Businesses attack sunshine strength directive

Business pressure groups have attacked as "absurd" a proposed EU directive that will require bosses to make daily risk assessments on the strength of the sun.

The Forum of Private Businesses (FPB) branded the plan as "unworkable" and said business owners would be "shaking their heads in disbelief" at how it would be possible to comply with or enforce the directive.

Under the proposed plan on solar radiation, all employers whose staff work outside would have to assess the strength of sunshine every morning, requiring them to gather complex meteorological information and analyse its implication for their workforces.

"Most businesses have neither the resources nor, more importantly, the expertise to undertake such scientific analysis," said the FPB's Chief Executive Nick Goulding.

"This directive requires an utterly unrealistic degree of technical and medical expertise that the vast majority of small owners simply do not have. Worryingly it could also open a legal can of worms for employers by creating uncertainty about legal liability in cases of diseases caused by exposure to natural sources of radiation.

"Unless the directive is amended and natural sources of radiation, like sunlight, are removed from its scope, it will be impossible for small businesses to comply with its provisions."