Homeworking: employers’ health and safety responsibilities remain the same
The HSE has launched a dedicated online portal for its coronavirus-related health and safety guidance.
While the government is taking a flexible approach to certain laws and practices in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, normal health and safety laws continue to play a role, including employers’ duties in relation to employees working from home.
As the HSE says, “as an employer, you have the same health and safety responsibilities for homeworkers as for any other workers”. It goes on to say that, when someone is working from home, permanently or temporarily, as an employer you should consider:
- How will you keep in touch with them?
- What work activity will they be doing (and for how long)?
- Can it be done safely?
- Do you need to put control measures in place to protect them?
It therefore recommends the following steps:
- There will always be greater risks for lone workers with no direct supervision or anyone to help them if things go wrong. Employers should keep in touch with lone workers, including those working from home, and ensure regular contact to make sure they are healthy and safe.
- For those people who are working at home on a long-term basis, the risks associated with using display screen equipment (DSE) must be controlled. This includes doing home workstation assessments. However, there is no increased risk from DSE work for those working at home temporarily.
- Provide workers with advice on completing their own basic assessment at home. This practical workstation checklist (PDF) - Portable Document Format may help them.
- Employers should try to meet specialised DSE needs where possible. For some equipment (e.g. keyboards, mouse, riser) this could mean allowing workers to take this equipment home. For other larger items (e.g. ergonomic chairs, height-adjustable desks) encourage workers to try other ways of creating a comfortable working environment (e.g. supporting cushions).
- Homeworking can cause work-related stress and affect people’s mental health. Put procedures in place so you can keep in direct contact with home workers so you can recognise signs of stress 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.
The HSE portal also looks into a range of other issues related to COVID-19, which can all be found here.
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