Posted By Robert M Edwards The The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 state ' (a) "display screen equipment" means any alphanumeric or graphic display screen, regardless of the display process involved;' The next test is to be found in the exclusion section of the statute which states (4) Nothing in these Regulations shall apply to or in relation to- '(e) calculators, cash registers or any equipment having a small data or measurement display required for direct use of the equipment; or (f) window typewriters. There is no case law yet on this area that we could find but we here ( lawyers and Health and Safety pros alike) say the new EPOS equipment is a VDU and as such all risk testing should be applied. We are also advising clients to ensure their staff are aware of the risk assessment and what the management intends to do about the results. As for time spent on the equipment, eye testing etc in our opinion the same rules apply as to anyone else using a VDU. This also raises some interesting questions about the seating provided and also the lighting on the screens which in most supermarkets is not designed to assist reading the screens. The statute is of course 10 years old and it is doubted that the technological advances were considered or imagined. But here they are and as such the onus to comply as usual lies with the employer. Intersting though as this sort of advance tends to crawl in under the door with no one flagging up the implications. Well spotted that man!

Posted By Dave Wilson Ask your LA Env Heatlh Dept as they are the Enforcing Authority, would be interested in what they say!

Posted By Jack Jay has helpfully expanded on my posting. For completeness (and now I'm in the office) the research I referred to was Musculoskeletal Disorders In Supermarket Cashiers (ISBN 0 7176 0831 X). Unfortunately I think it was published before they were all made accessible on the internet.