Health and Safety Campaign for Home Workers

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a campaign to remind employers that they have the same legal duties for home workers as office-based staff.

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), over a third of workers in Great Britain now work remotely or in hybrid arrangements, which makes this an important area for employers to cover.

The HSE campaign focuses on three essential areas for employers to pay attention to. These are:

• Stress and mental health.
• The safe use of display screen equipment (DSE).
• The working environment – including accidents, emergencies, and lone working.

HSE advise that it is not necessary to physically visit someone’s home for an employer to fulfil their duties since, most of the time, the risks are low and the steps to manage them are straightforward. HSE suggests that managers:

• Keep in regular contact with their teams.
• Talk openly about workloads and training needs.
• Make sure people aren’t under pressure to work outside their normal working hours.
• Have simple conversations about the staff member’s physical environment by asking them to visually check that their equipment is safe and not damaged, keeping work areas clear of trailing wires or obstructions, and making sure they know what to do in an emergency. 

The HSE provides free resources to help businesses carry out home-working risk assessments.

Businesses in Northern Ireland are overseen by Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI). HSE NI’s website also provides free resources to help employers fulfil their legal obligations towards staff working at home. 

See: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2026/03/09/home-workers-must-be-protected-like-any-other-employee/ 

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