Hi Stephanie

Your first post here, so welcome.

I am going to play Devil's Advocate.

Much as I voted against Brexit, one of the "benefits" is that the UK Government could revoke the DSE Regulations which are well past their sell by date as the Regulations were written when most workers DIDN'T use DSE equipment apart from perhaps a monitor at about eye level beside the machine they were operating.

So, if you imagine that these Regulations didn't exist how would you answer your question?

Would you do what you do for any other risk that your workforce are exposed to and apply a pragmatic approach to assessing the risks, giving staff appropriate training and supervision and doing some active monitoring as to what happens at the front line?

Now if we got shot of the DSE Regulations that wouldn't mean that the risks don't have to be assessed, nor that reasonably practicable precautions would still be required to mitigate the risks.

....and HSE could produce some guidance for the types of workstations that were envisaged when the Regulations were written.

So, the worker usually sitting at a desk, with a monitor, keyboard and mouse and may be needing to read a document, so for ease you provide a document holder alongside the monitor (or these days quite often more than one monitor).

Your "suitable and sufficient" assessment would include recognition that sitting for prolonged periods is not what evolution has designed humans to do, so you would encourage your staff to take breaks and get up from their chairs from time to time - even if that is only to walk to the multifunctional device to print out and/or scan some documents.

...and if we all spent less time on DSE assessments etc etc, there would be more time to assess (and MITIGATE) other risks such as the manager whose approach causes work-related stress - it's unlikely that there is no such manager in the organisation you work for (UNLESS you are in a very small organisation which applies a highly decentralised approach to how things are done)!!

Hi achrn

I am sure that you are well aware that sometimes HSE guidance ignores what the law actually says!

However on the more important point of Brexit "dividends" I guess that with global warming and more wine being produced in England including some sparkling white (which they are not permitted to call champagne!!) there will be a few little Brits who want the RIGHT to buy their wine by the pint.

Whether any suppliers go along with this is perhaps less likely, especially if they want to keep their export options open.