Working from home (‘WFH’) is not new. I have handled a number of claims over the years where allegations have been made that a claimant has suffered an injury as a result of a breach of the Display Screen Equipment (‘DSE’) Regulations. Such claims can throw up unexpected complexities.
The “injury” could be a work-related upper limb disorder (‘WRULD’) on the basis that they worked long hours without a break, or a back injury based on prolonged poor posture, or a combination of both. Sometimes the claimant is not based at home but must attend customers' homes and carry out their work from whatever "workstation" the customer can provide be that a coffee table or similar.
There is little doubt that investigating a WFH claim is more problematic than a classic office based back and/or WRULD claim. For instance:
- Gaining access to the material workstation is not straightforward.
- Has the workstation been preserved?
- Lack of witnesses to contact who can comment on the claimant’s working conditions i.e. how the claimant actually worked.
- Was there a digital surveillance tool which might help pin down how long any claimant was using DSE?
So, when the pandemic hit, and office workers were told to WFH, it was anticipated that this would lead eventually to a glut of claims, but that hasn’t quite happened. We are now five years on and WFH or hybrid working is clearly with us to stay, but have employers understood their duties under the DSE regulations? Or are employees simply staring at a laptop for hours on end and risking injury?
The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations applies to employees who:
- work at home on a permanent or long-term basis;
- routinely split their time between their workplace and home (sometimes called hybrid working).
Employees are DSE users if they work on DSE daily, for continuous periods of an hour or more. The regulations don't apply to workers who use DSE occasionally or only for short periods of time at home.
DSE risk assessment
Where the regulations do apply, an employer should carry out a DSE assessment for individual workers. In most cases an employer does not need to visit them to carry out the assessment, unless they decide there is a need to do so. Employees may complete a self-assessment provided they have been given suitable training, for example, by explaining how to use an ergonomic checklist or self-assessment tool.
There is a practical DSE workstation checklist available on the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) website for employers to make a simple DSE assessment and record and communicate the findings.
Where an employee uses DSE in the home and office, the assessment should cover both situations.
Employers should make sure those working at home can achieve a comfortable, sustainable posture. They may not need office furniture or equipment at home to achieve this, but employers should check if their own equipment is suitable.
Managing the risks
- Employers should make sure any recommendations from DSE assessments from employees at home are implemented and reduce any risks identified by the assessment so far as reasonably practicable. This means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the real risk in terms of money, time or trouble.
- Where a DSE workstation assessment indicates an employer needs to take some action, for example, providing a piece of DSE equipment, employees cannot be charged for this.
- Keep DSE arrangements under review, particularly if there have been significant changes.
- Check if existing control measures are sufficient or whether additional steps are needed, for example, where an employee reports aches, pains or discomfort.
Additional DSE equipment needs
Use the assessment to decide if employees need any additional equipment when working at home. Alongside information provided by the worker, employers may need to ask for competent advice, for example, from a suitably trained DSE assessor or a suitable occupational health professional. Employers should meet additional individual needs so far as reasonably practicable.
DSE information and training
An employer must provide their employees with training in the use of their workstation and DSE equipment. This should include advice on achieving good posture, and on good working practices and may include guidance on the following to achieve this:
- adjusting chairs and other furniture
- arranging desk space
- adjusting screens and lighting to avoid reflections and glare
- breaks and changes of activity
- risk assessments
- how to report problems
Employers should also tell users about the general arrangements they have made for health and safety in their DSE work, and how they can apply for an eye test.
Good posture when using DSE
Standard workstation setup
Work in this way to maintain good posture
- Top of screen level with eyes, about an arm's length away
- Relax your shoulders - try to position yourself high enough so you don't need to shrug your shoulders
- Keyboard just below elbow height
- Seat height equally supports front and back of thighs (or use cushion to raise seated position)
- Back of the seat provides good lower back support (or use cushion, to provide additional back support)
- Gap of 2-3 cm between front of seat bottom and back of knee
- Computer and screen directly in front of you on desk or other surface
- Screen and keyboard central - don't twist your back
- Mouse in line with elbow
Laptop setup
Consider these additional points when setting up your laptop for prolonged use:
Good posture for laptop use
- Keyboard and mouse separate from the laptop so screen can be elevated on a laptop riser or similar
- Display screen separate from the laptop
Work routine and breaks
The law says employers must plan work so there are breaks or changes of activity for employees who are DSE users. There is no legal guidance about how long and how often breaks should be for DSE work; it depends on the kind of work being done. Employees should take short breaks often, rather than longer ones less often: for example, 5 to 10 minutes every hour is better than 20 minutes every 2 hours. Ideally, users should be able to choose when to take breaks.
In most jobs it is possible to stop DSE work to do other tasks, such as going to meetings or making phone calls. If there are no natural changes of activity in a job, employers should plan rest breaks. Breaks or changes of activity should allow users to get up from their workstations and move around or at least stretch and change posture.
Break-monitoring software
Break-monitoring software can remind users to take regular breaks. But employers are still responsible for making sure work activities are properly planned and that users take suitable breaks.
The Claims
There is a great deal of advice on the HSE website but, in practice, I rarely see any evidence of a DSE assessment taking place. During the pandemic, because of the urgent nature of the way office workers and employers had to adapt and the shortage of correct equipment, it was understandable that employers were simply unable to meet all these requirements, but we are now a way down the road and claims still arise where there is no DSE assessment.
A DSE assessment allows the employee to highlight any issues which gives the employer an opportunity to resolve them as early as possible. It is also important to renew a DSE assessment if the work of an employee is about to materially change, or if an employee has been off work for a while, particularly if they are returning from sick leave or maternity leave.
Reviewing the DSE assessment (if there is one) along with the workstation (if possible and still in situ) is essential, but a feature of these claims is that the types of conditions claimed tend to be constitutional type conditions. Therefore, more questions arise such as: has the condition of, say, carpel tunnel syndrome, felt worse whilst typing but has the typing itself actually worsened the condition? Has poor posture had an impact on a back/spinal condition and/or ultimately caused an exacerbation or acceleration of that condition?
However, there is the occasional claim where quantum can be significant, particularly where the condition has led to chronic pain and there is limited scope to argue that it is an acceleration or exacerbation condition.
Access to all medical and occupational health records will begin to tell a story along with an investigation into the work and workstation where possible. Even if there is no DSE assessment, causation can be the key in defending these claims, albeit WFH claims are just that bit harder to investigate and therefore defend.
