Home workers are defined as those who work permanently from home or those that divide their working days between their workplace and their home (sometimes also referred to as hybrid workers).
Remote working has been slowly increasing since the 1980s, however the amount of home and hybrid workers has risen dramatically in the last few years. According to the ONS 44% of UK workers worked remotely in 2023. 16% of these workers were full-time remote workers, and 28% were hybrid workers. It is therefore vital to ensure these workers aren't forgotten and are adequately protected whilst they are working.
Employer responsibilities to home workers
Whether your employees work from home, from a designated workplace or a combination of both you are always responsible for their health & safety whilst they are working. Your responsibilities are therefore the same for home and hybrid workers as they are for any other worker.
You must consider any risks your home workers face as part of your risk assessments. Most of the time risks to home workers will be quite low, however you should still consider these risks and the actions you can take to mitigate them.
The common health and safety concerns of home workers are likely to include:
- isolation, stress or other mental health struggles
- inappropriate workstations or work environment, which may impact physical health
- slips, trips, falls or other accidents in the home with no one there to help
Whilst working from home works for many, it isn't suitable for everyone. It's always worth having a conversation with your employees about working from home to check that they are happy to do this and that they have an appropriate place to work from.
Employee responsibilities when working at home
Your employees must also take responsibility for their own health and safety. For home workers and hybrid workers this includes:
- Ensuring their work environment is tidy and there are no trailing wires or obstructions.
- Setting up their workstation appropriately
- Taking regular breaks
- Staying in frequent contact with their managers to discuss workload and any other issues.
Remind your home workers of the above regularly and ask them to contact you immediately if there is a problem.
Hybrid working - what to think about
If you have formal hybrid working arrangements in your business you need to make a new risk assessment (if you haven't already done so) which covers the risks faced by your hybrid workers. In this you need to address:
- lone working risks
- stress, isolation and mental health
- working environments and workstations
- social risks (where applicable)
- road & driving risks (where applicable)
With the recent increase in hybrid working it's vital that you engage, communicate, listen to, guide, support and check-in with your hybrid workers regularly. The more included they feel, the lower the risks of stress and isolation will be. And the more likely you are to keep on top of their health & safety and identify any new risks or concerns.
How technology can help to mitigate the risks faced by home workers
Technology has been widely embraced for lone workers. This includes lone worker apps, devices and panic alarms. These solutions have helped to mitigate the risks faced by lone workers.
Similar solutions can be adopted for home workers and hybrid workers to ensure they are protected whilst they are working alone. If you're looking for a safety solution for your home workers you should consider a solution with the following features:
- Check-in - this helps you to identify who is working, when they are working and where they are working from
- SOS button / emergency mode (or similar) - this ensures there is a way for your lone workers to raise an alert in the event of an emergency
- Two-way communication - this keeps lone workers connected and supported for additional peace of mind in an emergency situation
For hybrid workers, depending on their job role, working environments and how they will be travelling to & from work, they may also need these features;
- Fall detection - raises an alert in the event of a slip, trip or fall without your lone workers having to press a button
- Timers - the ability to set a timer when at risk of something or someone. If the timer ends and the lone worker doesn't respond, this will alert you to check-in with them immediately.
You can view our full range of lone worker solutions here.
In summary, employers are responsible for the health & safety of their home workers, including hybrid workers and remote workers. Although the risks to home workers are usually low, employers should still take their responsibilities seriously and look to mitigate these risks where possible. This can be done by conducting thorough risk assessments, ensuring regular communication with their home workers and using technology to provide added protection and peace of mind.
