Health and safety responsibilities apply equally for home working as in the workplace, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s workplace regulator, is reminding employers. HSE is advising employers to pay attend to three areas as legal duties: stress and mental health, the safe use of display screen equipment (DSE), and the working setting – including accidents, emergencies, and lone working.
Barbara Hockey, from HSE Engagement and Policy Division, said: “Working from home can deliver benefits to both employers and employees but with more than three in ten workers now working remotely or in a hybrid arrangement, it’s important that employers understand their responsibilities.
“The good news for bosses is you don’t need to physically visit someone’s home to fulfil your duties, most of the time, the risks are low and the steps to manage them are straightforward, and HSE provides free guidance to support you.
“Practically, this means managers keeping in regular contact with their teams, talking openly about workloads and training needs, and making sure people aren’t under pressure to work outside their normal working hours.
“It also means having simple conversations about the physical environment by asking staff to visually check that their equipment is safe and not damaged, keeping work areas clear of trailing wires or obstructions, and making sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency.”
Resources
The HSE adds that free, practical resources are available at hse.gov.uk to help businesses of all sizes carry out home-working risk assessments and meet legal obligations. The HSE adds that home and hybrid working is now found across almost every sector and business size. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in January 2026, 38 per cent of workers in Britain were working remotely or in some kind of hybrid arrangement (25pc hybrid and 13pc working fully remotely).
