3.5 Home Working

This guidance provides an outline of the health and safety actions relevant to University staff who are home workers or are responsible for home working.

Home working is formally agreed work that an employee of the University undertakes at home as part of his/her working arrangement. It does not apply to staff who occasionally undertake work at home on a voluntary basis.

Working at home is an activity that the University needs to manage and control to ensure that staff are suitably safeguarded. Such work could be "lone working" with an individual on his/her own and away from others. Alternatively there could be others present who are not members of staff, such as one or more students attending a tutorial. The following guidance is provided to ensure the personal safety of staff working at home is protected.

Risk Assessment

The key matter is that the significant hazards that could arise from working at home are identified and the appropriate precautions taken to minimise the risks that could arise to an acceptable level. The risks in general cannot be totally eliminated but it can be sufficiently reduced to be at a low level.

Working at home could involve a range of activities including office work using a computer or playing a musical instrument during a music tutorial. The hazards that arise with these activities are the same as apply when they are conducted on campus. However in addition consideration needs to be given to the fact that the homeworker is probably alone or may be working just one or few students. The security of the individual employee is a matter of concern to the University. The nature of the threats to an individual needs to be considered by the homeworker in conjunction with his/her line manager. Arrangements need to be agreed between home worker and the line manager that they should ensure as far as is reasonably practicable that the homeworker is suitably monitored and has the means to summon assistance urgently in the event of an emergency.

It is worth noting that there is a Human Resources Policy on Consensual Relationships between Academic Staff and Students.

A risk assessment should be undertaken and the 5 step approach presented in the section 2.5 - A Guide to Risk Assessment - is advised. This starts with identifying the hazards by reference to the checklist of the Hazard Register. See also the HSE guidance INDG 226 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg226.pdf

The risk assessment for a home worker will be specific to that person, due to his/her personal circumstances, homework location and nature of the work. It is appropriate to note the following for guidance.

The common hazards associated with home working are:

Lone Working

There is a particular risk that arises if a person is working alone in their home, particularly in the event of an emergency. A member of staff giving a tutorial or instruction in their home to one or a few students may be considered to be a "lone worker". It is advisable that for the lone work to be acceptable there should be an arrangement in place that has been agreed and accepted by both the home worker and his/her the line manager to mitigate "lone working" risks. So, for example, the homeworker should routinely phone a supervisor or contact person at the start and end of a work session. See section 3.5

Further advice is available from the HSE, see INDG 226 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg226.pdf and from the Safety Office.

Staff are advised not to release their home address or telephone number to non-members of staff and generally not to meet students or other University customers at home. Suitable arrangements for meetings at home should be assessed and agreed with the line manager before any such meeting.

The home worker needs to be able to summon emergency assistance without delay in the event of an emergency such as fire or personal injury.

Workstation Working

A home worker who works at a computer should undertake a local workstation risk assessment as noted in section 3.3 Office Work - Workstation Risk Assessments. The use of a laptop at home is generally to be avoided unless it is for short periods of work. If there is no reasonable alternative to the use of a laptop computer, it is recommended that an extension keyboard is used and the screen is raised in a dedicated laptop holder.

Manual Handling

Manual handling can cause serious musculoskeletal injuries, for example from lifting heavy, bulky or awkward loads and repetitive handling without enough rest periods. A manual handling risk assessment should be completed before such work starts, see section 6.2.

Using Electrical Or Work Equipment

If electrical or work equipment is provided by the employer as part of the home worker's work then the University is responsible for its maintenance. The University is only responsible for the equipment it supplies. Electrical sockets and other parts of the domestic electrical system of home workers are their own responsibility. No one should work on electrical equipment when working on behalf of the University albeit at home unless they are formally recognised as competent to do so; this must be recorded by the line manager.

Using Harmful Or Dangerous Substances

Any substance that is handled by a home worker must be handled according to the supplier's instructions. If the substance is identified as being hazardous (toxic, harmful, irritant or corrosive) or dangerous (flammable, oxidising or explosive) a substance risk assessment is advised, section 2.9. If the home worker is asthmatic or suffers from skin rashes/ irritation then particular care is needed to ensure their health and safety.

Reporting Accidents

Any injury accident that may occur during home working should be reported in the same way as when the accident occurred on the premises of the University. The procedure is noted in section 2.19. It is important that the home worker informs his/her line manager as soon as possible of the accident and the injury outcome.

Insurance Cover

Staff working at home are advised to check their home insurance provisions as the homeworking may have an affect. It is advisable to inform the insurance company prior to commencing work at home. It is the responsibility of the home worker that their home contents policy covers any equipment used for the purposes of working at home.

February 2007