while driving home and collided with a school bus. He died at the scene. Police crash investigators found fatigue was a contributing factor, and the coroner used the finding to warn that night shift workers face the greatest risk of sleep disruption and that once fatigue sets in only sleep will help.
Case NZ-food-01Report an issue
November 2021
Story · Nov 2021 · Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
New meat-plant worker with untreated severe sleep apnoea drives to work after short sleep; killed in head-on with truck
- Safety
A young worker starting a new job at a meat processing factory had severe obstructive sleep apnoea and found his CPAP machine intolerable to use consistently. After collecting his partner from work at about 2am, and failing to arrange a lift, he drove himself to work at 7.15am; other motorists saw his car repeatedly drift out of its lane before it crossed the centreline into an oncoming truck, and he died at the scene. The coroner found fatigue was the most likely explanation and stressed that drivers showing warning signs must stop and rest, even if it makes them late for work.
Case NZ-food-02Report an issue
August 2021
Story · Aug 2021 · Waikato, New Zealand
Courier van driver fresh off a 12-hour shift crosses median; oncoming driver killed
- Safety
A courier van driver who had just finished a 12-hour shift crossed the painted median on a sweeping downhill curve on a state highway in Waikato and collided head-on with an oncoming car, killing its driver. Police crash investigators found fatigue was a contributing factor: the van driver had worked long hours, said he was tired, and there was no braking or attempt to avoid the crash. The coroner endorsed recommendations including a review of delivery drivers' daily hours, electronic monitoring of driving hours, driver fatigue monitoring cameras and company fatigue plans, and sent the finding to major courier companies.
Case NZ-transport-20Report an issue
July 2021
Story · Jul 2021 · New Zealand
Fishing skipper awake 20 hours as sole watchkeeper; trawler hits container ship at 4am
- Safety
At about 4 am a small fishing vessel on autopilot, with no one keeping watch in the wheelhouse, ran into a stationary container ship off the New Zealand coast. The skipper, the only qualified watchkeeper on board, had been awake about 20 hours after a 5-6 hour sleep and was in the engine room at the time. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found it about as likely as not that fatigue influenced the skipper's decisions, and that the vessel's crewing meant the skipper could not keep compliant watches without becoming chronically fatigued.
Case NZ-agriculture-02Report an issue
March 2021
Story · Mar 2021 · New Zealand
Trucking firm fined NZ$366,000 after driver denied proper rest dies in late-night rollover
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A heavy truck driver carrying steel pipes on a long inter-city run failed to take a 55 km/h curve late at night; the truck tipped over and caught fire and he was killed. He had driven from mid-morning until after midnight and was back at work before 7am, and the company's records showed a persistent trend of breaches of work and rest time rules. The District Court found the company did not make sure rest breaks were taken, that a manager's request for a rest was never enforced, and that a culture of silence encouraged drivers to keep driving regardless of their energy levels.
Case NZ-transport-09Report an issue
May 2020
Story · May 2020 · Auckland, New Zealand
Packaging plant worker killed in unguarded rollers after a week plus weekend night shifts; regulator says fatigue could have played a role
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A worker at a packaging manufacturer's food packaging plant in Auckland was drawn into unguarded counter-rotating rollers on a foam sheet extrusion line and killed. In sentencing the company, the court noted he had worked five weekdays and then 12 hours and eight hours on the two weekend days on night shift, and that the WorkSafe New Zealand investigation concluded fatigue could have played a role. The company was fined NZ$480,000, with the sentence driven mainly by the lack of guarding.
Case NZ-manufacturing-09Report an issue
Story · May 2020 · Auckland, New Zealand
Rail operator's roster change justified by fatigue scores: Authority finds safety case not established
- Legal
The national rail operator proposed moving mechanical engineers at a locomotive servicing depot in Auckland from fixed 12-hour day or night shifts to rotating 8-hour shifts, citing fatigue analysis that rated the third and fourth night shifts as high risk. The rail union challenged the change. The Employment Relations Authority held the operator could change rosters under the collective agreement, but found it had not shown the rotating roster was safer: the fatigue tool's threshold was set for locomotive engineers, no on-the-job fatigue study was done, and no accident or near-miss data was provided.
Case NZ-rail-17Report an issue
February 2020
Story · Feb 2020 · Auckland, New Zealand
Police officer momentarily falls asleep driving a police vehicle and rear-ends a car
- Safety
- Legal
An officer driving a police vehicle in Auckland momentarily fell asleep, failed to stop and hit the back of another car, damaging both vehicles. Police found the officer at fault and issued a written traffic warning for careless driving and a performance sanction. The Independent Police Conduct Authority agreed with the finding and the outcome.
Case NZ-emergency-03Report an issue
January 2020
Story · Jan 2020 · Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Charter boat master asleep at the wheel near midnight after a 7.30 am start; vessel hits rocks and sinks at port entrance
- Safety
- Legal
A recreational fishing charter vessel left port at about 7.30 am for a one-day charter and was expected back at 6.30 pm. Shortly before midnight its master was asleep at the wheel as it entered the port, and the vessel struck rocks and sank; no one was injured. The company that owned it pleaded guilty to operating without a properly certificated master and to having an inadequate trip reporting procedure, the hazard being an incapacitated or asleep master that shore staff would not detect.
Case NZ-maritime-18Report an issue
Story · Jan 2020 · New Zealand
Truck driver on four hours' sleep convicted after crossing centre line and killing motorist
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A commercial truck driver who had slept only about four hours before starting a long-haul run crossed the centre line twice within ten minutes, the second time on a bridge, colliding with an oncoming vehicle whose driver later died. He was also in breach of the rule requiring a rest break every five and a half hours. Sentencing him, the District Court judge said he should have stopped and slept, and warned that fatigued drivers are dangerous to others.
Case NZ-transport-08Report an issue
September 2019
Story · Sept 2019 · New Zealand
Fatigued lines crew supervisor skips livening tests after evening pole replacement; resident receives electric shock and supervisor censured
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A lines crew replaced a damaged power pole at a rural property one evening at the end of the working week, finishing at about 7.30pm, and transposed the network phase and neutral conductors. The worksite supervisor, responsible for the pre-livening and post-livening tests, did not ensure they were done, and three days later the resident received an electric shock. The supervisor told the Electrical Workers Registration Board the cause of his failure was fatigue and stress. The Board found he had negligently created a risk of serious harm, censured him and ordered costs, taking into account his work with his employer on training to mitigate future fatigue or distraction.
Case NZ-utilities-02Report an issue
July 2019
Story · Jul 2019 · New Zealand
Dairy farm assistants worked unconsulted calving hours and missed breaks amid fatigue; employer pays arrears and penalties
- Legal
- Financial
Two farm assistants employed by a dairy farming company on an 11-days-on, 3-off roster from 5am to 5.30pm worked their first calving season with extended hours, including night calving checks, that were never outlined in their agreements or fairly consulted on. They frequently missed contracted rest and meal breaks. The Employment Relations Authority found the unconsulted extended hours and the failure to ensure breaks disadvantaged them, citing the fatigue and stress of calving and the evidence of fatigue on the farm, and ordered break arrears, compensation and penalties.
