I am not sure on the provision of specialist equipment e.g. specific ergonomics chairs, mouse and keyboards. The DSE regs 1(4) covers agency workers in detail, however as a Host employer the subject of item (i) and (ii) which covers risk assessments (reg 2) and workstations complying with the minimum requirements (reg 3) leaves a grey area for me, whether we should provide specialist equipment as identified in the DSE risk assessment to reduce the risks or equip the workstations as required in the Schedule under reg 3. Understanding the responsibilities of the agency and the host employer (us), my feeling is that because the onus is placed upon the employer we would need to provide suitable and appropriate equipment. Any help would be appreciated, even if only confirmation.

It matters not if the person you are talking about is a long term employee or not. The duty remains the same, you must assess the workstation and ensure it fits the individual who uses it. Thast does not mean spending large amounts of cash to provide suitable chairs etc. You should set up the workstation in the correct manner after completing a DSE assesment for the person involved. Generally the set up is very straight forward and is the application of comonn details such as hight and sufficient desk space and a good quality chair. This will meet the requirements of the vast majority if DSE users. There are many different DSE assessment packages available that are quite simply to use and provides a high level of compliance, these will help you to identify if any specific additional things are needed, I suggest you explore these to see if they meet your needs.

Wouldn't the directive and regs be over-ridden by H&S legislation regardless of being agency or not?

No probs zyggy, Just a little concerned with regards to the 12 week period refence as is not applicable within H&S legislation

Phil, I fully understand your comments, & as I stated previously, the situation is still not very clear & is open to various interpretations. However, it was a chance comment from an employment lawyer that alerted me to these possibilities as, perhaps uniquely, I also line manage a Bureau service as well as my H&S role. Time will tell!!