Home Working Risk Assessments in 2021

23 Feb 2021

At OHSS, we are occupational safety consultants and we’ve been protecting Irish businesses for over two decades. In this blog, we look at the responsibilities employers have in the home-working environment which has become commonplace due to social distancing restrictions.

Covid-19 has most certainly brought home working into sharp focus as people are having to work from home at unprecedented levels. In fact, the home office has very much become the norm for millions of people right the way across Ireland and the wider world. 

Home Work Risk Assessments Ensure Safety

Home working risk assessments are used to assess home workplace health and safety and are conducted to ensure the following:

• A set of planned-out working procedures are available

• Safe equipment is provided, including PPE if required

• Health & Safety in work training is provided 

• Control measure are put in place 

• Emergency plans exist should one arise

In addition to this, a range of other occupational hygiene factors are addressed during home workplace risk assessments. For example, computer workstations need to be properly lit and able to support proper posture and all electrical equipment needs to be PAT tested.

What must also be considered are the psychological factors at play with people only being able to leave their homes for essential matters. The solitude that comes from being away from the traditional work environment also needs to be addressed with remote-working team communication systems needing to be established to minimize any effect on mental health. 

Need Help With Home Work Risk Assessments?

If you’re an employer and you need assistance with conducting home work risk assessments, you can get in touch with our friendly team on (01) 6905907 and they’ll be able to go into things in greater detail. If, however, you’d like to know more about us, you can do so by visiting us online at www.ohss.ie. 

That’s it from us this time. We’ll be back with more from the world of occupational hygiene again soon.

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