Do you need to offer staff free eye tests?

Over a third of screen-based workers are not being told of their right to a free eye test, according to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. This is the key message in a week of action run by the Association to draw attention to the effects of visual display units (VDUs) on people's eyesight.

TUC general secretary John Monks - speaking at the campaign launch said: "In particular [employers] should be informing [workers] about their rights to regular breaks and regular eye tests. Unfortunately, Guide Dogs have found out that far too few employers - less than two thirds - tell their workers about their right to a free eye test.'

Key points (source: HSE)

- The regulations that cover VDU work are the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992. Regulation 5 requires employers to provide users who request it with an appropriate eye and eyesight test.

- The provision of eye and eyesight tests and of special corrective appliances under the Regulations is at the expense of the user's employer. This is the case even if the user works on other employers' workstations. Employers are free to specify that users' tests and correction are provided by a particular company or professional.

- Users needing special corrective appliances (usually spectacles) may be prescribed a special pair of spectacles for display screen work. Employers' liability for costs is restricted to payment of the cost of a basic appliance, that is, of a type and quality adequate for its function. If users wish to choose more costly appliances (for example, with designer frames; or lenses with optional treatments not necessary for the work), the employer is not obliged to pay for these. In these circumstances employers may either provide a basic appliance as above, or may opt to contribute a portion of the total cost of a luxury appliance equal to the cost of a basic appliance.

More information

There is a free leaflet - "Working with VDUs" - available from HSE Books Tel. 01787 881165. The information above has been taken from "Display screen equipment work : guidance on regulations : Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992", ISBN 0717604101, £5.75.
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