Case NZ-agriculture-05Report an issue
June 2019
Story · Jun 2019 · Taranaki, New Zealand
Truck driver starts 1am shift with little sleep after a 181 km drive; truck leaves road on bend at 3.45am, driver killed
- Safety
A heavy truck driver who told a friend he was tired drove 181 km to start a 1am shift, leaving very little time to sleep beforehand. At about 3.45am his truck, towing a trailer of building materials, failed to take a slight right-hand bend on a state highway in Taranaki and hit an embankment; he was ejected through the windscreen and died. The coroner found good evidence he started work in a state of sleep deprivation, alongside illness, methamphetamine use and not wearing a seatbelt, and commended the national transport agency's fatigue advice for shift workers and employers.
Case NZ-transport-01Report an issue
March 2019
Story · Mar 2019 · Waikato, New Zealand
Truck crosses centreline in head-on truck collision; coroner calls for fatigue-detection and lane-departure devices
- Safety
A truck driver was killed when his truck crossed the centreline on a state highway in Waikato and collided head-on with another truck. Police crash investigators said it was possible he was fatigued and had fallen asleep. His truck had no lane-departure warning or driver-fatigue camera, and the road had no centreline rumble strips; the coroner said either device may have alerted him, and recommended the national transport agency gather crash data to support requiring such devices, particularly in commercial vehicles on long, repetitive journeys.
Case NZ-transport-19Report an issue
November 2018
Story · Nov 2018 · Gisborne, New Zealand
Logging truck driver without required 10-hour break drifts into wrong lane; oncoming driver killed
- Safety
A logging truck travelling on the wrong side of the road collided head-on with a car at the bottom of a hill in Gisborne at about 8am, killing the car's driver. The coroner found the truck driver worked shift patterns and had not had the required 10-hour break between shifts, that several formal predictors of fatigue were present, and that the truck most likely drifted into the oncoming lane through inattention or fatigue. The coroner stressed that heavy vehicle drivers must observe the regulatory breaks between and during shifts.
Case NZ-transport-18Report an issue
May 2018
Story · May 2018 · Auckland, New Zealand
Stevedore paid for 68 hours in a week: Authority finds port company breaching its own 60-hour fatigue limit
- Legal
A port company's collective agreement required a fatigue risk management programme run consistently with scientific principles, and its policy capped stevedores at 60 hours in any seven-day period unless the worker agreed, fatigue risk was assessed and the general manager approved. The union and a stevedore sought compliance orders; the Employment Relations Authority found the policy was in place and that the claim it was not operated scientifically was not proven, but that the 60-hour limit was being breached. The stevedore had been paid for 68 hours in two overlapping seven-day periods in 2018, other breaches had occurred, and there was no evidence the required approvals or agreement were obtained. The Authority left the compliance order for further discussion, with leave to return.
Case NZ-ports-03Report an issue
Story · May 2018 · Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
Worker fatigued by two jobs drifts into logging truck while driving for work; coroner finds employer fatigue controls inadequate
- Safety
A worker holding two jobs - evening chef shifts finishing about 10pm and a 5am-start bread merchandising role that required driving his own car between supermarkets - drifted across the centreline of an expressway while driving for work and collided head-on with a logging truck. The coroner found the crash was caused by fatigue from the timing and duration of his hours across both jobs, and that neither he nor his employer, a food company, had taken adequate steps to manage the risk of driving while fatigued. On expert advice from a university fatigue professor, the coroner recommended that WorkSafe and the national transport agency develop fatigue risk management resources and training for businesses whose workers drive.
Case NZ-retail-02Report an issue
March 2018
Story · Mar 2018 · New Zealand
Truck driver over work-hour limits with falsified logbook fails to stop in holiday traffic; two young children killed
- Safety
- Legal
In heavy holiday traffic on a state highway, the driver of a truck and trailer who was following too closely failed to stop and ran into the rear of a car, pushing it into the vehicles ahead. Two young children in the car died. The truck driver pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death, falsifying a logbook entry, exceeding work hours and failing to take mandatory rest, and his employer, a transport company, pleaded guilty to two counts of allowing a vehicle to be used with a falsified logbook. The coroner endorsed WorkSafe recommendations on electronic logbooks and scheduling for rest compliance, and referred the case to WorkSafe to consider a health and safety prosecution.
Case NZ-transport-02Report an issue
November 2017
Story · Nov 2017 · Wellington, New Zealand
Charter skipper with broken sleep falls asleep at the helm; catamaran motors unattended for 20 minutes and hits oil wharf
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
The sole director of a sailing charter company in Wellington fell asleep at the helm while moving a catamaran across the harbour at about 8am, and the vessel ran on autopilot for about 20 minutes until it struck a wharf used to unload oil from tankers. He had a broken sleep pattern from sleeping aboard at a busy city wharf and late-night booking calls, had run three charters the day before and slept up to five hours 45 minutes. He was fined NZ$2,500 in the District Court after a Maritime New Zealand prosecution.
Case NZ-maritime-17Report an issue
Story · Nov 2017 · New Zealand
Truck driver over work-day limit without required rest jailed after van crash kills one, injures five
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
On his fifth day with a new transport employer, a double-trailer truck driver who had exceeded the 13-hour work-day limit and had not taken the required 10 hours' continuous rest collided with a van carrying six people at about 9pm. One passenger was killed and five were injured, two airlifted to hospital. He also admitted falsifying his logbook, and the judge called him a menace to the trucking industry and an accident waiting to happen.
Case NZ-transport-07Report an issue
October 2017
Story · Oct 2017 · Auckland, New Zealand
Steel melter crews on 12-hour 4-on-4-off rotation report exhaustion; union's refusal to cut crew numbers held reasonable
- Legal
A steel mill wanted to cut the number of tappers on each shift in its melter plant, where operators work rotating 12-hour shifts, four on and four off, with two night shifts then two day shifts. During monitored trials, workers reported being exhausted at the end of shifts, and one operator logged a report after nearly falling asleep while driving home. Experts also flagged that overtime on rest days left some operators without enough recovery time. The Employment Relations Authority found the union had reasonable grounds, including fatigue and safety concerns, to refuse consent to the cut.
Case NZ-manufacturing-08Report an issue
June 2017
Story · Jun 2017 · Auckland, New Zealand
Taxi driver given 4.45am job at 11.45pm crashes with passengers aboard; coroner questions short-notice allocation
- Safety
A contracted taxi driver who was sleeping in her van at a hospital was rung by her employer at 11.45pm and asked to take a 4.45am booking. She left at 3.56am, got lost, and passengers later reported erratic driving before the van failed to take a bend on a rural road in Auckland; she died and her passengers were seriously injured. She had earlier told her GP she had fallen asleep at the wheel after a late shift. The coroner raised concern about the short-notice job allocation, finding she may have been less fatigued with 8 to 10 hours' notice, and noted that her prescribed medication may also have contributed to her fatigue.
Case NZ-transport-17Report an issue
March 2017
Story · Mar 2017 · New Zealand
Truck driver told by employer to keep going past hours limit convicted after possible sleep crash
- Safety
- Legal
A truck driver who had been driving for more than 14 hours crashed on a rural bend, with no skid marks to show any evasive action. He had told his employer he could not finish the run without breaching work-time rules but was told to carry on, and he accepted it was possible he had fallen asleep. The District Court convicted him of dangerous driving and exceeding the 13-hour work-day limit, and disqualified him from heavy vehicles.
