Businesses are changing the way they work with flexible working arrangements. In some businesses, employees have the option to work remotely or work while traveling. It is vital to ensure that as a business owner you are fulfilling your health and safety obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) – no matter if your employees are working from home.
A quick way to establish what you have, what you need, and your progress in setting up your employees to work from home, is to put together a working from home checklist.
Things to consider
When an employee works from home, their home is considered a workplace: and you, as the employer, owe them a duty of care. This duty of care is of course reasonable in the circumstances of an employee working from home.
A checklist should cover the fundamentals of your obligations when an employee is working remotely.
For example, an adequate working from home checklist for employers should prompt you to ask yourself the following questions:
Do my employees have an adequate set up at home to allow them to work productively and safely?
Has the injury management policy been reviewed and updated to cater for working from home arrangements?
Does my business have a Working From Home Policy?
Why use a working from home checklist?
A checklist is a recommended way to help yourself stay on top of, and keep track of, your health and safety obligations. By going through and ticking off the various parts of your checklist, you can easily stay in touch with what you need to do.
Employer’s duty of care to employees working from home
As mentioned at the beginning, employers have a responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees, even when they work at home as far is is reasonably practicable. The same health and safety rules apply, not only to your employee, but to others affected by their working at home. Employees also have to take reasonable care to ensure the health and safety of themselves and others, as well as follow the business’ policies and instructions.
If you require an employee to work from home, carefully consider their personal circumstances, whether they can carry out their role at home, any health and safety matters and, of course the needs of your business.
A checklist can assist you to carry out a risk assessment of their home office to see if there are any potential hazards or safety risks.
Things to include in a working from home checklist
The checklist will include details such as:
- Employee details (name, contact, emergency information)
- Supervisor details (name, contact, emergency information)
- When workers are likely to be working and from where (days, hours, usual breaks and location)
- Hazard identification, incident reporting and consultation
- Workstation set up and hazardous manual tasks (workstation is safely and ergonomically set up)
- Working environment and facilities
- Psychosocial hazards
- Any extra work or arrangements (Details like any additional work done after hours or staying late and any flexible arrangements)
- Agreed actions (PCBU to summarise consulation with worker on identified hazards and possible solutions detailing actions)
While this is not an exhaustive checklist, these are some key elements that you should definitely include in your working from home checklist.
Create safe workplaces with Peninsula
Peninsula works with business owners and employers creating strong policies and processes that safeguard their workplaces. Our team provides tailored support, resources, and advice for your business. Call us on 0800215031 to learn how we can help you.