Rank: New forum user 
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Lone Working at Home- What do I need to do as an employer??
Info on the HSE website on the matter is very basic.
Aside from a DSE assessment do we need to get homeworkers to do a risk assessment providing they have suitable risk assessment training e.g. IOSH) of their working area at home etc?
Also is it still our responsibility to set in place a system for monitoring their lone working by some means if they are working for the company whilst at home?
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Hi Alanna,
It's a good question, and I would answer it by asking you to consider what they are doing which is in your control. Anything they do as part of your undertaking, e.g. using a laptop to produce work, needs an assessment by you. Anything they do which is in their cotrol, such as making toast or tripping over their cat, is not something you need to risk assess. That may sound a bit facetious, but it isn't really; you can only manage risks you can control and you can't manage an employees own home,
John
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Lots of good advice in the free IOSH guide available via 'Books & Resources' tab above.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Personally I don't think Lone Working per se applies to normal home working i.e. working on a laptop or computer. Lone Working applies were there is a potential risk to the worker due to isolation or lack of supervision, which is not normally the case when working from home - it's the safest means of working because most risks emanate from travelling.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Ray is surely quite correct in his comment about the common understanding of 'lone' working. If Hazards arise specifically from working at home, they are surely quite self-evident, with the effect that normal briefing on risk management should suffice.
While you state that 'Info on the HSE website on the matter is very basic' the scope of risks associated with DSE include musculoskeletal disorders, vision disorders and stress disorders. Assessing these risks can normally be done well through regular surveys; appropriate follow up action by the employer and employee may well need to go beyond 'very basic' interventions, but of their nature can't be generalised in advance.
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