HSE Reminds Employers of Health and Safety Duties for Home Workers

HSE Press Releases

Published March 9th, 2026

Detected March 9th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reminding employers that they have the same health and safety duties for home workers as for office-based staff. The guidance highlights key risk areas such as stress, mental health, and display screen equipment, and emphasizes that these responsibilities are legal duties, not optional.

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What changed

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a reminder that employers' health and safety duties extend equally to employees working from home or in hybrid arrangements. This clarification emphasizes that employers must assess risks for remote workers, focusing on areas like stress, mental health, display screen equipment (DSE), and the working environment. The HSE stresses that these are legal obligations, not merely recommendations, and provides free guidance to assist businesses in meeting these responsibilities.

Employers are advised to maintain regular contact with home-based staff, discuss workloads and well-being, and ensure work areas are safe. While physical site visits are often unnecessary, proactive risk assessment and management are required. The HSE's guidance aims to help businesses implement straightforward measures to comply with these duties, ensuring the health and safety of all employees regardless of their work location. Failure to comply could result in legal repercussions, though specific penalties are not detailed in this announcement.

What to do next

Review and update risk assessments to include home-based workers.
Ensure communication channels are in place to discuss workload and well-being with remote employees.
Verify that remote work setups meet health and safety standards for display screen equipment and the working environment.

Source document (simplified)

Home workers must be protected like any other employee

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9th March 2026

Press release
- Employers have the same health and safety duties for home workers as for office-based staff
- Key risk areas to consider include stress and mental health, display screen equipment, and working environment
- Free guidance is available to help employers meet their responsibilities.
Over a third of workers in Great Britain now work remotely or in hybrid arrangements, but not all employers realise health and safety responsibilities apply equally at home as in the workplace.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national workplace regulator, is reminding employers of the need to assess the risks for all home workers.

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 percent of workers in Great Britain were working remotely or in some kind of hybrid arrangement (25% hybrid and 13% working fully remotely).

HSE is advising employers to pay particular attention to three essential areas: stress and mental health, the safe use of display screen equipment (DSE), and the working environment – including accidents, emergencies, and lone working. This is a legal duty, not optional guidance.

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.

Free, practical resources are available at hse.gov.uk to help businesses of all sizes carry out home-working risk assessments and meet their obligations.

Notes to editors

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people & places and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
Further details on the latest HSE news releases are available at press.hse.gov.uk
HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. The relevant sentencing councils provides guidelines for health and safety offences for England and Scotland on their websites.
For more detail on the Office for National statistics, see: Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: working arrangements – Office for National Statistics
Further information and free guidance for employers on homeworking health and safety responsibilities is available at hse.gov.uk.