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Working From Home: Employers’ Health and Safety Responsibilities
With government guidance remaining at the default position for employees to work from home as and when they can, many organisations will have moved from the position where employees were working from home on a temporary basis to home working becoming a permanent reality. A Home Working Risk Assessment should be conducted; the assessment should be reviewed as part of regular dialogue between employers and employees working from home. Reviews of measures and risks should be frequent and ongoing engagement between employers and employees should enable adjustments to be made quickly.
The risk assessment should consider the following questions:
- What work activity will your employees be doing from home (and for how long)?
- Can the work be done safely?
- What are the control measures required to protect employees working from home?
- How, as an employer, will you keep in touch with employees?
Specific hazards associated with home working
Use of display screen equipment
Employers continue to have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for any other employees including a duty to comply with the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 designed to protect employees from risks associated with the use of Display Screen Equipment (DSE). The Display Screen Equipment) Regulations are only applicable to employers whose employees regularly use DSE for continuous periods of an hour or more, and the key duties resting on the employer is to:- assess the workstation and reduce the risks
- provide an eye test if an employee requests one
- provide information, instruction and training to employees on the risks associated with using DSE equipment including guidance on how to set up their workstation correctly
Mental wellbeing and stress
Homeworking can make employees feel isolated and that it is difficult to get proper support leading to work-related stress and ongoing impact on employee’s mental health. Employers have a legal duty to assess the risks of work-related stress in the workplace and take action to protect employees; Managers should also look out for signs of stress in teams and employees. Employees should keep in touch with employees and put procedures in place which encourage Managers to keep in direct contact with home workers so the emerging signs of stress can be identified as early as possible. It is also important to have an emergency point of contact and to share this, so people know how to get help if they need it.Lone working resulting in lack of supervision and potential inability to summon assistance in the event of an emergency
The Health and Safety Executive defines lone workers as ‘those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision’; homeworkers fall into this category. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, employers who have the same liability for accident or injury as for any other employees must consider, in the Home Working Risk Assessment, the hazards which could harm those working alone. Control measures recorded in the risk assessment should document the required level of supervision, training and monitoring, home workers need to understand any risks associated with their work or work location and how to control them.EHS regulatory compliance and monitoring – an expert solution to ensure your organization’s compliance
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