How Can Employers Discharge Their Duty To Protect The Health, Safety And Welfare Of Employees Who Are Working From Home?

The coronavirus (COVID-19) needs no introduction and, as the pandemic continues to spread extensively, it poses significant challenges to employers and to their employees.

On Monday 15 March, Boris Johnson announced at a press conference:

"Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel. We need people to start working from home where they possibly can."

These unprecedented circumstances will pose a number of legal and practical issues for businesses to deal with but the safety and health of employees should remain a top priority. This is not just a legal obligation. Employees will remember for years to come how they were treated during this time. If you get it wrong, it could have a lasting impact on the morale and loyalty of your workforce as well as on the public perception of the business.

In this article, we consider some of the practical steps employers should be taking to ensure that they discharge their duties to employees who are working from home. For those employees who cannot work from home, we also look at the adjustments which employers can make to keep their employees safe in light of the increased risks.

If you are interested specifically in understanding how to deal with some of the employment law issues which employers are facing, our employment team has provided practical tips in their article titled "How UK employers can deal with the special circumstances created by the coronavirus (COVID-19)".

The Legals

Employers have a duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that their employees and other people who might be affected by their business, are not exposed to risks to their health, safety and welfare.

In practice, this means employers making sure that their employees and others who are affected by their business in are protected from anything that may cause harm. They must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this.

Employers have duties under health and safety law to assess risks in the workplace. Risk assessments should be carried out that identify all risks that might cause harm and then set out reasonably practicable methods to eliminate them and if that is not possible reduce them.

Employers are responsible for ensuring that any work equipment which they have provided, like laptops and mobile phones, is safe.

How can employers discharge their duties when employees are working from home?

Risk assessments

Employers who have employees who are...