As we all know, remote working became the norm for many during the COVID pandemic.
Now, at the end of 2025, it is still commonplace, with 63% of respondents to a Forbes Advisor poll claiming that they still work remotely fully, or partly (hybrid working).
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA), as an employer you still have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of your workers even if they are not in the office or usual place of business.
So we can’t have an out of sight, out of mind attitude. Let’s look at some of the common pitfalls that you may fall into when it comes to health and safety at home or away from the office. We want you to be confident you are compliant with your health and safety responsibilities as an employer and can help you achieve this.
Risk assess
As ever, your approach should begin with a risk assessment. You should ensure that you are doing whatever is reasonably practicable to keep your workers safe, and that includes those that are remote working. Identify what risks or hazards there are and mitigate them to eliminate or reduce that risk as much as possible. This may include ensuring that they have suitable equipment for use at home.
Display screen equipment
Within your assessments you should consider how their working environment is fit for purpose and so will need to cover elements such as display screen equipment (DSE) and the ergonomics of the job.
If a worker requires DSE at home, or indeed other specialist equipment, then they cannot be charged for this. Likewise, the desk furniture they require should also be suitable. It may be that you will need to provide a suitable chair to use at home.
Musculoskeletal disorders account for approximately one-third of workplace associated illness and injuries. Ensuring your workers are clear on the best way they can work to reduce this risk is paramount. As well as having a suitable chair, workers should be encouraged to take regular breaks.
Maintenance of other equipment
Any equipment use outside the business should also be regularly checked and maintained. For those involved with vehicles this may have become trickier with remote working, due to depots closing and workers storing their vehicle at home rather than in a managed depot.
Workers’ mental health
The water cooler conversations might have had their day for those working remotely, but as an employer you have a duty of care for your employees’ mental health. The feeling of isolation may negatively impact workers, and so stress and mental health should be areas for risk assessment too.
As an employer you should be proactively managing this. Touching base with employees to ascertain how they are, if they feel adequately trained and if they are aware of who to raise any concerns with. Making sure you have policies which staff can access and refer to, can help ease this uncertainty as a source of stress.
Whilst remote working has made the reliance on email stronger, as a manager or employer, try to include face-to-face, video calls or phone calls in your day. Of course, this will not be suitable for all interactions but each week communicating with employees in this manner can have an overall positive effect. Consider having dedicated days when close colleagues visit an office together.
Work/life balance
With the increase in remote working there can be a tendency towards blurred lines between home and work life. This is where encouraging employees to have boundaries can have a positive impact on mental health, protecting that work/life balance. Lead by example and consider making it a policy that workers do not look at work emails or take calls in non-work hours.
Next steps
If you have remote or hybrid workers, and need support in ensuring you are compliant with health and safety laws, then we are here to help. At The Health & Safety Dept we can provide tailored support to your business. Whether it is risk assessments or policies, or you would like information on training or eLearning we are one call away from being the answer you require. Get started today.
