Home Working Risk Assessment Checklist
Employers have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as they do for other staff. Therefore, it’s important you carry out a risk assessment that covers home working to protect employee wellbeing. This is often done with a self-assessment, although in some cases you may have to visit them.
Most working from home hazards are low risk. It’s still important to conduct a risk assessment for home working to identify these and put in place a plan to minimise their potential impact. This could include providing specific equipment, assisting with their set-up, and improving the home working environment where necessary.
To make this easy our health and safety professionals have created a free working from home risk assessment checklist. Use this to inform your home working risk assessment for help identifying hazards. You can also try our risk assessment software with a free 15-day trial and create unlimited risk assessments.
Working from home risk assessment template
Many factors affect a risk assessment for home working, such as the type of work, equipment used, stress and mental health considerations. We’ve created a free template so you can tick off potential hazards and see where you may need to act to ensure safe home working.
A lone worker risk assessment when working from home covers everything from the equipment used to fire hazards, display screen equipment, and electrical risks. To make things easy we’ve split up this home working hazard checklist into sections based around specific risks. Many of them are the same hazards that apply to offices and other workplaces.
Copy the below working from home risk assessment template and answer each question to review the working environment of lone workers in your organisation.
Slips, trips, and falls hazards
Are there any obstructions on the floor that could cause a slip, trip, or fall from:
- Office supplies, such as books, stationery, and toner cartridges?
- Electrical equipment, like printers, kettles, and fan heaters?
- Trailing leads supplying computers, printers, and fax machines?
- Loose or worn carpets or mats?
- Uneven floors?
Falling object hazards
Are there any objects that could fall on people, such as:
- Goods or stores on shelves and racking?
- Unstable freestanding stacks of goods or materials?
- Loose electrical or mechanical equipment like lighting, pipework, and ventilation equipment?
Electrical hazards at home
Are there any risks of people receiving an electrical shock from:
- Loose or broken sockets, switches, light fittings, conduits, and trunking?
- Worn, frayed, or split cables?
- Trailing leads?
- Overloaded extension leads or multi-socket adaptors?
- Exposed cables into plugs, computer equipment, kettles, fan heaters, microwaves, food and drinks dispensers?
- Exposed live parts of electrical switchgear controls, motors, and pumps?
- Is any item of portable electrical equipment overdue for a portable appliance test (PAT)?
- Is any item of electrical equipment poorly or dangerously positioned?
Electrical equipment hazard checklist
Substance-related hazards
Are there any substances used that could cause harm from contact or inhalation, such as:
- Cleaning chemicals?
- Solvents in inks, dyes, and adhesives?
- Dusts from powdered goods or supplies?
- Smoke or exhaust fumes?
- Asbestos in fire retardant panelling, ceiling tiles, or pipe lagging?
- Has any staff member complained of any persistent or increasing allergic reactions like running nose or eyes, coughing, sneezing, or itching skin?
Fire hazards at home
Are flammable materials stored or used in a manner that could cause a fire, such as:
- Any flammable substances on or near sources of heat or direct sunlight?
- Any flammable substances that are not correctly stored in flameproof cupboards (like solvents and adhesives)?
- Any potential for a flammable substance to be spilled onto sources of heat or electrical equipment?
- Waste paper left in waste bins overnight?
- Covered convector heaters?
Explore a fire safety checklist
Display screen equipment
Does display screen equipment require assessment for:
- Poorly positioned monitors?
- Lighting creating glare on screens?
- Poor seating position?
Use this display screen equipment checklist
Manual handling and workstation hazards
Do working positions pose a hazard that could cause muscular strains, such as:
- Poor lifting positions?
- Bad posture over desks or benches?
- Repetitive twisting or turning?
- Does any office furniture show signs of damage or imminent collapse (desks, chairs, benches, or shelving)?
Hygiene hazards
Do sanitary provisions require improving to reduce the risk of infection or contamination, such as:
- Improved hand washing and drying facilities?
- The use of rubber or cotton gloves for assembly work?
Accidents and first aid
- Is a first aid box required?
- Are there any specific requirements for accident treatment?
- Do accident records need reviewing?
Security hazards
- Do regular telephone checks need to be made to ensure the homeworker’s safety?
- Are valuable equipment or goods stored at the homeworker’s premises?
- Are homeworkers at an above-average risk from personal attack due to their work?
Any identified hazard should be evaluated using a working from home risk assessment. You can create unlimited risk assessments with our online software. Start your free 15-day trial to see how you can save time, money, and effort producing risk assessments for your organisation.