Ensure lone workers' safety

Don't assume that employees who work at home aren't at risk. As an employer, you have the same responsibility for the health and safety of people who work from home as for any of your other workers.

Ensuring premises and work practices are safe

In many cases, homes won't be as well-equipped as business premises that have been built specifically as work environments. For example, a lone worker's house may have poor lighting, ventilation and equipment, or its electrical wiring may be old and unreliable.

It can also be difficult to ensure that homeworkers work in a safe way. For example, it's difficult to check that regular breaks from working at a computer are being taken. Or that possible distractions such as telephones, radios and televisions are not increasing the risk of an accident occurring.

Protecting the health and safety of lone homeworkers

Your health and safety risk assessment must consider whether work being done at home might cause harm - either to homeworkers themselves or to other people. You may need to visit the homes in question, though you be able to find key potential hazard by using a thorough questionnaire.

Consider drawing up a homeworking policy which sets out key steps to be taken by people working at home to protect their health and safety.

You may also want to insist that certain safety standards are met before allowing people to work from home.

Homeworkers should check with their home insurance provider to ensure their policy covers working from home. 

See use your home as a workplace and employees working from home.