Only about half of Australian outdoor workers are provided with sun protection on the job, says new Cancer Council research.
"Australian workplaces have a duty of care to protect their employees for health and safety risks," says the organisation's Vanessa Rock.
"We know anecdotally that bigger businesses are getting the message and doing more to protect their employees in the sun but based on this latest data, many employers aren't doing enough when it comes to UV protection."
The 2013-14 National Sun Protection Survey found only 51 per cent of surveyed outdoor workers were provided with sunscreen, 43 per cent with hats and 30 per cent with portable shade.
"For Australian workers sun protection should be a tool of the trade - it's as important to workplace safety as shoes or high visibility clothing," Ms Rock said.
She described as "alarming" the number of workers spending long periods outdoors unprotected.
"Over 2.5 million Australians spend half or more of their working time outdoors. Yet only half of those working outdoors say their workplace has a sun protection policy in place.
"There has been a minimal increase (in having a policy) in the 10 years since our first survey."
Of those who spent at least half of their work day outdoors, men spent an average of five hours 19 minutes while women spent three hours 23 minutes
With their significantly longer exposure to UV than indoor workers, they're at much higher risk of developing skin cancers.
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