They should pay for the eye test under regulation 5 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations

A lot of these outlets regularly offer free eye tests anyway.

As for the glasses, that depends if you use them only for the work you do, or whether you wear them generally for other things. Much harder to prove.

Not a discount dhally, it's provision f.o.c. to the employee of eye examination and basic corrective appliance (spectacles) IMO this should include varifocals where the job demands. Most opticians and schemes allow the employee (DSE User) to upgrade (tints, designer frames) at theirown expense.

Problems can arise where the employer has a contract set up, employees are not made aware of this, and the employer has no way to reimburse the employee (who may have paid a lot more).

This should be part of induction for office based staff. Surprised that you (IOSH member) chose to go do this out of your own pocket

Eye test are only free in Scotland.

Are you under 16 or over 60 or a prisoner?

Ok lets not talk rubbish - In Scotland the NHS pays for all eye tests. They do not in England.

I don't think that's in accordance with statute.

The statute requirement is that DSE users who need spectacles specifically for DSE use should have them free. It's a vanishingly rare DSE use that requires varifocals - if the user requires varifocals then they will require them for things other than DSE use and therefore won't be covered by the DSE free provision requirements.

"If a user or a potential user requests an eye test you are required to provide one. If the test shows that the user needs glasses specifically for DSE work, you must pay for a basic pair of frames and lenses." INDG36

Of course, an employer may choose to provide more than statute, but I don't think the DSE regs would require varifocals.

Respectfully disagree. Please refer to Regulation 5(5). Provision relates to the work being done, not specifically to the screen(s) distance. Would you want to be swapping over spectacles every couple of minutes whilst dealing with customers or colleagues?

That said, I also hold the view that this free provision and the whole of the DSE Regs. should be scrapped.

I disagree, my VDU prescription is different from my reading (book) prescription. If my employer insists I use a display screen at work then he pays for me to be able to see it.

I don’t use a computer at home so these glasses are for work solely.

Just about every office worker is a DSE user these days so the equipment to work safely with these is vital. That includes chairs, mice, keyboards, screens as well as glasses.

If we scrap the DSE regs employers will all believe they no longer have to provide this equipment despite what other legislation may say. Witness what happened when the HSE ‘banned’ the use of ladders!

(I know they didn’t but that didn’t stop people saying they had did it?)

Parent Directive was drafted way back in the dim and distant when current thinking was that intensive close proximity to cathode ray tube outputs would cause eye damage (and harm the unborn child - thus the market opened up for lead aprons!).

Time to get real. There is no modern justification for employer obligation to pay for eye test or corrective appliance for DSE Users.

The eye test, as far as I am aware, has nothing to do with so called "radiation" from CRT technology--it has more to do with the fact that the human eye is not designed to focus on an object screen for significant periods of time and effects of glare etc. Flat screens have reduced the effects of glare.

Extract from L 26 ( better to provide authoritative info than to speculate):-
Appendix 2 Health effects of DSE work and principles of successful prevention, treatment and rehabilitation

Eye and eyesight effects
17 Medical evidence shows that using DSE is not associated with permanent damage to eyes or eyesight; nor does it make existing defects worse. However, some workers may experience temporary visual fatigue, leading to a range of symptoms such as impaired visual performance (for
example blurred vision), red or sore eyes and headaches, or the adoption of awkward posture which can cause further bodily discomfort.

Visual symptoms may be caused by:
(a) staying in the same position and concentrating for a long time;
(b) poor positioning of the DSE;
(c) poor legibility of the screen, keyboard or source documents;
(d) poor lighting, including glare and reflections;
(e) a drifting, flickering or jittering image on the screen.

18 As with other visually demanding tasks, DSE work does not cause eye damage but it may make workers with pre-existing vision defects more aware of them. Such uncorrected defects can make work with DSE more tiring or stressful than would otherwise be the case, which in turn may lead to increased risk of injury from musculoskeletal disorders.

Electromagnetic radiation
21 Anxiety about radiation emissions from DSE and possible effects on pregnant women was once widespread. However, there is substantial evidence that these concerns are unfounded. The Health and Safety Executive has consulted the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), which has the statutory function of providing information and advice on all radiation matters to Government departments, and the advice given in paragraphs 22-24 of this appendix summarises scientific understanding. (Anyone requiring more detail, should consult the NRPB report Health effects related to the use of visual display units.25)

22 The levels of ionising and non-ionising electromagnetic radiation which are likely to be generated by DSE are well below those set out in international recommendations for limiting risk to human health created by such emissions and the NRPB does not consider such levels to pose a significant risk to health. No special protective measures are therefore needed to protect the health of people from this radiation.

Effects on pregnant women
23 In the 1980s there was public concern about reports of higher levels of miscarriage and birth defects among some groups of DSE workers, allegedly due to electromagnetic radiation. Many scientific studies have been carried out, but taken as a whole their results do not show any link between miscarriages or birth defects and working with DSE. Research and reviews of the scientific evidence will continue to be undertaken.

24 In the light of the scientific evidence, pregnant women do not need to stop work with DSE. However, to avoid stress and anxiety, women who are pregnant or planning children and worried about working with DSE should be given the opportunity to read this guidance. If anyone subsequently is still concerned, they should be given the opportunity to discuss the issues with someone adequately informed of current authoritative scientific information and advice.

The eye test regulation was introduced not because of worries about radiation from CRTs (how they would help with that?) or glare etc. but because it was discovered, when lots of people started staring at computer screens for work, that some (less than 5%) had difficulty focusing their eyes at the 40 cm(ish) optimum distance to the screen. This is similar to the discover of short sightedness in the population when reading books became commonplace 500 years ago and I suppose, long sightedness, when people started driving more commonly. The regs do not require a general eye test, nor do they require every computer user to be given set of glasses. They require that a qualified optician test their eyes to see if the users are one of those people that require corrective glasses for this particular problem (middle sightedness?) when using a computer. Nothing more nothing less.
I suspect that if an employer was found to allow an employee with impaired vision to drive to work they would be held liable and be open for prosecution but the current law does not require that they provide an eye test for this situation.

yes your're right