Hi All,

With regards to the information the PM sent out yesterday, and now with many companies sending staff to work from home in vast numbers. How does this play in with regards to DSE assessments at home? Seems to me like a problematic area. If not suitable and sufficient, would companies be liable to purchase desks/chairs/PC monitors and equipment etc

Thanks in advance

Hi RKC7,

My gut feel is that you are already a bit late to this party as you should have already set up this system as part of our wider business continuity planning projects in order to be running with this now.

However one thing we decided is that staff were responsible for their own set up because managers cannot be expected to visit and staff would probably not appreciate this.

We do not provide desks or chairs, but before home working can be approved employees have to prepare a DSE setup self assessment questionnaire and review it with their manager to ensure the way they propose to work is broadly compliant as well as ensuring they have all the relevant peripherals (hardware, security software etc.)

Hope this helps.

outdated regs.

1 of my clients is planning this now, they have no virus issues, reducing vistors to office, hand gel everywhere, and so on.

They are sending the helpdesk manager and 1 contract manager to work from home on Thurs to prove their system works.

They will have their desktop installed at home by the IT manager, due to the office setup, new screens will be purchased, dongles for internet access and a new licence to allow remote access to the server. Currently only 5 on licence and I'm 1 of the 5. But it's best part of a grand to have another 15 added.

You know when you're a luddite when it comes to technology when your told that that you can plug the fancy office phone into your socket at home and it will still respond as if it's in the office. Apparently software is being installed. But then it's not your normal phone. There are 2 clip on sidecars that have the ability to route calls to preprogrammed numbers with the touch of a button.

We already have home workers and for those we provide equipment as required. While most can work from home we see this as a luxury not a right or for remote workers they are out and about for the majority of their time so less impact. We inform about good ergonomics and expect staff to follow this. In this exceptional cirumstance we are supporting staff so that they can work from home and can continue to contribute to the work we do as a charity for as long as possible and get paid. We are reminding people about ergonomnis and breaks etc but really focussing on mental well being to address the isolation and challenges home working brings as well as the added stresses because of the situation. This is far more important that 3 months at a kitchen table and a piece of paper in my mind, as long as we remind people about ergonomics and support if they have aches and pains.

Originally Posted by: Ian Bell2

Given the current situation, DSE assessments wouldn't be high on my list of priorities

We took this view too. We decided people and the wider population were at more risk remaining at work. In addition we had managers discuss home working and needs with individual employees.  They then decided what items people needed to take with them or be provided with, given that the period of home working is as yet, unknown.

Totally agree DSE isn't high on the priority list at the moment but some of these replies could be taken by some as health risks associated with DSE aren't worthy of control. 

3 months at an unsuitable workstation could impact health further down the line and 3 months of  "it's not relevant now" could health & safety culture when this is all over.

I relate to the OP. Certainly don't want to be the clipboard ahole but don't like to see safety principles swept aside without due consideration.   

Originally Posted by: Invictus

I completed the assessment I have told staff when they are sitting up in bed using the laptop to put a pillow behind thier backs to stop from sweating and dirtying the headboard. Jobs a goodin. 

That's funny. Really funny.

Suggest OP ignores your advice.

It's about time people got real including the HSE, the same people working friom home spend hours on laptops as it is. It will be 6 -8 weeks and were all panicing. I think the company best order desks and chairs and have them delivered because the ones at work we will need when people return and we can't pick up the ones from thier houses.

Self assessm,ent is sufficient, i won't ne advising anything else. Most people who don't normally work at home will sit at the kitchen table for 7 hours they will put the computer on and do all sorts of thisng checking every now and again. Plus working from home is not confined to 7 hours people will do some stuff later on when they have put the kids to bed etc. Only those who are set up with an office and who have done it for a long time might stick to hours.

Originally Posted by: nic168

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKHSE/bulletins/2820cf2

 link to HSE bulletin about temporary home working.

Finally, something more akin to safety professionalism as I know it.

OP, follow this advice.

Hi,  Is 3 months classed as temporary? 

This is something I am struggling with.  All staff have the opportunity to work from home and have been provided with a laptop as part of the buisness continuity (most are not allowed to work from home normally). 

