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UK: HSE guidance to protect the health and wellbeing of home workers
- #Homeworking
- #occupational health
As an employer, you have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for any other workers. You…
As an employer, you have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for any other workers. You must manage any health and safety risks before people can work alone. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, you must manage the risk to lone workers. Think about who will be involved and which hazards could harm those working alone. You must:- train, supervise and monitor lone workers
- keep in touch with them and respond to any incident
Definition
Lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision, for example:- as delivery drivers, health workers or engineers
- as security staff or cleaners
- in warehouses or petrol stations
- at home
Risks to consider
Risks that particularly affect lone workers include:- violence in the workplace
- stress and mental health or wellbeing
- a person’s medical suitability to work alone
- the workplace itself, for example if it’s in a rural or isolated area
High-risk work
Certain high-risk work requires at least one other person. This includes work:- in a confined space, where a supervisor may need to be there, along with someone in a rescue role
- near exposed live electricity conductors
- in diving operations
- in vehicles carrying explosives
- with fumigation