If you have teams who are using their own desks, chairs or equipment at home during the Coronavirus crisis, it’s important to make sure they are working safely.
To help with this and other aspects of managing a team working from home, the team at Reality HR have produced a free 10-point guide, Managing a Team of Remote Workers, which covers the issues and potential pitfalls employers and managers should consider.
For many businesses, the first two or three weeks after lockdown were about getting through each day – making sure IT systems worked at home and that staff got into a new way of working. However, now we are settled into what may be a long period of working differently it’s vital that you do everything possible to ensure the wellbeing of your staff in their workplace – even if that workplace is now their home.
People may be hunched over laptops, working from the sofa or kitchen table. Even those who have desks may not have equipment set up properly so that they are working safely with good posture.
As an employer or manager, you remain responsible for the safety and wellbeing of your teams wherever they work. It is best practice to carry out workstation assessments and give advice to staff about how to minimise the risk of health issues such as back and neck pain caused by poor posture.
Ensure that every member of staff who uses display equipment completes a Display Screen Equipment assessment to identify any potential problems. You should also do everything you can to encourage employees to take regular breaks, avoid awkward posture and change position regularly.
Employers who fail to do this face the possibility of claims from staff further down the line if their working environment contributes to a health issue.
Download the guide to managing a remote workforce, and for the latest Coronavirus HR advice, downloadable factsheets and guides, visit www.realityhr.co.uk/coronavirus