Remote working: What are
the health and safety implications for employers?
The number of
employees working from home in an office-type job, or roles involving travel
where home is used as a base, has risen exponentially. But what are the health
and safety implications for employers?
Improvements
in technology have paved the way for a revolution in “remote working”, which
has benefits for both employees and employers. Employees are increasingly
seeking a better work-life balance and enjoy the flexibility offered by working
from home; and for employers the advantages are increased productivity and staff
retention. Remote working is working
away from the office; not only working from home, it also includes mobile
working anywhere in the world. It’s estimated that 50% of the UK workforce will
work remotely by 2020. Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS)
reveals that the number of UK workers who moved into remote-working increased
by nearly a quarter of a million over a decade.
Liability
Remote working is now a common feature of the business world but opens the
door to a raft of health and safety implications for employers.
The importance of employers ensuring their remote workforce has the same level
of cover as those operating on work premises should not be underestimated. Your
legal obligations do not stop at the office door.
Managing home
workers and identifying their associated risks can be complicated for
employers. As an employer it’s important to consider if your liability
insurance extends coverage to home working.
A typical business policy requires business owners to notify their
insurer if employees are operating from other addresses to ensure that property
damage and business interruption cover is seamless.
Risk assessment
Employers need to assess the suitability of the working environment at home by
conducting a workplace risk assessment and take appropriate measures to reduce
any associated risks. They need to make sure homeworkers have an appropriate
workspace at home (checking the ventilation, temperature, lighting, space,
chair, desk and computer or workstation), take regular breaks and so on. It
also means completing Portable Appliance Testing (PAT testing) on items used
for work purposes such as laptops and landline phones, as these should be
routinely checked by employers for safety.
The employer is responsible for the equipment it supplies, but it is the
employee’s responsibility to rectify any flaws in the home highlighted by the
assessment. Once the home workplace has passed the assessment, it is the
employee who is responsible for keeping it that way.
The majority of work carried out at home is going to be low-risk office-type
work but if your employees work at home doing activities such as working with
adhesives, you need to consider the particular risks involved in those
activities. You will need to check that any equipment you supply to your staff
is in good condition and that they have the correct personal protective
equipment (PPE) if needed.
Ensuring the wellbeing of remote workers
Remote workers’ mental wellbeing
should also be addressed. Remote workers miss out on a number of factors that
benefit our mental health such as colleague interaction and office provisions.
To prevent employees from becoming isolated, you could consider creating a
virtual community so they are able to retain the social element of work life.
This could be setting up a WhatsApp group or internet social media channels for
your workers; ensuring managers are regularly communicating with their staff
and addressing any issues they may have; consider setting up monthly staff
meetings whether physical or virtual.
Using technology is vital to keeping
your remote business working smoothly eg, video messaging, GPS tracking, the
cloud, and scheduling apps.
Did you know?
· Businesses have reported benefits to their
firms in allowing staff to adopt more flexible working practices. This includes
more than half reporting an improvement in their relationship with their
employees and staff motivation, 40% reporting a boost in productivity and 38%
seeing a drop in staff absence.
Remote worker training with ETD
Our 30 minute course provides
employees with the necessary information to protect themselves whilst working
remotely, including assessing the risks, and precautionary measures. Learners
must pass a short multiple-choice assessment to complete the course.
ETD Training are a provider of online health
and safety training solutions in Shropshire. To find out more about us click
here…
