OEUK have announced a change in policy regarding the weight of offshore workers.
The new policy will be rolled out on 1 November 2025. Today’s communication allows operators time to communicate the changes to workers before 1 November this year.
The new weight restrictions will come into force on 1 November 2026, giving time for organisations and workers to comply with the new requirements.
Meantime, two OEUK documents have been updated in line with the new policy.
-
The OEUK Medical Guidelines – Issue 8: The definitive standard for assessing medical fitness to work offshore, used across the UK continental shelf. This document outlines medical examination requirements, fitness criteria, specific medical conditions, employment group considerations (e.g. normally unmanned installations), and fitness-to-train assessments for offshore survival training.
-
The OEUK Medical Examiners Manual – Issue 8: A detailed companion guide supporting medical examiners in the consistent application of the Guidelines. It provides context, clarifications, and practical advice for conducting assessments, including changes introduced in Issue 8 such as removal of routine testing, introduction of a maximum weight threshold, updated guidance for rope access workers, and a revised fitness grading system for Emergency Response Team (ERT) roles.
Source: OEUK.