Hybrid working isn’t “new” anymore, but the way you manage health and safety for it is still catching up in a lot of SMEs. In 2026, the big shift isn’t a single new law that changes everything. It’s rising expectations: clearer evidence that you’ve assessed risks properly, stronger focus on mental wellbeing, and more attention to how modern work actually happens (home set-ups, hot-desking, lone working, and even the way data security affects physical safety).
Here’s what you need to know and what to do next.
Your duty of care still applies
If someone works from home long-term or splits their time between home and the workplace, you still have the same health and safety responsibilities as you do for any other worker. HSE’s guidance is explicit about that point.
That doesn’t mean you’re expected to “inspect” everyone’s spare room. It means you must take reasonable, practical steps to identify risks, put sensible controls in place, and check that they’re working. HSE also stresses a balanced approach for home-worker risk assessments, often using self-assessments and guidance rather than site visits.
Home working risk assessments: what “good” looks like in 2026
For many SMEs, the home-working risk assessment is where compliance either holds together or falls apart.
In 2026, “good” typically includes:
- A documented home-working risk assessment process (even if it’s a simple template)
- A clear way for staff to raise issues and request adjustments
- Evidence you’ve considered both physical and psychosocial risks (more on wellbeing below)
- Reviews when something changes (new role, new equipment, new health needs, new location, incident/near miss)
ACAS also reinforces that employers are responsible for employees’ health, safety and wellbeing when working remotely, and that risk assessments should be reviewed to keep them suitable.
DSE is still your bread-and-butter risk (and it applies at home and in hybrid)
If your people use screens daily for continuous periods (often an hour or more), the DSE rules can apply. This includes home workers and hybrid workers.
HSE guidance also highlights that DSE applies to:
- fixed workstations
- mobile workers
- home workers
- hot-desking (where workers should do a basic risk assessment if they change desks regularly)
For home working, HSE is clear: you must protect workers from DSE risks and, where the regulations apply, carry out a DSE assessment (self-assessments can be used).
What’s evolving in 2026: it’s less acceptable to rely on “we sent an email about posture”. You’re expected to show you’ve taken steps to ensure the set-up is actually suitable, especially if someone reports discomfort or you know they’re working long hours on a laptop.
What’s evolving in 2026 (beyond the traditional office)
1) Greater scrutiny of mental wellbeing
Work-related stress is treated like any other workplace hazard — it should be assessed and managed. HSE’s Management Standards approach is a long-standing framework for doing this well.
What feels “new” in 2026 is the increased push for practical competence. HSE launched free online learning to help employers carry out effective work-related stress risk assessments as part of its Working Minds campaign.
If your hybrid model is creating issues like isolation, blurred boundaries, overload, or poor change communication, you need to treat those as risk factors — not just “HR matters”.
2) Lone working risks are now part of everyday hybrid work
Hybrid work often means people are working alone more often — at home, in quiet offices, or while travelling between sites. HSE’s lone working guidance is clear that you must include lone workers in your general risk assessment and control the risks.
This can include:
- escalation and check-in procedures
- supervision and communication arrangements
- managing the risk of violence or abuse (where relevant)
- training so staff know what to do if something feels unsafe
3) Hot-desking and shared spaces create new “small” hazards that add up
Hot-desking is efficient — but it can increase ergonomic issues and minor accidents if set-ups vary wildly. HSE explicitly flags hot-desking in DSE guidance, noting the need for basic assessments when desks change regularly.
In practice, the risk is often less about one big failure and more about lots of small ones:
- chairs left at poor settings
- screens at awkward heights
- people perching with laptops in quiet zones
- trailing leads at temporary workstations
4) Data security and physical safety overlap more than you think
This isn’t “health and safety law” in the traditional sense, but it’s now a real-world hybrid risk: where people work affects how safe their equipment, information, and wellbeing are.
The ICO’s working-from-home guidance includes employer-facing security checklists and stresses assessing new systems for vulnerabilities. From a safety perspective, that links to practical controls like safe storage, reducing stress caused by incidents, and avoiding risky behaviours (working in public spaces without suitable set-ups, carrying equipment unsafely, etc.).
Practical steps for SMEs
1) Make remote workstation assessments easy
Make it simple for people to do the right thing by using a structured self-assessment that covers DSE and general home-working risks. Build in prompts for the most common issues, such as chair support, screen height, lighting, temperature, trip hazards, and workload or break patterns, so problems are identified early rather than after discomfort develops.
Crucially, make sure there’s a clear route for follow-up when risks are flagged, so staff know exactly how to get help and you can evidence that concerns are acted on.
2) Set clear reporting and escalation
Keep reporting straightforward by setting up one clear route for employees to report discomfort, incidents, near misses, or mental health concerns. Pair that with defined response timescales, particularly where someone is reporting pain or ongoing discomfort, so issues don’t drift and you can demonstrate that concerns are taken seriously and managed promptly.
3) Update policies to reflect hybrid reality
Your health and safety policy and procedures should mirror how work actually happens in a hybrid business. That means clearly covering your hybrid working arrangements, setting out DSE responsibilities across home working, office use and hot-desking, and confirming expectations for lone working.
You should also explain how you manage work-related stress risk, so wellbeing is treated as part of your overall safety approach rather than an informal add-on.
4) Train managers for modern risk
Managers don’t need to be therapists, but they do need the confidence to spot early risk indicators and respond appropriately. Training should help them recognise workload and working-hours creep, signs of isolation or disengagement, and patterns like lack of breaks or repeated discomfort reports.
It should also equip them to manage change well, so expectations stay clear and people aren’t left second-guessing priorities during periods of transition.
Common gaps (and why they create risk fast)
These are the problems we see repeatedly in SMEs:
- Informal remote set-ups: laptops on sofas, no separate keyboard/mouse, no review until pain appears
- No documentation: you might be doing the right things, but you can’t evidence it
- Assuming “home responsibility” removes your duty: it doesn’t — HSE makes clear your responsibilities still apply
- Not linking wellbeing to risk assessment: stress risk is still a legal and safety issue
- Hot-desking with no system: inconsistent set-ups and no basic checks
How The Health & Safety Dept can support you
If you want hybrid working to stay flexible without becoming a compliance headache, retained support is a straightforward win.
The Health & Safety Dept can help you by:
- Conducting remote and hybrid risk assessments (including DSE)
- Updating your policies and procedures so they reflect hybrid working properly
- Delivering manager training on wellbeing and modern risk management
- Supporting your ongoing wellbeing compliance and stress risk approach using recognised HSE frameworks
If you’re not sure where your gaps are, start with a short gap analysis. You’ll quickly see what’s solid, what’s missing, and what needs tightening before it becomes a problem.
