Safe Work Australia publishes WFH safety info

Safe Work Australia has published new resources on managing workplace health and safety (WHS) risks while employees are working from home.

The newly published resources include information sheets for both workers and employers on how to meet their WHS duties when employees work from home, as well as a checklist to help identify and mitigate potential hazards and an infographic on setting up a screen-based workstation.

According to the guides, employees working from home have obligations to take reasonable care for their own health and safety, comply with reasonable WHS instructions and cooperate with reasonable WHS policies or procedures.

Meanwhile, employers are obligated to assess and control risks associated with working from home, including ensuring workstations are safely set up and maintained, have the required supervision and support, and have emergency plans and access to first aid if needed. Employees may also need to be provided training or instruction on how to do tasks safely.

In the event a safe work environment cannot be provided at home, employers may be obligated to disallow remote work and possibly set up a safe alternative work environment.

Common hazards workers may be exposed to while working from home include a poor working environment due to exposure to noise, inadequate heating or cooling and poor electrical safety, tripping or slipping hazards, psychosocial hazards and exposure to family and domestic violence, the sheets state.

Employers should regularly review control measures to ensure they are effective, working as planned and do not introduce new uncontrolled risks, Safe Work Australia said.

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