Case NZ-transport-06Report an issue
February 2017
Story · Feb 2017 · New Zealand
Freight driver with undiagnosed sleep apnoea passes stop boards at worksite
- Safety
A train passed the warning and compulsory stop boards protecting a bridge worksite and crossed it while track workers were beneath the bridge. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) found the driver was likely having microsleeps, and that he was later diagnosed with a sleep disorder that affects sleep quality.
Case NZ-rail-01Report an issue
January 2017
Story · Jan 2017 · Waikato, New Zealand
Truck driver who knowingly skipped required rest loses control on wet bend and kills motorcyclist; inadequate sleep an aggravating factor in manslaughter sentence
- Safety
- Legal
A truck and trailer driver on the last leg of a three-day mussel delivery trip from Waikato to Nelson lost control on a wet downhill bend in Waikato, crossed the centre line and killed a motorcyclist. He had not taken the required rest periods, was sleeping only a few hours at a time, often in his truck, and had made false logbook entries. The High Court treated his knowingly inadequate sleep and rest as an aggravating feature, alongside excessive speed, misuse of the engine retarder and a disabled braking system, and jailed him for manslaughter.
Case NZ-transport-16Report an issue
November 2016
Story · Nov 2016 · Auckland, New Zealand
Hospital worker with undiagnosed sleep apnoea falls asleep driving home after long shift; conviction quashed on appeal
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A stores supervisor in the kitchens at a hospital in Auckland fell asleep driving home after a longer than usual shift, crossed the centre line and collided with another car, injuring both drivers. In hospital he was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnoea that he had not known about. He was convicted of careless driving causing injury, but the Court of Appeal set the conviction aside because it was not proved that a reasonable person in his position would have realised he was sleepy.
Case NZ-healthcare-06Report an issue
October 2016
Story · Oct 2016 · New Zealand
Contractor convicted after tractor driver killed following 197-hour fortnight
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
An agricultural contractor's tractor driver who had worked 197.25 hours in a fortnight, including 16.75 hours that day, was killed on a public road at about 2.45am while driving the tractor about 30 km home. WorkSafe New Zealand prosecuted the company for failing to manage fatigue risk and a District Court convicted it, the first fatigue prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
Case NZ-agriculture-01Report an issue
July 2016
Story · Jul 2016 · Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Site supervisor with sleep condition fell asleep operating crane and driving; ending of employment unjustified
- Legal
- Financial
A long-serving site supervisor at a precast concrete company developed a medical condition in mid-2016 that led to him regularly falling asleep at work, including, according to company evidence, while operating a crane and once while driving a company vehicle; at the time he was working mainly at the company's precast factory in Bay of Plenty. After he asked to work closer to home and declined offered sabbatical leave, the company treated an unclear remark at a meeting later that year as him finishing up, took back his vehicle, phone and tools and processed his final pay, which the Employment Relations Authority found was a dismissal. The Authority found the dismissal unjustified because the sleep and performance concerns that more likely than not lay behind it were never raised or investigated with him. It reduced his remedies by 40% because he had not clarified his own position.
Case NZ-manufacturing-07Report an issue
June 2016
Story · Jun 2016 · Auckland, New Zealand
Employer says welder was 'sleeping on the job' at smoko and over a steel saw; sleep not proven and dismissal unjustified
- Legal
- Financial
A fitter and welder at a motor body builder in Auckland was summarily dismissed three weeks into the job. The employer said he had been filmed asleep at the smoko table and was seen slouching over a steel cutting saw, which it called a safety risk. The Employment Relations Authority found the video did not clearly show he was asleep, that the real reason was timekeeping, and that no fair process had been followed. He was awarded lost wages and compensation.
Case NZ-manufacturing-06Report an issue
March 2016
Story · Mar 2016 · New Zealand
Tour van driver who likely fell asleep at 94 km/h sentenced after passenger killed
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A worker for an overseas tour company, driving a rented passenger van carrying a tour group, failed to take a left-hand bend, crossed the centre line and ran about 150 metres on the wrong side of the road before hitting a culvert. One unrestrained passenger was killed and five others were injured. The District Court heard the driver conceded he might have fallen asleep at about 94 km/h, and that he was not licensed to drive a passenger service vehicle.
Case NZ-transport-05Report an issue
January 2016
Story · Jan 2016 · Northland, New Zealand
Young deckhand on first solo night watch falls asleep after limited sleep; fishing vessel grounds in cave and is lost
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A young deckhand on a commercial fishing vessel was woken after about one to three and a quarter hours' sleep and put on watch alone for the first time at night while the master slept. Tired from his day's work and limited sleep, he fell asleep, and the vessel steamed past its waypoint and grounded in a cave, capsized and was lost; the crew swam ashore and were rescued. The company that owned the vessel had no effective system to stop fatigued crew going on watch, and the watch alarm had been disabled without the crew knowing it existed.
Case NZ-maritime-16Report an issue
May 2015
Story · May 2015 · Taranaki, New Zealand
Drilling firm's camp curfew to guarantee 7 hours' sleep struck down; Authority says 12.5-hour, 14-day shift pattern is the fatigue hazard
- Legal
A drilling contractor working on petroleum, gas and geothermal rigs ordered crews to live in camp during 14-day hitches and limited time away from camp between 12.5-hour shifts, aiming to make sure workers got at least 7 hours' sleep. The union challenged the directive. The Employment Relations Authority found no evidence that the curfew would actually achieve the sleep objective, noted the employer accepted its shift pattern may contribute to fatigue, and said that if the work pattern creates the hazard, the work pattern is what should change; the directive was declared unenforceable.
Case NZ-oilgas-01Report an issue
November 2014
Story · Nov 2014 · New Zealand
Teacher driving school group after days of hiking falls asleep at the wheel; teacher and student killed in collision with milk tanker
- Safety
An overseas school teacher driving a group of students on an outdoor education trip crossed the centreline of a state highway into the path of a milk tanker, about 1.45 hours after the last rest break and after several days of hiking. The teacher and a student were killed. The crash analysis concluded the driver had fallen asleep moments before the crash, and a fatigue expert pointed to sustained physical and mental activity and cumulative sleep deprivation. The coroner recommended that the government's transport and education ministries review policies for preventing driver fatigue, including an awake, trained observer in vehicles on outdoor education excursions.
Case NZ-education-01Report an issue
Story · Nov 2014 · Canterbury, New Zealand
Truck driver set unachievable tasks works 77 hours in a week, falls asleep and crashes; freight company and dispatcher fined
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A long-haul truck driver employed by a freight company crashed into a tree in the early hours after falling asleep on a bend near a river bridge in Canterbury, suffering a spinal fracture and a brain injury. He had worked about 77 hours that week, missed his mandatory 10-hour rest and falsified his logbook to complete tasks that the company and its dispatcher accepted could not be done within legal work time limits. The court found the company had failed to allocate work in a way that guarded against driver fatigue, and fined both the company and the dispatcher under workplace health and safety law.
Case NZ-transport-15Report an issue
August 2014
Story · Aug 2014 · New Zealand
Fatigued protection officer clears worksite; train stops 180 m from excavator
- Safety
At 3.19am an empty passenger train came within about 180 metres of a hi-rail excavator and work group on a bridge after the rail protection officer cancelled track protection without confirming all workers had left. TAIC found the officer was likely fatigued from a high workload and long days (60+ hours in the prior week, no day fully off) and that sleep inertia impaired his judgement.
