By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Start Your Business Magazine
  • Store
    Merchandise
    Subscribe
  • Features

    Grow, expand and leverage your business..

    Grow your start up business with our experts and industry insiders…

    Get Started

    Quick Links

    • Agenda
    • Business Books
    • Marketing
    • Technology
    • Wellbeing
    • Finance
    Reading: Is it safe for you to work from home?

    Our Newsletters

    Our website stores cookies on your computer. They allow us to remember you and help personalise your experience with our site..

    Read our privacy policy for more information.
  • Book
  • Trending
    Technology

    Five dangers of oversharing on social media

    Nearly 85% of adults globally want to do more to protect their online…

    Technology

    How to make your online presence more sustainable

    With the threat of climate change growing larger each day, individuals and…

    Uncategorized

    Promotional Products That Boost Visibility and Loyalty

    In a world filled with digital noise, tangible, branded merchandise stands out…

  • Topics

    Topics

    • Agenda
    • Blogs
    • Book Review
    • Business Advice
    • eCommerce
    • SME Update
    Reading: Is it safe for you to work from home?
    • Events
    • Business Experts
    • Featured
    • Franchise
    • Growing Business
    • Health
    Reading: Is it safe for you to work from home?
    • Finance
    • Franchise Experts
    • How To
    • Interviews
    • Just for fun
    Reading: Is it safe for you to work from home?
    • Lifestyle
    • Making money
    • Manufacturing
    • Marketing
    • Money
    • Property
    Reading: Is it safe for you to work from home?
    • Starting Up
    • Taxation
    • Technology
    • Wellbeing
    • Women in Business
    Reading: Is it safe for you to work from home?
Reading: Is it safe for you to work from home?
Connect
Start Your Business MagazineStart Your Business Magazine
Aa
  • Magazine
  • SEO – Backlinks
  • Book: Start Your Business
Search
  • Agenda
  • Book Review
  • Blogs
  • Finance
  • Growing Business
  • How To
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • SME Update
  • Starting Up
  • Technology
  • Wellness
  • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • RSS
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Licensing
  • SEO
Copyright © 2014-2023 Ruby Theme Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Is it safe for you to work from home?

Start Your Business
agenda
Share
7 Min Read

99% of UK businesses still have no home working safety policy

Working from home sounds pretty cushty, you can relax and work in your own space and keep yourself fuelled with cups of tea – but could it be causing you more harm than good?

Contents
99% of UK businesses still have no home working safety policyWhat are the risks?Should my workplace have a home working policy?

As many as 50% of us were working from home in March 2021 according to the Office for National Statistics, so it’s no surprise that there has been an increase in work-induced injuries with people not in their proper working environments.

UK based health and safety software specialists Protecting.co.uk have found that 99% of businesses have no home working policy in place to protect their employees who have been working away from the office this year.

Company spokesman Mark Hall says, “No one could’ve predicted this global pandemic changing the way we have had to work this year, but the fact of the matter is that these businesses should have always been prepared for a worst-case scenario such as this.”

“Now we have people hurting their backs in uncomfortable chairs and working in less-than-ideal conditions when they should have been protected by their employers from day one.”

What are the risks?

It turns out that the simple act of sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day can put a lot of strain on your body, especially as most people have been sent home with no proper desks and chairs to work from.

Mark Hall from Protecting.co.uk warns you could be at risk of these common workplace injuries:

  • Neck pain – Staring forwards at a computer monitor can create tension between your neck and shoulders, especially when you don’t sit up straight.
  • Lower back pain – With 80% of adults expected to experience this at some point in their lives**it’s the most common on the list, often caused by incorrect chair height and not moving for long periods of time.
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Constant typing and mouse use can cause CTS due to the overuse of your wrists.
  • Eye strain – Sore eyes, blurred vision and headaches can all be a symptom of looking at computer monitors for too long without regular breaks.

Hall: “Often, those in office jobs don’t allow themselves regular breaks to get up and move around to stretch out their muscles and take a break from their desk and screen – but it’s incredibly important if you want to avoid aches and pains that might turn into more serious conditions.

“This is why it’s so important for businesses to have safety policies in place to prevent these injuries, such as providing the right equipment and encouraging regular breaks and movement.”

In addition to physical injury risks of working from home, there’s also the case of cybersecurity and privacy risks. Your home devices might not be equipped with the same level of software security as work devices, meaning that by working online at home you could be putting your personal information at risk.

To avoid this potentially catastrophic situation from occurring, make sure you update your personal device with the best cybersecurity measures that are available right now. In addition, protect your digital footprint using joindeleteme as your guide! You can use this service to remove personal information from the web, thereby making it harder for cyber criminals to access your sensitive documents or payment information.

Should my workplace have a home working policy?

A quick look at the Health and Safety Executive online shows that employers do have a duty of care for those working from home, but they state that there are no increased risks if people are only working at home temporarily.

If staff are long-term home working then a full DSE (display screen equipment) assessment is required.

Legally, employers do have an obligation through the Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992, but although these don’t apply to domestic premises, bosses are still expected to take reasonable care over home working.

Hall: “Some ways employers can assist home workers is to regularly communicate with staff about their needs, and provide equipment such as keyboards, risers, or support cushions for chairs to improve working conditions.”

Many more workers are expected to remain working from home until as far ahead as April next year, as the UK government advises those who can work from home to continue to do so, and some companies such as Google announcing their employees will work from home until July 2021.

But as Protecting.co.uk points out, there needs to be clearer definitions for when home working goes from being a temporary solution to a permanent fixture, because currently those who are likely to be working from home for over a year are not protected by any home working safety policies.

One of these individuals is Andy, a call centre worker from Cheshire who tells us, “when we all were sent home in March I thought we would be back in a matter of weeks. Now I’m being advised to work at home until next April, which is over a year of sitting at my kitchen table on a dining chair.”

Company spokesman Mark Hall says that by simply putting a safety policy in place for homeworkers, no matter how temporary the fixture may be, it allows the business to continue to operate safely and efficiently.

“At least there is some hope for office workers to comfortably work from home. My neighbour is a butcher, and there is no amount of health and safety that would allow him to carve up meat on his dining room table with the kids running about.”

TAGGED: header

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Start Your Business April 8, 2021
Share this Article
Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Email Copy Link
  • RSS
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Licensing
  • SEO

Get the latest from us delivered straight to your inbox

Start Your Business Magazine: The Ultimate Business Start Up Guide provides information advice and guidance for entrepreneurs and new business start ups. Get the latest from us delivered directly to your inbox.

Our website stores cookies on your computer. They allow us to remember you and help personalize your experience with our site..

Read our privacy policy for more information.

Copyright 2023 Gambit Interactive Media Limited – All Rights Reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Cookies are used for ads personalisation We do this to improve browsing experience as well as show personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?