Health, Safety & Wellbeing of Employees in a Post-Lockdown Era

COVID-19 accelerated lone and home working due to social distancing and technology.

If home working is to become permanent, employers should look at a variation of contract.

Health and safety law does not apply to the physical premises outside of the employer’s control (e.g. someone’s home), but does apply to equipment they supply.

Number of lone workers has grown sharply.

Commuting to work is outside of the employers duty of care, but travel for work is not. However, employers are beginning to consider the commute and mental wellbeing.

There’s a fundamental change to the working landscape as temporary measures are being rolled out permanently.

New arrangements fall into the Range of Reasonable Responses – employers must at least be seen to be thinking about requests and risks.

As of March 2020, HSE guidance on lone workers now includes home workers.

There is no new law regarding home or hybrid working…yet.