Case NZ-rail-02Report an issue
May 2014
Story · May 2014 · Taranaki, New Zealand
Hotel night porter asleep alone on duty for 1.75 hours unjustifiably dismissed without medical inquiry
- Legal
- Financial
A room attendant and night porter at a hotel in Taranaki, the only staff member on duty overnight with about 44 guests, was found asleep on a couch after kitchen staff could not get into the hotel at 5.40am. She said she had been tired, unwell and had a sore back. The Employment Relations Authority found she was asleep for about 1.75 hours, a serious concern for hotel security, but held the dismissal unjustified because the investigation was compromised and a fair employer would have sought medical evidence first; remedies were cut 40% for her contribution.
Case NZ-retail-01Report an issue
October 2013
Story · Oct 2013 · Manawatu-Whanganui, New Zealand
Line technician ignores 7 to 10 warning drifts, falls asleep driving work truck home; one killed
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A young line technician working for the national grid operator on lines in the Wellington region was driving a work truck home for the weekend when he fell asleep, crossed the centre line and hit two oncoming cars, killing one driver and injuring two others. A following truck driver saw the ute drift off the road seven to ten times in the 20 minutes before the crash, and the driver had planned to stop in a town on the way because of his fatigue. The High Court upheld a sentence of 300 hours' community work, finding that ignoring repeated warnings made falling asleep at the wheel particularly serious.
Case NZ-utilities-01Report an issue
June 2013
Story · Jun 2013 · New Zealand
Train controller impaired by roster fatigue sets up near head-on collision
- Safety
A track occupation was authorised into a section a long-distance passenger train was entering; the train driver noticed the conflict and stopped. TAIC found the train controller's performance was highly likely impaired by fatigue, because his roster in the preceding weeks did not allow enough opportunity for good-quality sleep or recovery from accumulated sleep debt.
Case NZ-rail-03Report an issue
February 2013
Story · Feb 2013 · New Zealand
Fatigued registrar prescribes drug patient was allergic to; patient dies
- Safety
- Legal
A patient on a hospital rehabilitation ward was prescribed an antibiotic to which she had a known allergy, and she later died of toxic epidermal necrolysis. The registrar told the Health and Disability Commissioner she was fatigued and juggling several tasks amid constant interruptions, and the commissioner recorded a chaotic ward with a large workload and an open office with no door. The commissioner accepted these factors may have contributed to the likelihood of the error, found the registrar, a nurse and the district health board in breach, and held that the staff and systems let the patient down.
Case NZ-healthcare-03Report an issue
May 2012
Story · May 2012 · Otago, New Zealand
Courier driver on 3.45am start after possible rest-period breach likely lapsed into microsleep; fatal crash
- Safety
- Legal
A contract courier driver who regularly left home at 3.30am failed to negotiate a left-hand bend in Otago and hit a power pole, dying at the scene. Commercial vehicle investigators calculated he could have breached his rest-period obligations, having been at the courier company's depot until about 6pm the previous evening before starting at about 3.45am, and found the company had not followed its own work time controls or monitored its contractor; an improvement notice was issued. The coroner considered a microsleep at that early hour the more likely cause and asked the national transport agency and police to re-appraise driving hours issues, noting courier drivers were not required to keep logbooks.
Case NZ-transport-14Report an issue
January 2012
Story · Jan 2012 · Canterbury, New Zealand
Forklift driver found asleep twice on parked forklift; dismissal unjustified as medical cause not ruled out
- Legal
- Financial
A long-serving forklift driver in a fresh produce company's inwards goods store was found asleep on his parked forklift twice in one shift, once slumped over the wheel so that a colleague first feared he was dead, and went home saying his diabetes was playing up. An occupational physician noted a disordered sleep pattern but no barrier to safe forklift work, and the company then dismissed him for sleeping on the job. The Employment Relations Authority held the dismissal unjustified because the company could not properly rule out his medical conditions as the cause without further inquiry, and awarded three months' wages and NZ$12,000 compensation.
Case NZ-warehousing-01Report an issue
October 2011
Story · Oct 2011 · Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Container ship grounding: TAIC finds master and second mate were likely affected by fatigue but could not link it to their actions
- Safety
A container ship struck a reef at 17 knots at about 2.14am, after calling at five New Zealand ports in six days. The ship broke up, about 200 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and much of its cargo were lost, and it became a total loss. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the master's schedule put him at risk of fatigue impairment, that he had not had a six-hour rest period on any of the six days before the grounding, and that both he and the second mate were likely at least mildly affected by fatigue. It could not determine whether their actions were caused by fatigue, and found that departures from good passage planning and watchkeeping practice directly contributed.
Case NZ-maritime-15Report an issue
Story · Oct 2011 · Taranaki, New Zealand
Rest home night duty leader 'in all likelihood' slept during long night breaks; dismissal unjustified but no remedies
- Legal
A resident's family complained that both night-shift carers at a rest home were asleep in the lounge under blankets between 3 and 4am and that checks on their relative had not been done. Video showed regular periods of about an hour and a half with lights off and no activity in the areas the night duty leader was responsible for, and a co-worker reported regular sleeping on duty. The Employment Relations Authority found the dismissal unjustified because of a flawed investigation, but concluded the duty leader had in all likelihood been asleep during some extended breaks and that her contribution was so great she received no remedies.
Case NZ-agedcare-05Report an issue
April 2011
Story · Apr 2011 · New Zealand
Mentally fatigued train controller nearly sends coal train into track vehicle
- Safety
A train controller authorised a track engineer's vehicle onto a section without verifying the location of a loaded coal train, leading to a near head-on collision. TAIC found the controller was mentally fatigued and had reduced blood glucose from insufficient food, after almost five hours without a break on a desk covering one and a half areas.
Case NZ-rail-04Report an issue
February 2011
Story · Feb 2011 · New Zealand
Court of Appeal: disability support worker's overnight sleepovers are work and must be paid at least minimum wage
- Legal
- Financial
A community service worker for a disability services provider had to stay overnight at a community home for people with disabilities, free to sleep but on hand to deal with anything that arose, for a flat NZ$34 per sleepover, about NZ$3.40 to NZ$4.30 an hour. The worker, who used sleepovers to rest and sleep, claimed the minimum wage for every rostered hour. The Court of Appeal agreed with the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court that sleepovers are work under minimum wage law, given constraints such as having to be readily woken and not sleeping behind a locked door.
Case NZ-agedcare-04Report an issue
January 2011
Story · Jan 2011 · Waikato, New Zealand
Forensic psychiatric nurse back from serious illness found asleep on evening shift; dismissal unjustified over deficient investigation
- Legal
- Financial
A registered nurse in a district health board's forensic psychiatric rehabilitation service, recently back at work after a lengthy absence for a significant illness, was found asleep in a darkened residents' lounge during an evening shift and then left early, saying he was really tired. The board summarily dismissed him for sleeping on duty and leaving early. The Employment Relations Authority held the dismissal unjustified because the board's investigation was deficient, but found he had more likely than not been sleeping, creating unnecessary risk for residents and his colleague. It also criticised the board for failing to have him medically assessed after earlier reports of sleeping on duty.
Case NZ-healthcare-05Report an issue
May 2010
Story · May 2010 · New Zealand
Coastal cargo ship grounds; mate on watch impaired by acute sleep loss
- Safety
A coastal cargo vessel ran aground at about 5.06am on a coastal passage, and the mate on watch did not realise for at least 10 minutes. TAIC found the mate's performance was probably impaired by acute sleep loss, possibly made worse by alcohol the evening before, which reduces sleep quality.
