Our new start has previously identified “repetitive strain injury or other upper limb problem” in her past employment through working on a laptop.  Her WFH situation is apparently unchanged, and she intends to continue working on a laptop, as she says there is not enough room for a keyboard on her desk.  

She uses a laptop stand and confirms that her wrists and lower arms are not supported when she is typing.  Also her chair is not adjustable and therefore unsuitable for DSE work, but she doesn't have room for the chair we would provide.

We can blindly send the equipment she needs but without direct supervision how do we ensure it’s use?  In other words, what jurisdiction do we have in people’s homes and in particular if they refuse to take steps to protect their health - short of the disciplinary process?

I would like to hear how you have handled a similar situation.

Struggling to envisage how a laptop stand is being used on a desk with no room for a separate key board.

With stands intended to raise the screen in to the users line of sight with the laptop wide open and its keyboard at an angle or just open with its keyboard horizontal either arrangement would prove difficult to operate.

Typical home use has the in-built laptop keyboard flat on the desk with the screen angled backwards to naturally fall in to the users line of sight, which is also the manner most home based employees use their laptop when working at the office.

Why are they causing themselves pain using a stand other than the employer told them to use it?

Does the work need to be done at home rather than the office where you have more environment control?

Was the position recruited as home based, if so were adequate enquiries made about the domestic situation before an offer was made?

Originally Posted by: Nicky A Langley

We can blindly send the equipment she needs but without direct supervision how do we ensure it’s use?  In other words, what jurisdiction do we have in people’s homes and in particular if they refuse to take steps to protect their health - short of the disciplinary process?

I don't think you can ensure its use, and I think you have no 'jurisdiction' in employee's homes, but you do have the ability to insist they comply with reasonable health and safety requirements while they are at work. I would regard a requirement to comply with the DSE regs as a reasonable requirement!

We have told our staff that if they cannot provide a workstation that meets the requirements at home, then they will not be able to work at home.  To be approved to work at home they need to complete a declaration that they have a workspace (using the equipment we supply) that meets the standards we specify (which are largely teh DSE requirements). (This applies when there is no work at home guidance from the government, but as of not long ago we are back in that situation again, in England at least.)

I observe that if someone was operating a large and powerful piece of machinery but refusing to use the provided guards on that machine, you probably wouldn't be asking about measures that stop short of a disciplinary process.