If the business required them to work from home, I would expect a DSE self assessment and the company to pay for extras like  keyboard and mouse etc.  However, our office is still open, although they have been encouraged to work from home, due to government advice.

Homeworking is a luxury in this climate, as it is allowing the employees to continue working with full pay. The company cannot afford to buy all this equiptment for the whole company, as are prioritising keeping all staff on full pay already.

 Ray, many of my collegues do have someting wrong with them, my first 6 months in post involved a steady stream of DSE related problems. 2 Years on and I still getting a couple a month (employers dont believe in training or awareness for DSE or manual Handling). 

When we were originally told to to work at home for a couple of weeks I have circulated links to an online refresher training package, guidance on adapting your set up using everyday items and some other bits and pieces.

Now we could be looking at months, and I am worried about the long term physical effects. I am aso concerned about the prospect of future claims against the employer , particularly by those trhose who had previously known conditions which were overlooked in the initial stampede.

Refernce the need to provide kit- as your offices are not in use whay not redeploy some of the equipment there? Mice , laptopstand and keyborards would be a good starting point. 

Hi RKC, Trying to be constructive here.

This is not DSE risk assessment heavy but British Safety Council were running a promotion where they were giving their Remote Workers' Health, Safety and Welfare online training course for free. (it takes approx 30 mins to complete)

Its a general assessment and covers quite a few areas including DSE and I think it's still available for free https://www.britsafe.org/products/remote-working/ Would be good for remote workers to go through it, there is a short quiz at the end to test understanding.

HSE guidance is also available https://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/workers/home.htm?utm_source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=coronavirus&utm_term=homeworking&utm_content=bulletin-19-mar-20. It points out that DSE assessment is not needed if it is 'temporary' what that means is up to interpretation and risk assessment. 

Hope this helps with your query.

As my wife and kids are now in the house I have moved into my son’s bedroom as he has desk for me to work on. Did a quick DSE assessment and concluded that it is about 2 inches too low.  I need a monitor riser and the desk raising by a bit. I can’t get facilities staff to arrange for the desk to be raised as they are all at home so I will be on the lookout for some wooden blocks. In the interim I have decided to take more microbreaks and have just enjoyed postmaster on radio 2. Terrible score.

In my organisation (office closed since 17th March and 1000+ office based employees) we have prioritised arranging WFH kit for staff who have reasonable adjustments due to health condiations or disability - this has involved couriering bespoke chairs and other specialist kit to their home addresses. The second group of people are pregnant workers - making sure thay have everything they need to work comfortably. The third group - that we are working with now - is the rest of the workforce.

Everyone has a laptop anyway so really it's just making sure that they have the other kit they need to be able to work comfortably - a desk or table (some of our staff live in one room in a flat share or similar and don't have this already), a suitable chair, keyboard and mouse. We have instructed them to raise the laptop up to the right height using books/biscuit tine/etc - nobody needs a fancy laptop stand - similarly with foot rests. We have set a budget and people can claim back expenses to a certain value.

All staff are also being prompted to log onto our online DSE training which has a pretty good section about working from a laptop and are also being reminded to take regular breaks. We are not completing DSE assessments for our staff WFH but we are sending them the link to the hSE self assessment form and asking them to let us know if they have any concerns regarding their set up after they have purchased any necessary kit.

Whilst we are certianly being realistic and remembering that nobody ever died (as far as I know!) from a poorly set up workstation we are doing all we can to make sure that our staff can work as comfortably as possible during this time. We are also acknowledging the potential impact on mental health and are encouraging team meetings, shared coffee breaks, Friday night drink, etc by Skype. Our CEO is also emailing us regularly to acknowledge the challenges people may be experiencing with juggling work and childcare/homeschooling, etc. and reassuring us that full output is not expected and flexibility is required - this is a welcome message!

I hope this helps the OP and doesn't attract too much critisism from the people who haven't answered the original question but have used this thread to scoff. This is not the biggest risk to health to worry about at the moment but it is still something that needs consideration and input from H&S professionals and if we can share our examples of how we are managing this risk practically then lets carry on doing that.

Edited by user 25 March 2020 16:48:39(UTC)  | Reason: added more