Working From Home in Ireland: Employer Health and Safety Duties

Remote and hybrid work has made home a place of work for many Irish employees, and employers regularly ask whether their health and safety duties stop at the office door. According to Citizens Information, they do not: employers must ensure the safety, health and welfare at work of all their employees, and this extends to the employee's home workspace. This guide sets out what official Irish sources say about working from home health and safety in Ireland and employer duties, including what the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) checklist covers. If you want the detail on screens, chairs and desks, our guide to display screen equipment and hybrid working goes deeper.

The legal starting point

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 defines a "place of work" as any place, whether or not within or forming part of a building or structure, or any land or other location at, in, upon or near which work is carried on, whether occasionally or otherwise. Section 8 of the Act places on employers a duty to protect the safety, health and welfare at work of their employees, so far as is reasonably practicable. Official guidance treats the employer's duty as continuing when the work is done from home. The Department of Enterprise page on remote working says the same in plain terms: employers remain responsible for health and safety whether or not an employee works remotely, and the HSA administers and enforces the law.

"Reasonably practicable" matters here. The Act's duty is not an absolute guarantee, and what is reasonable for a home setting is a judgment to make against the real risks of the job and the home workspace.

What Citizens Information says employers should do

The Citizens Information page on working from home (last edited on 12 March 2024) sets out the following employer duties and checks:

• manage work so it is as safe as reasonably practicable, plan and maintain safe work, assess risks and put controls in place;
• provide safe equipment, including protective equipment where needed, give safety information, training and supervision, and have emergency plans;
• make sure tasks and conditions do not harm employees with a disability, young workers or pregnant employees;
• check with the employee that they know the specific risks of working from home, that the work and the temporary workspace are suitable, that they have suitable equipment and software, and that there is a pre-arranged means of contact;
• make sure employer-supplied equipment is in good condition and suitable;
• keep in regular contact, give updates, maintain emergency contacts and procedures, and make sure employees take adequate breaks.

On the home workspace itself, the page lists safe access, enough room and no clutter, adequate lighting, ventilation and heat, and undamaged sockets, plugs and cords. It also says remote workers should have the same access to training and promotion as office-based colleagues.

The HSA remote working checklist

The HSA publishes a remote working guidance checklist (the copy we read is marked "Version 1" and shows no publication date). It is based on the 2005 Act and on the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, in particular the display screen equipment provisions in Chapter 5 and Schedule 4. It says employers should ensure that the system of work for remote workers is reasonable, and that it is the employer's responsibility to proactively ensure that the remote work assessment is completed for each employee. Assessments can be done virtually, for example by webcam, and assessors should be suitably trained and competent.

The checklist follows three steps: identify the work activity and equipment, carry out the remote work assessment, then monitor, review and communicate. Its sections cover:

• Work equipment: a table of items such as desk, chair, laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse and headset, recording who provided each item and what is still needed. The checklist says the employer is responsible for maintaining the work equipment it provides and for ensuring that work equipment is suitable.
• Work environment: suitability and safety of the place of work, lighting, heating and ventilation, electrical safety, safe access, emergency planning and housekeeping such as keeping cables clear.
• Workstation and display screen equipment: desk, chair, screen, keyboard and mouse set-up, changing posture and moving regularly, avoiding back-to-back video calls, eyesight testing information, and the needs of sensitive workers and people with disabilities.
• Consultation, communication and incident reporting: how staff raise issues, including psychosocial issues such as stress, isolation, difficulty separating home and work, or bullying, and how work-related incidents are reported.
• Records: corrective actions and their completion dates, the assessment date and the next review date. The checklist says reviews should be regular and depend on the type of location and how often remote work happens.

The checklist also points to the HSA's free BeSMART.ie online risk assessment tool.

Stress, hours and the right to disconnect

Home working can blur the edges of the working day. The Department of Enterprise page says employers must keep records of hours worked under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and ensure proper breaks and rest, and says work-related stress complaints should be addressed with systematic control measures. For the employer-side framework, see our guide to work-related stress and the HSA Work Positive approach. Citizens Information also notes that the Workplace Relations Commission Code of Practice on the right to disconnect took effect on 1 April 2021, that failing to follow it is not an offence, but that it can be used as evidence in WRC or Labour Court cases.

Costs and equipment

The Department of Enterprise page says equipment and home-cost arrangements are generally agreed between the parties and set out in terms and conditions, and that there is no specific legislation on these costs. It also refers to tax treatment of home-working expenses; figures change, so check Revenue's own pages rather than relying on a summary.

A practical approach for Dublin employers

These steps are our suggestions, not legal requirements.

• Start with a written remote working policy that says who is covered, how the workspace is assessed, and how employees report hazards, pain or stress.
• Use the HSA checklist as the template for each employee's assessment, and keep the completed copy with the date of the next review.
• Ask staff to send photographs or do a webcam walk-through, as the checklist allows for virtual assessment, rather than assuming a home visit is needed.
• Where a Dublin team splits time between home and office, make sure the office safety statement and risk assessments reflect hybrid patterns, and record home working as a separate risk area. Our guide to safety statements and risk assessments explains how the written documents fit together.
• Schedule regular check-ins that ask about workstation comfort, workload and isolation as well as output.

What the sources leave open

The sources we read do not say how often a home assessment must be repeated beyond the checklist's statement that reviews should be regular. The Department of Enterprise page shows no last-updated date. Remote working law and guidance continue to change, so check the current HSA, Department and Citizens Information pages. This article is general information, not legal advice.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Are employers responsible for health and safety when staff work from home?

Yes. Citizens Information and the Department of Enterprise both say employers' health and safety responsibilities continue when employees work remotely, and the HSA's checklist treats a remote work assessment as an employer matter.

Does an employer have to inspect each employee's home?

The sources we read do not require a home visit. The HSA checklist says assessments can be done virtually, for example by webcam, by a suitably trained and competent assessor.

Who pays for a desk, chair or broadband?

The Department of Enterprise page says there is no specific legislation on these costs and that arrangements are generally agreed between the parties. The HSA checklist says the employer is responsible for maintaining the equipment it provides and for ensuring that work equipment is suitable.

Do display screen rules apply to home workers?

The HSA checklist draws on the display screen equipment provisions of the 2007 General Application Regulations and their minimum requirements, and uses them as the basis for its workstation section.

In short, the employer's duty follows the employee home: assess the risk, equip the workspace sensibly, stay in contact and keep a record.