At a recent conference, Lord Young, who is currently reviewing health and safety for the Conservative Party, described the process of completing a risk assessment for those who work at home as nonsense. Does his opinion count?
Lord Young recently took to the stage at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) annual conference, held in
Glasgow . He was there to inform the delegates on the findings of the review into health and safety, which he’s currently completing for the Conservative Party. Well, he certainly made his opinions clear! He stated that health and safety is regarded, “at best, as an object of ridicule and, at worst, a bureaucratic nightmare”. He went on to state that, in many circumstances, the need for an employer to complete risk assessments is pointless, even nonsense. One such example is completing risk assessments for home-working. So is he right?
What does the law state?
In the eyes of the law, the home counts as a workplace when it’s being used as one. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, there’s a legal duty on employers to complete risk assessments and to take steps to ensure a safe place of work is provided.
NB. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005 specifically excludes domestic premises, even if they are being used as a workplace, unless it’s a bed and breakfast etc.
So where do you stand?
Although Lord Young may have a point, following his opinion above the law, isn’t the best defence. In fact, it’s a most unwise policy for two reasons. Firstly, an inspector will not be interested - he’ll want to see compliance with the law. Secondly, and more importantly, he’s not entirely spot on. It appears that Lord Young has based his view on the fact that those who work at home do so sitting in front of a PC. This is a task which, in his opinion, is without risk. However, although there’s no question that the physical risks are low, this doesn’t mean that it’s entirely risk-free.
NB. Staff working at home is not a priority for the enforcement agencies. This means that the chance of facing enforcement action for failing to carry out a risk assessment is almost non-existent.
Even though you won’t need to answer to an inspector, you still need to ensure that your home-working member of staff can work safely. But this doesn’t mean you should visit their house and tell them to address trip hazards etc. It’s their house, not property controlled by you.
Instead, look at the factors you can control. For example, make sure they have safe and appropriate work equipment, e.g. if the work is computer based, they have a separate keyboard, mouse etc.
Although you might think that working at home would solve stress issues, sometimes the opposite happens. This could be caused by the individual feeling cut off from their colleagues. However, this can be addressed by ensuring that good communication and support lines are maintained.
Although Lord Young has a point in that you shouldn’t be telling staff to watch out for trip hazards in their own homes, this doesn’t mean you needn’t complete a basic risk assessment. However, it should only look at areas you can control, e.g. IT equipment, communication lines etc.