Case NZ-maritime-02Report an issue
Story · May 2010 · Canterbury, New Zealand
Night-shift boiler operator in sole charge found on dark control-room floor at 1.35am; dismissal upheld though sleep not proven
- Legal
A boiler operator employed by an airline at an airport in Canterbury, in sole charge of an attended boiler on night shift, was found by his supervisor shortly after 1.30am lying on the floor of the darkened boiler control room. He took a few seconds to come to. The airline accepted it could not prove he was actually asleep, but concluded he was sleeping or at least lying down intending to sleep, and dismissed him for serious misconduct. The Employment Relations Authority held that a fair and reasonable employer could reach that conclusion, and his claim failed.
Case NZ-aviation-03Report an issue
March 2010
Story · Mar 2010 · New Zealand
Retirement village maintenance worker found asleep in show apartment during a viewing; dismissal justified
- Legal
A gardener and maintenance worker at a newly opened retirement village was found slumped on the couch of a show apartment at about 12.30pm when the village manager brought in a prospective resident, and did not stir until they reached the kitchen. He denied being asleep and was dismissed for serious misconduct. The Employment Relations Authority found the disciplinary process flawed but concluded he had been asleep and that the dismissal was justified.
Case NZ-agedcare-03Report an issue
December 2009
Story · Dec 2009 · New Zealand
Mate awake 40 hours supervising ironsand loading alone; cargo shifts and ship lists 9 degrees
- Safety
During the first loading of ironsand slurry by a newly appointed crew at an offshore mooring terminal, the cargo shifted across several holds late at night and the bulk carrier listed to 9 degrees. The ship's first mate had worked for about 40 hours without sleep while overseeing the loading largely on his own, and had gone to rest only an hour earlier. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found his performance was likely compromised by fatigue, and that the resources available to share the cargo work were not used, leaving one officer to become fatigued.
Case NZ-maritime-09Report an issue
March 2009
Story · Mar 2009 · New Zealand
Truck driver who began falling asleep after almost 15 hours' work jailed for killing cyclist
- Safety
- Legal
A truck driver who had started work at 2.30am but logged a 4am start had worked almost 15 hours, and driven over seven hours without the required break, when he began to fall asleep at the wheel at about 5.45pm and struck and killed a cyclist. Records showed he had breached driving-hour rules 13 times in the two months before the crash. He was convicted of reckless driving causing death and falsifying his logbook and sent to prison.
Case NZ-transport-04Report an issue
September 2008
Story · Sept 2008 · New Zealand
Controller fatigued by planned and unplanned shifts omits a train from diagram
- Safety
A train controller planned to route a freight train onto a line already occupied by a stationary freight train, risking a low-speed head-on collision. TAIC found the controller who omitted the second train was suffering fatigue from an excessive planned and unplanned roster that limited his opportunity to sleep, even though his hours closely met the minimum requirements.
Case NZ-rail-05Report an issue
August 2008
Story · Aug 2008 · Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Factory worker with sleep apnoea found asleep on his keyboard dismissed for 'continual need to sleep'; dismissal unjustified
- Legal
- Financial
A design-team worker at a factory in Bay of Plenty that makes refrigerated display cabinets developed sleep apnoea after treatment for an accident-related disability. He was found fast asleep with his head on his keyboard, and when he asked to take a daily 20-minute nap the company ended his employment, saying a continual need to sleep had frustrated his contract. The Employment Relations Authority found there was no frustration and the dismissal was unjustified. It reduced his compensation because he had not told his manager he was regularly falling asleep and had not taken the recommended lunchtime power naps.
Case NZ-manufacturing-05Report an issue
November 2007
Story · Nov 2007 · Nelson, New Zealand
Glass factory supervisor pushed to 70-hour weeks has near miss unloading glass and becomes exhausted; employer liable
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
After a glass company commissioned a new double-glazing line in 2007, its young factory and despatch supervisor worked up to 70 hours a week for more than a month, and extended hours on a regular basis for several weeks after that, in a physical role handling glass. He reported staff becoming tired and making mistakes, was involved in a near miss while unloading a pack of glass, and became exhausted. While he was on sick leave, the company terminated his employment on notice. The Employment Relations Authority found that the expectation to work those hours was unreasonable and caused his health to deteriorate, and that his dismissal was unjustified.
Case NZ-manufacturing-04Report an issue
Story · Nov 2007 · New Zealand
Topdressing pilot killed after 90+ take-offs: fatigue a contributing factor
- Safety
A topdressing aircraft descended into trees in a gully during aerial work and the pilot was killed. TAIC found the pilot was affected by several fatigue-inducing factors after more than 7 hours' work and over 90 take-offs and landings that day, which with a long cellphone call likely diverted his attention. The duty scheme did not count take-offs and landings.
Case NZ-aviation-02Report an issue
October 2007
Story · Oct 2007 · Southland, New Zealand
Launch master rostered 10 days on, one day off, then six more told to 'manage' fatigue; employer monitoring defeats safety claim
- Legal
A launch master on a tourism operator's scenic cruise vessels in Southland was rostered 10 days on, one day off and then six more days when he switched summer roster patterns, and raised possible fatigue with his manager, who replied that he would need to manage it. Expert evidence said 10 consecutive days followed by one day off is not safe practice. The Employment Relations Authority found no breach because the branch manager was asked to monitor him and not let him sail if he could not work safely, no fatigue issue arose, and the long run was a one-off from the roster change.
Case NZ-maritime-14Report an issue
May 2007
Story · May 2007 · New Zealand
Driver with undiagnosed mild sleep apnoea overruns track warrant at 4am
- Safety
An express freight train ran past a station at about 4am without track warrant authority; there was no conflicting traffic. TAIC found the driver's behaviour was consistent with extreme sleepiness and probably multiple microsleeps, after about 21 hours awake, at the circadian low, with mild obstructive sleep apnoea diagnosed after the incident.
Case NZ-rail-06Report an issue
February 2007
Story · Feb 2007 · New Zealand
Night truck driver's trailer tips over after accumulated fatigue; dismissal without investigation unjustified, but remedies cut by two thirds
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
A truck driver on overnight delivery runs from Auckland into Waikato and Bay of Plenty had a breakdown on a run that began at 11pm and did not finish until just before 7pm the next day. He started his next night shift that evening with an inadequate break and was then required to work the following night too. At 7.30am during that third night shift he lost concentration and his trailer tipped over, causing about NZ$22,000 of damage, and he was later dismissed without any investigation. The Employment Relations Authority found that fatigue had accumulated and caused the carelessness, that the employer probably should not have let him work the second night and had required him to work the third, and that the dismissal was unjustified; it cut his remedies by two thirds because he had not done what he could to manage his own fatigue risk.
Case NZ-transport-13Report an issue
December 2006
Story · Dec 2006 · New Zealand
ED doctor on back-to-back shifts misses head injury; brain bleed undiagnosed for 60 days
- Safety
- Legal
A man with a head injury was assessed shortly before 11 pm by an emergency doctor at a public hospital who had already worked a full day and stayed on, while not rostered, to help clear a patient backlog. A subdural haematoma was missed and the man deteriorated for about two months before it was diagnosed and treated. The Health and Disability Commissioner found that requiring staff to work back-to-back shifts was damaging to staff health and may place patients at unacceptable risk, and its expert advised that fatigue and heavy workload may have contributed to a number of suboptimal actions.
