Display screen equipment: health and safety rules for home working

As with obligations in relation to the health, safety and wellbeing of workers more generally, the rules governing DSE continue to apply despite the current global crises.

The requirements around DSE

The use of Display Screen Equipment (DSE) within the modern workplace is often taken for granted but specific obligations in relation to its use are placed on employers by the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (the DSE Regulations) with the aim of protecting workers from the health risks associated with DSE.

With many organisations now having a substantial proportion of their workforce working remotely at home, with perhaps the frequency and length of DSE usage having increased and in a different environment, and with employers having to adapt to this change quickly in a business environment subject to constant change, it raises potential issues of compliance with the DSE Regulations.

In essence the DSE Regulations require an employer to:

• undertake a DSE workstation assessment for "users" – that is those who use DSE as part of their daily work, continuously for an hour or more;
• reduce risks, including making sure workers take breaks from DSE work and do something different;
• provide an eye and eyesight test if a worker asks for one and provide suitable corrective appliances should a need be identified;
• provide training and information for workers

Consideration should be given to the whole workstation as well as the job being carried out there and any special requirements of the particular worker involved. Assessments may be carried out by a variety of means including face-to-face with a competent assessor, via a self assessment written form or via an online system. They should be undertaken whenever a new workstation is set up; a new user starts work; a change is made to an existing workstation or the way it’s used or when users complain of pain or discomfort.

Incorrect use of DSE and reducing risks

Incorrect use of DSE or poorly designed workstations or work environments can lead to pain in the neck, shoulders, backs, arms, wrists and hands as well as fatigue and eye strain. The causes may not always be obvious. Measures to reduce risks include the correct desk set up with suitable seating, appropriate screen size and position, reducing glare from windows, and the provision of auxiliary aids such as document holders and foot stools. There is no legal guidance on how long and how often breaks should be, but five to ten mins every hour is a good rule of thumb.

Training and information can be given in face to face sessions or more typically these days as part of a combined assessment and training online module. Advice on good posture; adjusting chairs and desks, for example; arranging desk space; screen adjustment and lighting; breaks and changes of activity should be included together with information on reporting problems.

View of the regulator

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said: "There is no increased risk from DSE work for those working at home temporarily. So in that situation employers do not need to do home workstation assessments." Quite what that means in the context of the situation we find ourselves in, with what for some may now have been many months of home working, is not totally clear. The concept of‘temporary’ in the context of home working is not defined.

However, given the carve out for temporary home working appears to be due to the lack of any increased risk to health where arrangements are "temporary", there is at least an argument that, given the passage of time, that will no longer necessarily follow. The updated HSE guidance recognises that working at home on a long term basis requires DSE risks to be controlled and work station assessments undertaken. There is no guidance on what "long term" means. Employers would be well advised to take steps now, if they have not already done so, to comply with the DSE Regulations especially for those workers who have been working from home more or less constantly since the spring, particularly as even short term incorrect usage of DSE can have the potential to create longer term health problems.

Actions for employers

Employers should provide their displaced workers with advice on completing their own risk assessment at home. These arrangements should be regularly discussed with their employees and, if such work is adversely affecting the health, safety and welfare of their employees, employers must take appropriate steps to address this.

Workers should be encouraged to follow simple steps to reduce the risks from display screen work, such as

• breaking up long spells of DSE work with rest breaks – at least five minutes every hour – or changes in activity;
• avoiding awkward, static postures by regularly changing position;
• getting up and moving or doing stretching exercises;
• avoiding eye fatigue by changing focus or blinking from time to time.

Employers should also ensure a system is in place for homeworkers to report the outcomes of their risk assessment to their employers and that any necessary follow-up actions are taken – the need to record the assessment may depend on how short-term a basis the employee is working from home. Where workers remain at home as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, employers should record the assessments, given the passage of time.

Where workers normally use specific equipment adapted for their particular needs, employers should try to meet those needs where possible, during this period, for example, by allowing workers to take this equipment home or making suggestions for creating a more suitable working environment. Whilst employers will be responsible for the suitability and maintenance of any equipment provided for homeworking, for example portable appliance testing, employees are responsible for the electrical supply to such equipment.

Employers should give additional consideration to homeworkers using portable DSE, such as laptops or tablet computers, for prolonged periods. While not true in every case, the design of portable DSE, from smaller keyboards and lower screen positions for instance, can make it more difficult to achieve a comfortable working posture. This should be addressed in any information or training given to homeworkers about conducting their own risk assessment, and employers should also encourage homeworkers to take more frequent breaks where they are at a greater risk as a result of using certain portable DSE.

Where the decision has already been taken that home working, whether full or part time, will now be the norm for a business or this becomes a permanent arrangement, employers must explain how to carry out full workstation assessments and provide workers with appropriate equipment and advice on control measures.

Broader issues of health and safety and wellbeing

Employers' general duties to take reasonable care for the health, safety and wellbeing of their workers and others are not relaxed during the current crisis, so employers must make sure that their risk assessments are regularly reviewed to take account of the changes brought about by Covid-19 and the government's response to it. Employers found not to have done so will be in breach of their obligations and may well face enforcement action. Lack of supervision due to homeworking may well create a greater risk which must be accounted for, as may difficulties in undertaking risk assessments.

Employers should also remember their obligations extend not only to the physical safety and health of their workers; their mental wellbeing must also be considered. With many unfamiliar with remote working, isolation can be a factor. Employers should maintain regular contact with workers and encourage team support. Apart from the obvious benefits for the individual, the longer term benefits in productivity on a return to "business as usual" should not be underestimated. Health, safety and wellbeing obligations are not suspended during the current pandemic. On the contrary, they remain in place, albeit for some the emphasis may have shifted temporarily.