Protecting workers from risks of working with DSE and other office equipment

In our series of Legislation Changes in 2022 blogs by our Kickstart Marketing Assistant, Joanna, we’ll look at how legislative changes planned for this year could impact your business. Whilst many of us may be hoping for “business as usual” at some point this year, we also need to consider the legislative changes planned for 2022 and where you may need to make changes to how you conduct your business.

Display Screens and other Equipment used for Homeworking

Poorly designed workstations can lead to minor or even major injuries and you, the employer, could be liable to pay claims if you don’t provide staff with risk assessments.

It can be easy to forget about DSE safety as digital technology is so engrained into our day-to-day lives, but this makes DSE risk assessments even more pivotal. Despite many businesses still working from home, a lot are back in the office or hybrid working and you need to ensure your employees have completed DSE risk assessments.

During the pandemic the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had advised that, although workstation assessments were still recommended for those working remotely or from home temporarily, they were not required.

However, since the start of a return to the workplace and as more people have started working on a hybrid basis, employers have been required to ensure DSE and office risk assessments are carried out on all workstations, no matter what the circumstances.

Seeing as more jobs require the use of technology such as computers and monitors, it is normal to expect the rise of complaints concerning health and safety in regards to office equipment and display screens. Allan McDougall Solicitors state on their website that they are seeing an increasing number of clients complain about back strain and musculoskeletal injuries as a result of poor desk setup. You can ensure health and safety in the office by ensuring chairs are adjustable and allow staff to take short breaks from the screen each hour, as advised by the HSE.

Now most of us have returned to the office, you may have asked staff to bring back any office equipment, PCs, chairs and any other equipment they used at home. This equipment will need checking for any damage and that it is still fit for purpose. Whether returned to the office, remaining in use at home, or being used remotely, you must ensure that PAT testing of all electrical equipment in use, is up to date after all these months.

For company security, electronic equipment should be stripped of any personal use and the security programmes, firewalls and everything else are checked for viruses or contamination.

See Display Screen Equipment (DSE) in the H&S A-Z for further guidance for setting up a workstation away from the office and for a DSE Risk Assessment template.

Take a look at our other blogs in the series about the use of Handheld Devices and Personal Protective Equipment.

Talbot Jones Ltd is a family-run chartered insurance heritage specialist in the Third Sector and Professional risks. Get in touch for free insurance advice, review or quotation.