Case NZ-healthcare-02Report an issue
November 2006
Story · Nov 2006 · Auckland, New Zealand
Wallboard plant shift supervisor photographed asleep on a pallet at 6am on night shift; dismissal upheld
- Legal
A shift supervisor at a wallboard plant in Auckland had already been found asleep on duty and warned that falling asleep on shift was serious misconduct. Months later a team member photographed him at 5:59am on a rostered night shift lying motionless under a sheet of paper on a pallet of wallboard for more than 30 minutes. He was dismissed, and the Employment Relations Authority found the dismissal justified.
Case NZ-manufacturing-03Report an issue
May 2006
Story · May 2006 · New Zealand
Registrar 48 hours on call misses appendicitis; patient collapses and suffers perforation
- Safety
- Legal
A woman with severe abdominal pain was assessed by a surgical registrar at a public hospital, diagnosed with gastroenteritis and discharged, and collapsed at home within about 20 minutes; after readmission and a further assessment that evening, surgery the next day found a perforated appendix with peritonitis, followed by serious respiratory complications. The registrar was working a 48-hour on-call period and attributed his omissions to fatigue. The Health and Disability Commissioner found his error in assessment and documentation was a human error made at a time when he was fatigued, and stated that he should not have been rostered on call for 48 hours.
Case NZ-healthcare-01Report an issue
April 2006
Story · Apr 2006 · New Zealand
Fishing skipper falls asleep at the con; boat runs onto beach
- Safety
Just after midnight a fishing boat grounded on a beach at the foot of a cliff while on a coastal passage; no one was hurt. TAIC found the boat grounded because the skipper, who had the con, fell asleep, and that he was probably fatigued after about 26 hours of work with rest split into three periods.
Case NZ-maritime-03Report an issue
May 2005
Story · May 2005 · New Zealand
Freight driver falls asleep and passes signal at stop at 4am
- Safety
A freight train passed a home signal at stop at about 4.10am and continued on the main line until the driver regained awareness and stopped. TAIC found the driver had fallen asleep uncontrollably because of accumulated sleep debt from poor sleep with non-work causes, compounded by too few breaks, and that his rostered and actual hours did not cause excessive sleep debt.
Case NZ-rail-07Report an issue
April 2005
Story · Apr 2005 · New Zealand
Disability support worker probably fell asleep before 11pm handover; warning upheld, hours capped over 121-hour fortnight and second job
- Legal
- Financial
A support worker caring for adults with intellectual disabilities failed to open the door to let the next staff member start the 11pm shift, and her employer, a community trust, concluded she had probably fallen asleep. She had worked 121 hours in the fortnight before the disciplinary meeting and also held another job. The trust issued a formal verbal warning, limited her to contracted hours for six weeks and told her the outside hours were a contributing factor, and the Employment Relations Authority found the warning justified. Her later dismissal for lateness was found unjustified, with reduced remedies.
Case NZ-agedcare-02Report an issue
February 2005
Story · Feb 2005 · West Coast, New Zealand
Train controller with cumulative sleep debt sends freight train into track maintenance area
- Safety
A freight train was advanced into a track occupation where two track workers were replacing rail joints on a line in the West Coast region, after the train controller recorded the occupation incorrectly; one of the workers learned the train was close when he called train control to extend the occupation, and no one was hurt. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the controller's performance was probably impaired by cumulative sleep debt, circadian disruption and working near his circadian low. It found his roster excessive, the rail network owner's limits on hours and minimum time off for controllers inappropriate, and its monitoring of hours reactive.
Case NZ-rail-16Report an issue
January 2005
Story · Jan 2005 · New Zealand
Two train controllers with sleep debt issue conflicting track warrants
- Safety
On the same day, train controllers at two locations issued conflicting track warrants that put two trains on the same section; the second was caught before a head-on collision. TAIC found both controllers were probably impaired by cumulative sleep debt, one after an excessive number of late and night shifts over six weeks.
Case NZ-rail-08Report an issue
December 2004
Story · Dec 2004 · Wellington, New Zealand
Ambulance comms team leader asleep for over an hour through 111 calls after 3-4 hours' sleep; dismissal upheld
- Legal
The team leader in charge of an ambulance service's emergency communications centre pulled a recliner up to her console on a quiet weekend afternoon shift and fell asleep for more than an hour, remaining asleep through several calls including 111 and medical alarm calls. She said she was unusually tired and had been unable to take her rostered breaks; the employer concluded the more likely cause was that she had tried to manage on 3 or 4 hours' sleep after a night out. The Employment Relations Authority found her summary dismissal justified, noting there could be little more serious misconduct than falling asleep at work in charge of the communications centre.
Case NZ-emergency-02Report an issue
May 2004
Story · May 2004 · New Zealand
Fishing skipper asleep on watch collides with tanker entering port
- Safety
At about 1.20am a fishing vessel collided with a tanker in the approach channel to a major port; no one was injured. TAIC found the skipper in the wheelhouse fell asleep because he was probably suffering from fatigue. He had taken the watch after about 2 hours' sleep.
Case NZ-maritime-06Report an issue
April 2004
Story · Apr 2004 · New Zealand
Deckhand on watch falls asleep; trawler strands on beach at 2am
- Safety
A fishing vessel stranded on a beach near a harbour entrance at about 2.15am while heading to port; the crew were rescued by helicopter uninjured. TAIC found nobody was monitoring the vessel because the deckhand in the wheelhouse fell asleep, probably from fatigue, with about 5.5 hours available for sleep in each fishing day.
Case NZ-maritime-04Report an issue
March 2004
Story · Mar 2004 · New Zealand
Junior deckhand falls asleep steering; fishing boat hits rocks
- Safety
A fishing boat grounded on rocks at about 2.15am while returning to port; the crew were airlifted off unhurt. TAIC found the junior deckhand on watch fell asleep because he was probably impaired by fatigue. He had had about 16 hours of sleep in five fragments over the previous 48 hours.
Case NZ-maritime-05Report an issue
Story · Mar 2004 · Auckland, New Zealand
Security guard found sound asleep while guarding violent hospital patient; dismissal justified
- Legal
A security guard employed by a security company was posted overnight at a hospital in Auckland to guard a patient whose violent behaviour posed a risk to staff and other patients. A night supervisor found the guard asleep, and the nurse on duty reported that he had been sound asleep that night and the previous nights, not responding when she shone a torch in his face. The guard, who said he had been very tired, was dismissed for serious misconduct and the Employment Relations Authority upheld the dismissal.
Case NZ-security-02Report an issue
January 2004
Story · Jan 2004 · Waikato, New Zealand
Machine operator with diagnosed circadian rhythm disorder reports near misses on shift; stand-down and resignation upheld
- Safety
- Legal
A machine operator at a manufacturing plant became very tired and run down after moving to night shift in late 2002, and in mid-2003 he was moved to day shift on a trial basis to help his health. Late in 2003, after the union insisted on the collective agreement's seniority rules for day-shift places, he was moved to afternoon shift; a week later a hospital sleep clinic diagnosed a circadian rhythm disorder and recommended a fixed shift, preferably a day shift, so he could get enough sleep. Early in 2004 he told managers he was tired on all shifts, had dizzy spells and had experienced near misses, including a brief blackout in a dangerous part of the workplace. The company stood him down on pay pending medical clearance and he resigned the next day; the Employment Relations Authority found the managers had justified health and safety concerns and that the resignation was not a constructive dismissal.
