Ergonomics Assessments

A compliant and efficient way of looking after your employee’s ergonomic needs using the latest technologies and developments.

Ergonomics is about adapting the environment we find ourselves in, to suit our needs. In the modern workplace, the principles of ergonomics can be applied to all areas of a company and to every individual within an organisation. At all levels of an organisation, employees can benefit from the knowledge of how to set up a workstation correctly and adopt a position which is beneficial to their overall health.

Managing a remote workforce has always brought with its certain challenges, but never have these challenges been so prevalent as now, due to the Covid-19 public health crisis. Laya are here to help all companies, big and small to do the best for their workers.

What the Legislation says

Overall, the legislation governing Home Working is essentially the same as for Office Workers in relating to responsibilities. If employees are allowed to or are required to work from home, employers still need to abide by the same regulations pertaining to VDU/DSE legislation.

“The responsibility for health and safety at work rests with the employer whether or not that work is being done at the worker’s home”

- as per the Health & Safety Authority (H.S.A) guidelines.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 applies to all workers, in all jobs and does not specify the specific place of work. It outlines the duties of employers and employees and states what they are responsible for:

• Providing a safe place of work (“as is reasonably practicable”)
• Providing safe equipment
• Providing instruction and training

Furthermore, the H.S.A has released specific guidance in relation to Covid-19. Employers are required to determine whether the temporary home workspace is suitable for the work the employee is asked to carry out, and employers need to provide guidance and training to employees on how to set up a Home Office. Where employees move to a new workstation due to changing work commitments, the employer is required to carry out a new workstation assessment at the employee’s new workstation. The assessment/analysis of the new workstation should take account of any changes in equipment or technology.

Extra considerations are required for Home Working, as per the H&S Guidelines.

The HSA recommends an approach of:

Stage 1: Online Questionnaire - The employer engages with their employees who are working from home and sends out a Remote Work questionnaire to employees.

Stage 2: Remote Assessments - After the initial issues have been addressed at stage 1 including the provision of equipment for the home workspace, the employer needs to plan for the completion of online ergonomic risk assessments for all employees who are remote working.

How Laya Healthcare can assist

Over the past number of years, we have completed many home office assessments and there are common issues to look out for and recurring trends that need to be addressed. As a result, we have compiled a full solution to all of a company’s home worker needs from standard workers to the most at-risk people working at home.