Employees working from home

Your health and safety obligations towards homeworkers

You have the same responsibilities for ensuring the health and safety of homeworkers as you would for staff based at your premises. Your duties are likely to include:

• carrying out a health and safety risk assessment - see our guide on risk assessment - an overview
• purchasing compulsory employers' liability insurance if you don't already have it - see our guide on liability insurance
• ensuring equipment is fit for its purpose
• testing, certifying and maintaining electrical equipment provided by the business
• ensuring computers can be used comfortably and without disturbing glare, see our guide on how to ensure your employees are operating computers safely
• making sure lighting levels are appropriate
• avoiding trailing cables to reduce the risks of trips and falls
• ensuring staff are suitably trained to work safely
• keeping records of any serious accidents, illnesses or injuries experienced by homeworkers

Remember, too, that employees who use computers regularly - including homeworkers - are entitled to an eye test paid for by their employer.

Homeworkers must take reasonable care of their own health and safety, as well as that of other people such as family members, neighbours and visitors. They must also ensure they use work equipment correctly.

For information on your business' health and safety duties, see our guide on your responsibilities for health, safety and the environment.

You can also download a guide to your specific health and safety responsibilities towards homeworkers from the HSE website (PDF).

If you have employees who use their home as a base and generally don't work from your premises, you may have additional health and safety responsibilities to them. See our guide on how to ensure the safety of lone workers.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Advantages and disadvantages of employees working at home
• Types of work and skills suited to home working
• Employment contracts and working from or at home
• Kitting out people who work at home
• Manage employees who work from home
• Your health and safety obligations towards homeworkers
• How technology can facilitate working from home
• Responsibilities of homeworkers
• Here's how I manage the performance of my homeworkers and keep them motivate

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