Guidelines for home workers

Hi Pauline, the same good practice in terms of induction training, regarding set-up of workstation and equipment, background & work lighting along with eye tests that would apply as if operating equipment within the workplace.

There may also be a need for further advise and/or adjustments if using a notebook or laptop computer where there is an increased risk of MSD's due to perceptions of user that they are somehow less formal than a desk top PC leading to poor posture that may also increase risk of upper body, wrist, arm and shoulder RSI type injury found in many mobile workers working from or on temporary surfaces such as coffee tables or in their car.

Seated immobility may also increase risk of VTE's or DVT's more commonly associated with long-haul flights yet nevertheless affect 25,000 in the UK alone with a mortality of 10% if not recognised, diagnosed and treated immediately.

Those who report Screen Fatigue (58% of users) should also be advised not to drive or operate other machinery if they experience any signs of double vision, eye strain, eye or headache that may contribute to attention decremation and increased risk of error and mishap.

Known dyslexics have an average tolerence of just over five minutes screen time without a visual break and for those with limited functional digital literacy they should also take regular screen breaks at least three times an hour between five to fifteen minute by the end of the day to mitigate Screen Fatigue that can affect operators for up to three hours or more after work.

Without sufficient screen breaks performance and productivity will be reduced by, on average, 20% or equivalent to 1 & 1/2 hours of work a day and up to 33 days per annum lost productivity let alone a four fold increased risk of error & mishap.

We may now take DSE for granted as a sort of familiar and harmless bit of technology but as an operator you are at more risk than driving your car !

Dear Pauline, as employer you still responsible for the safety of your staff and all health and safety legislation apply as well while they are at work at their homes. If your employee is using a computer or any visual display equipment at home, an initial assessment must be carried out to identify their level of use, however regardless of the time your staff is using a computer a general risk assessment must be carried out, and ensure that the equipment provided is correct for the job that is being done, proper information and training is given on how to use the equipment and that the job can be done properly and safely.
Health and safety legislation considers as DSE user, someone that utilize the computer during continuous spells of one hour and on a daily basis, however if the two days per week at home require as well fast information transfer and high concentration for spells of more than an hour then the DSE legislation apply to them as well, this will require the employer to risk assess the activity, provide training and eye tests if required. You do not mention if the employee uses the computer as well during the other days of the week or the type of work that carry out as this may change if they are consider users under DSE regulations or not. My suggestion is that you carry out an initial DSE assessment and give your staff basic training in how to set up a workstation and identify symptoms caused for bad working practice if they use a computer at home. I have attached some web links that will provide you with more information. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg226.pdf and http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg36.pdf
Thanks for your question, best regards MARIA

Hello there

I hoping that someone might have a formal answer to:

Are there any guidelines related to working from home - specifically, are there any recommendations regarding the need for DSE assessment based on a minimum time frame etc (for example is a staff member works from home over 2 days per week then a DSE assessment is required?

Thank you.