Bright lights in work - migraine trigger

LegacyUser

We have recently had our floor in work renovated and the lights way too bright and combined with the white desks.. I have had at least one migraine a day since we moved to our new desks.

I am trying to find out what my rights are or what I can have done. The health & safety person is coming to my desk next week to perform an assessment but I am at my wits end with it and it is affecting my health.

Stheno

I don't think there are any regulations about the brightness of lights tbh

If your h&s are going to do an assessment I'd wait and see what they say.

Is anyone else in the area affected to the extent you are?

Gatling

Have you tried an eye test ,

hallo dare

Why are you even waiting until next week? Go straight to your Manager and explain the situation. If you're the kind of person who wasn't taking the mick before and complaining over everything then they'd have no reason not to believe you are suffering. Your employer has a duty of safety in the workplace, and your condition surely falls into this category, as God forbid, but if you had a migraine one day and something happens to you or another co-worker that leads to injury then they could be held liable for neglecting your situation. Don't wait any longer than you have to, have a word with your Manager tomorrow.

Hellrazer

Genuine answer here.

Get the glasses that adjust to the light.I used to get migraines for the same reason only it was from walking from inside the office to the car park to deal with customers (motor trade) and back inside.

The constant changing of the light levels used to trigger my migraines so bad that I had to sit in a dark room until they passed.

The light sensitive glasses stopped my migraines completely.

Might be worth looking at.

brightspark

Have a read here

http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Workplace_Health/Display_Screen_Equipment/Display_Screen_Equipment.html

And here

http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/General_Application_Regulations/Display_Screen.pdf

2. Environment
(a) Space requirements
(b)
(c)
The workstation shall be dimensioned and designed so as to provide sufficient space for the user
to
change position and vary movements. Lighting
(i) Lighting (including room lighting, spot lighting or work lamps) shall ensure satisfactory lighting conditions and an appropriate contrast between the screen and the background environment, taking into account the type of work and the user’s vision requirements.
(ii) Possible disturbing glare and reflections on the screen or other equipment shall be prevented by co-ordinating the layout of workstations within the place of work with the positioning and technical characteristics of the artificial light sources.
Reflections and glare
(i) Workstations shall be so designed that sources of light, such as windows and other openings, transparent or translucent walls and brightly coloured fixtures or walls cause no direct glare and, as far as possible, no distracting reflections on the screen.
(ii) Windows shall be fitted with a suitable system of adjustable covering to attenuate the daylight which falls on the workstation.

Teyla Emmagan

That's nuts. All the need to do is remove a few bulbs and put some cheap lino on your desk. How could any reasonable employer object to that? I would be going home every day until the problem was rectified. Those white desks are a retarded idea, they really send up a glare.

jms2013

Bumping this... OP I'd the same issue,work nights in an office with three fittings of double fluorescent lights and it was causing serious migraines,asked manager to remove one tube from each fitting which was allowed, it has helped. Just approach management, it's unlikely to be an issue.