Managing Health and Safety for Homeworkers

If you are one of the many who are now confined to working from home due to the lockdown, or those who usually work from home, the question is: Are you fully aware of the health and safety issues associated with homeworking, and have you taken appropriate measures to protect yourself? 

The health and safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) places a list of obligations on both employers, and employees, including the self-employed, a duty to protect their health, safety, and welfare, and the health and safety of others, when working from home. This training session is intended for anyone, and everyone, including those working as self-employed or volunteers, who use Display Screen Equipment (DSE), and who should understand the hazards of using DSEs, and take precaution to protect themselves.

During this training, we will explore with participants, the importance of paying sufficient attention to health and safety when working from home. We will discuss the specific and general risks from using your workstation when working at home, which include:

• Musculoskeletal problems
• Eye-related problems
• Fatigue and stress
• Electricity and fire
• Isolation.

The training session will provide you with information and awareness to reduce your exposure to these risks when working at desktop or laptop computers. We will briefly discuss current UK regulations applicable to everyone working from home, including:

• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (amended 2002)
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

Participation in this training will enable you to:

• Gain more understanding of the main risks associated with using display screen equipment
• Know how to set up your workstations and environments to avoid these risks
• Use laptops in a healthier way
• Understand your responsibilities as an employee, or self-employed
• Know what to do if you need to report a problem

The course will take approximately 90 minutes to complete. Ideally participants would undertake a test at the end of the course, however, this won’t be necessary for this introductory session. If you wish to undertake the test, and complete a self-assessment questionnaire, you will need to register for the full course. The material covered during the full course will assist you in completing the test and questionnaire correctly.

Facilitator:

Dr Marcel Azubuike has a strong background in epidemiology and public health, and draws from extensive public and private sector experience in managing collaborative donor funded international health initiatives, and currently develops and delivers a suite of trainings to support the implementation of a mega infrastructure scheme. Experienced in delivering to both small and large groups, using face-to-face, and online platforms. See facilitator LinkedIn profile;

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-azubuike-11473b44/

Course Outline:

· Introduction to health and safety issues related to homeworking, using display screen equipment

· Identifying and managing musculoskeletal problems

· Resolving eye-related problems

· Managing fatigue and stress

· Electricity and fire hazards

· Dealing with isolation.

· Q&A session 

Who should attend?

This is an introductory session to raise awareness on the health and safety issues related to using Display Screen Equipment (laptop and desktop computers). Anyone that is homeworking during the current lockdown and spending more time on workstations, using laptops or desktops for a prolonged period, which may affect their health and safety. This training session will introduce participants to the hazards associated with Display Screen Equipment, and provide you with information and awareness to reduce your exposure to these risks when working at desktop or laptop computers.

Follow-up details:

After the training, participants will be provided with information about additional courses and support available through the Baseline Careers Network,