Businesses should conduct risk assessments of employees’ homes if they are working out of the office in order to avoid potential occupational health and safety lawsuits, following a case in which a Telstra employee claimed compensation after being injured at home.
The warning comes as the number of “work from home” requests increases and SMEs are more willing to allow employees to finish their work outside of the normal business area in order to provide flexibility and a good work/life balance.
Harmers Workplace Lawyers senior associate and Brisbane team lawyer Kristin Ramsey says the Telstra case highlights the need for businesses to ensure their employees are working in safe environments – both in the normal workplace and at home.
“Businesses ought to consider things like conducting risk assessments of the home work environment,” she says.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re able to monitor daily what people are doing from home, or have control over that. But if they take no steps, that’s when they aren’t going to be able to demonstrate they acted to make a safe environment.”
Ramsey says the Telstra case highlights the need for businesses to develop plans and regulations around how employees can work from home.
In the case, Telstra was ordered to pay compensation by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal after employee Dale Hargreaves fell down a flight of stairs and hurt his shoulder while working at home.
Ramsey also says the growing number of work-at-home requests is set to continue, as the Fair Work system allows for employees to request flexible working arrangements where possible.
SMEs must conduct practical risk assessments, she urges, although notes these don’t have to be overly cumbersome or time consuming.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean the business has to go and look over the home physically. But someone needs to conduct a risk assessment there.”
“It could just be a checklist that an employee does themselves, and then sends it back. These are really important things they need to do.”
Some of the aspects included in such a report could include whether a work environment has adequate lighting, heating and ventilation, and whether the actually work place is near any electrical or trip hazards.
“You need to ask whether the computer is set up in an ergonomically correct way, and so on. This isn’t something that is overly onerous, it’s just thinking about maintaining a system you put in place and make sure it’s working safely.”
Ramsey says businesses need to keep in mind there is now a legal precedent for businesses having to pay compensation for injuries that occur at the home, and that this needs to play into business owners’ thinking.
“Even if employees aren’t injured, if businesses haven’t taken proper steps to ensure health and safety, they could be exposed to breaches which could eventually give rise to penalties.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