Case NZ-manufacturing-02Report an issue
July 2003
Story · Jul 2003 · New Zealand
Ferry master with chronic sleep loss strikes moored fishing vessel
- Safety
An inter-island ferry struck a moored fishing vessel at about 9pm, extensively damaging the vessel and the quay. TAIC found the master was most probably experiencing the cumulative effects of chronic sleep loss, linked to shift work and possibly medication, and recommended that seafarer medicals assess for sleep disorders.
Case NZ-maritime-07Report an issue
Story · Jul 2003 · New Zealand
Fishing skipper with one week off in six months leaves wheelhouse; container ship collision
- Safety
Shortly after 6.30 am a small fishing vessel collided with a container ship in coastal waters while its skipper, alone on watch, had left the wheelhouse to wake the crew. The skipper had worked five days of long fishing hours and had had only one week off in the previous six months. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the skipper may have been chronically fatigued, and recommended the operator give its crews, particularly skippers, information on the causes and effects of fatigue and strategies to manage it.
Case NZ-agriculture-03Report an issue
March 2003
Story · Mar 2003 · Otago, New Zealand
Court infers ambulance driver who worked two jobs most likely fell asleep at the wheel; motorist killed in head-on, conviction upheld
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
An ambulance travelling towards a city with a patient in the front seat crossed onto the wrong side of a state highway and collided head-on with a car, killing its driver. The ambulance driver worked as a casual ambulance officer and as a registered nurse, and the District Court heard evidence of the hours she had worked in the week before and of her struggling to keep her eyes open at a meeting. Having rejected a claimed steering failure, the District Court found the most likely explanation was that she had fallen asleep, and convicted her of careless use of a motor vehicle causing death. The High Court dismissed her appeal.
Case NZ-emergency-01Report an issue
July 2002
Story · Jul 2002 · Taranaki, New Zealand
Driver awake about 16 hours likely fell asleep; freight train derails, killing the driver
- Safety
A freight train derailed on a 45 km/h curve in Taranaki at about 1.50am after accelerating steadily for about 70 seconds; the driver was killed and the other crew member, the rail operator, was seriously injured. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the crew's loss of attention was consistent with having fallen asleep, that the driver had been awake for about 16 hours after a maximum of about five hours' sleep, and that the rail operator had also dozed during the trip. Alcohol consumed before duty was also listed among the causal factors.
Case NZ-rail-15Report an issue
Story · Jul 2002 · New Zealand
Fatigued driver passes signal at stop and runs 9 km before being stopped
- Safety
An express freight train passed a signal at stop, ran through reversed points and travelled about 9 km before it was stopped. TAIC identified the probable fatigue-related performance impairment of the locomotive engineer, leading to loss of situational awareness, as a safety issue.
Case NZ-rail-09Report an issue
June 2002
Story · Jun 2002 · Canterbury, New Zealand
Gas filler sent on deliveries after overnight cylinder-filling shift goes home too tired; dismissal without asking about his hours unjustified
- Legal
- Financial
A gas cylinder filler and delivery driver at a gas company, normally on a 50-hour week, worked through the night filling and loading gas cylinders and was then asked to make out-of-town deliveries in the morning. He was so tired he completed only two deliveries, returned the truck and went home to bed, and was dismissed by phone after several days' absence. The Employment Relations Authority found it likely he had told his manager he was tired and that the employer should have asked about the hours he had worked and his tiredness before dismissing him; it reduced his remedies by 40% because he had not told anyone he was too tired to finish and was going home.
Case NZ-transport-11Report an issue
Story · Jun 2002 · Otago, New Zealand
Truck driver's lapse at the end of an overnight line-haul shift put down to sheer tiredness; visitor seriously injured by forklift, employer acquitted
- Safety
- Legal
A senior truck driver at a transport depot in Otago drove an overnight line-haul run, returned to the yard at about 5.30 am and unloaded his truck. At about 10 am, as he was about to finish work, he gave in to a visiting drilling company worker's demands to lift a pump by its strap with a forklift extension fork, in effect using the forklift as a crane; the extension broke off and struck the visitor on the head, causing significant concussion. The court inferred the driver's lapse in judgment arose through sheer tiredness at the very end of a long day of driving trucks and working in the yard. The charge against the employer was dismissed because it had trained the driver and taken all practicable steps, and the court treated the incident as operator failure.
Case NZ-transport-12Report an issue
January 2002
Story · Jan 2002 · Taranaki, New Zealand
Driver more than seven hours on shift without a break dozes off; freight train hits stationary shunt locomotive
- Safety
While berthing at a rail terminal in Taranaki at about 11.19am, an express freight train run by the national rail operator collided at low speed with a stationary wharf shunt locomotive. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the driver had briefly fallen asleep, most probably because he had worked continuously for more than seven hours without a meal break, partly in direct sunlight on a hot day, and was possibly carrying a sleep debt from poor-quality sleep in hot summer weather and competing demands on his rest time between shifts. It found his rostered and actual hours would not have caused excessive sleep debt.
Case NZ-rail-14Report an issue
August 2001
Story · Aug 2001 · New Zealand
Skipper awake 57 hours falls asleep; fishing vessel strikes rocks and sinks
- Safety
A fishing vessel struck rocks and sank at the entrance to a coastal channel at about 7.10am; all six people aboard were rescued. TAIC found nobody was monitoring the vessel because the skipper in the wheelhouse fell asleep from critical fatigue, having had at most 12 hours' sleep in 69 hours and at least 57 hours continuously awake.
Case NZ-maritime-08Report an issue
March 2001
Story · Mar 2001 · Otago, New Zealand
Coastal container ship sheers twice in a harbour channel; master and mate impaired by sleep loss on routinely fatiguing schedule
- Safety
A coastal container ship sheered violently and turned almost 180 degrees in a bend of a harbour channel in Otago at about 5.17am, then sheered again and touched the channel side on a second attempt. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the master was probably suffering fatigue-related performance impairment from acute sleep loss and cumulative sleep debt, and the chief mate from extended wakefulness and cumulative sleep debt, both near the low point of their body clocks. It also found the crew might be routinely operating the ship in a fatigued state, contrary to New Zealand maritime rules. There were no injuries and only minor hull damage.
Case NZ-maritime-13Report an issue
Story · Mar 2001 · New Zealand
Collision after driver rostered 12 night shifts in a fortnight
- Safety
Two express freight trains collided after one had stalled; both drivers were injured. TAIC found the driver of the first train probably lost attention through fatigue from accumulated sleep debt, and that his rostered 12 night shifts with one night off, about 110 hours in a fortnight, were excessive.
Case NZ-rail-10Report an issue
December 2000
Story · Dec 2000 · Canterbury, New Zealand
Driver on 11th straight shift falls asleep and passes red signal; head-on freight train collision
- Safety
A northbound freight train run by the national rail operator passed a signal at stop at about 4am and collided head-on with a departing southbound freight train in Canterbury, injuring three crew. The driver said he had been asleep for about 400 metres. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found he was probably carrying an accumulated sleep debt on his 11th consecutive shift and 6th consecutive night shift, that his rostered and actual fortnightly hours were excessive, and that the operator had no system to monitor total fortnightly hours.
