Horsham District Council supports safe environments for home workers

People working from home in the Horsham district will be supported by the council to make sure they have safe working environments.

Horsham District Council’s Environmental Health team said it is is keen to help businesses support their home and hybrid workers to keep them safe and healthy and is available for advice and support.

Cllr Tricia Youtan, cabinet member for Housing and Public Protection, said: "As a council we are committed to working alongside employers to ensure their employees are safe and well, both in the workplace and if they are working from home which has been the norm for many in recent times.

“Employer responsibilities for people working at home are essentially the same as for any other member of staff. They may however need to review some of the things they do and add to the scope of their risk, but essentially nothing should be new.

“It’s important to treat everyone individually as their suitability, environment and level of risk will be different.”

The main requirement of homeworking is the assessment of the risk and the measures you may need to put in place.

The following are areas which may need to be considered and are important aspects of employer health and safety management – Risk assessment (assess electrical hazards, trips, lighting, manual handling, insurance and lone working), stress and mental health (understand work related stress, talk to staff openly, look for negative patterns, provide stress management training and create a positive culture).

Using computers, laptops, and other equipment (make sure workstations are ergonomic and rest breaks taken. Consider the interaction of other equipment and DATA protection) and working environment, accidents and illness (It’s important you know about the environment your staff work in, ask them via a questionnaire. Make sure absence is still recorded so you can identify welfare issues).

Employers wanting advice or wishing to receive a free homeworking staff questionnaire or a sample risk assessment template, can contact [email protected]

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