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November 2000
Story · Nov 2000 · Manawatu-Whanganui, New Zealand
Milk train driver on fifth night shift falls asleep; ten tanker wagons overturn
- Safety
A milk train run by the national rail operator derailed on a curve at about 1.05am while travelling about 25 km/h over the limit, and ten loaded milk tanker wagons overturned down an embankment. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the driver had fallen into a microsleep at a time when sleepiness was rising steeply towards its daily peak, probably carrying an accumulated sleep debt from successive night shifts that had all run late. It found the operator's alertness management programme had reached only 35% of drivers over three years and asked the operator to research the effect of continuous night shifts and take steps against microsleeps.
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Story · Nov 2000 · Auckland, New Zealand
Port tug spins out of control at 4am on skipper's last night shift; TAIC says early-morning body-clock low may have impaired the crew
- Safety
A port company's harbour tug was assisting a container ship to berth at a container terminal in Auckland at about 4am when it lost directional control, rotated a full circle and had its towline wrap around its superstructure. The skipper was on the last night shift of his roster and had worked two continuous duty periods with a three-hour break. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the crew were probably not appreciably fatigued, but that their performance may have been impaired because the accident happened at the early-morning low point of the body clock. No one was hurt but the tug was extensively damaged.
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September 2000
Story · Sept 2000 · Manawatu-Whanganui, New Zealand
Freight driver on excessive fortnightly hours has microsleep; train derails on steep bank
- Safety
An express freight train run by the national rail operator entered a 40 km/h curve far too fast at about 11.38pm on a steep bank in Manawatu-Whanganui; both locomotives overturned and five wagons derailed. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the driver had lost awareness during a microsleep, was probably carrying an accumulated sleep debt, and had worked excessive rostered and actual hours, including an extra shift he should not have been offered and a 12.3-hour shift caused by a missing relief driver. It found the operator's fatigue controls had not been fully effective: alertness training had reached only 35% of drivers, day-to-day roster changes did not follow fatigue principles, and there was no system to monitor total fortnightly hours.
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March 2000
Story · Mar 2000 · Auckland, New Zealand
Tired fishing skipper falls asleep at the wheel returning to port; Court of Appeal confirms strict liability
- Safety
- Legal
- Financial
The skipper of a fishing vessel took the wheel at night while his deckhand slept and, feeling tired as he came into a harbour channel in Auckland, thought about waking the deckhand but did not. He fell asleep and the vessel went aground off a beach and was extensively damaged. He was convicted and fined, and the Court of Appeal confirmed that operating a vessel in a way that causes unnecessary danger is a strict liability offence, so the prosecution did not need to prove he consciously appreciated the risk.
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October 1998
Story · Oct 1998 · Waikato, New Zealand
Truck driver who nearly fell asleep driving home after a shift ending at 1am sacked for lateness; dismissal unjustified
- Legal
- Financial
A driver for a transport company worked days of 9 to 17 hours on a run to Auckland and asked to come off it because of the long hours. After a shift that began at 7am, following a 14-hour shift the day before, he got back to the depot at about 1am, was very tired and had almost fallen asleep driving home, then reported late the next morning. He was sent away and effectively dismissed. The Employment Tribunal found the dismissal unjustifiable, noting the employer had not considered his reasonable explanation that sleeping in after those hours was understandable.
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April 1997
Story · Apr 1997 · Wellington, New Zealand
Ferry night cook with days of broken sleep burns arm and leaves ship; fatigue mitigation rejected, dismissal upheld
- Legal
A second (night) cook on an inter-island ferry had his daytime sleep repeatedly broken by a workman retiling the cabin next door. After asking to go home, he burnt his arm on a steamer during his shift, recorded on an accident form that the burn was a result of fatigue and that night cooks should get six hours' straight sleep, and left the ship without authority. The ferry operator dismissed him for leaving the ship, saying crew safety depended on knowing who was aboard. The Employment Tribunal found the dismissal justified, having considered his tiredness and stress but holding dismissal was within the employer's range of options.
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July 1996
Story · Jul 1996 · Northland, New Zealand
Tractor driver working a night security job as well loses unjustified dismissal claim; employer's sleep and safety concerns upheld
- Legal
An irrigation worker and tractor driver took on a 32-hour-a-week night security job on top of his full-time role, and his managers noticed he was tired and slower to get work done. The company told him it did not believe he had enough time for normal sleep, rest and recovery and that this raised the risk of accidents, and he gave up that job, but he then started another, shorter night security job without approval while seeking permission to work up to four hours a night. When he refused to give it up he was dismissed on notice. The Employment Tribunal held that it was reasonable for the company to require him to stop the night work and that the dismissal was justified.
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March 1995
Story · Mar 1995 · Southland, New Zealand
Human fatigue among causes as bulk carrier grounds in harbour channel at 3am; port company told to review harbour pilot roster
- Safety
A bulk carrier ran aground in a harbour channel in Southland at 3.12am while outward bound. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission listed human fatigue among the causal factors, together with tension and loss of situational awareness. It recommended that the port company review, document and if necessary amend the roster procedures for its harbour pilots to minimise the risk of fatigue affecting a pilot's fitness for duty.
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March 1994
Story · Mar 1994 · Southland, New Zealand
Tannery worker blames shift-change sleep loss for output drop; dismissal upheld as tiredness never put to employer
- Legal
A long-serving buffer and flesher at a lamb-skin tannery in Southland was moved from day work to the afternoon shift (4pm to midnight) for the busy green season, and his output fell sharply from the first shift. He repeatedly told supervisors he was tired, and at the hearing said he could not sleep until about 3am after shifts and was woken by a young child in the house around 8 or 9am. After warnings for low output and abusive language he was dismissed. The Employment Tribunal upheld the dismissal, finding the sleep problem was never properly explained to the company and that cumulative tiredness would not explain the drop on the very first shift.
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November 1992
Story · Nov 1992 · Otago, New Zealand
Rest home night assistant who had been drinking slept most of her shift; dismissal for sleeping on duty upheld
- Legal
- Financial
A home assistant rostered on the 11.30pm night shift at a rest home arrived after drinking, went to sleep in the smoking lounge, woke briefly and slept again until about 4am, according to her co-worker. The proprietor dismissed her under a house rule listing sleeping during working hours as serious misconduct, citing the safety of residents. The Employment Tribunal found the dismissal justified and fair, but awarded small sums because an unpaid suspension beforehand was unjustified.
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May 1992
Story · May 1992 · Auckland, New Zealand
Night security guard found asleep in warehouse office at 5am; dismissal justified
- Legal
A security guard employed by a security company on night duty at a dairy company site in Auckland missed a welfare call and was found by a supervisor at about 5am asleep in a chair in a warehouse office, not stirring when a powerful torch was shone on him three times. The company dismissed him the next day for sleeping on duty, which it treated as one of the most serious offences for a security officer. The Employment Tribunal found the dismissal justified.
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March 1992
Story · Mar 1992 · New Zealand
Dredge master accused of sleeping on night watch resigns; Tribunal rejects constructive dismissal claim
- Legal
A dredging company confronted the master of its dredge with an allegation that he had fallen asleep on watch during a night coastal voyage almost a year earlier. Pressed to confirm or deny it, he said he could not remember being asleep and resigned. The Employment Tribunal found the resignation was voluntary, not a constructive dismissal, and noted that sleeping on watch is a serious disciplinary matter and an offence under shipping regulations, although whether he had actually been asleep was never established.
Case NZ-maritime-10Report an issue
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