Display screen equipment is now the defining feature of most working lives, and hybrid working has multiplied the number of workstations each employee uses. The law kept up better than most employers realise: the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 apply in full to home workstations, not just the office. If you have staff who regularly use screens for an hour or more at a time, you have specific legal duties towards every one of them.
What the DSE Regulations require
- Workstation assessment, a suitable and sufficient analysis of each DSE user’s workstation: screen, keyboard, mouse, desk, chair, lighting, and the software and environment around them. That includes the kitchen-table setup at home.
- Reducing risks, acting on what the assessment finds: equipment adjustments, accessories such as laptop stands and external keyboards, and changes to how work is organised.
- Breaks and changes of activity, planning work so screen use is interrupted by breaks or different tasks.
- Eye tests, DSE users are entitled to an eye test paid for by the employer on request, and to basic corrective spectacles if needed specifically for screen work.
- Information and training, users must be told about the risks and trained to set up and use their workstations properly.
Why this matters more than it seems
Musculoskeletal disorders are among the biggest causes of working days lost in Great Britain, and poor workstation setup is a steady contributor, back, neck, shoulder and wrist problems that build slowly and cost heavily in absence, presenteeism and occasionally personal injury claims. A DSE assessment programme is one of the cheapest pieces of prevention in the whole of health and safety. Yet in many organisations the “programme” is a self-assessment form issued at induction and never looked at again, which satisfies neither the regulations nor an employment tribunal examining a workplace injury claim.
The practical answer: a trained in-house assessor
You don’t need consultants to run DSE compliance. What you need is one or more trained DSE assessors, people in HR, facilities, health and safety or office management who can review self-assessments intelligently, carry out follow-up assessments for staff reporting discomfort, advise on equipment and posture, and keep the records that demonstrate compliance. For hybrid workforces, the assessor is also the person who can sensibly triage home-working setups remotely.
DSE Assessor Training
Our online DSE Assessor Training course equips your nominated people to fill that role. It covers the DSE Regulations and what they demand, ergonomics and the health risks of screen work, how to conduct and review workstation assessments, including home and hybrid setups, common problems and practical fixes, and record-keeping. Assessors complete the course at their own pace and receive a certificate on completion.
For the wider picture on workplace health and safety duties, see our guide to common mistakes in workplace health and safety practices, DSE is one of several areas where small, documented systems prevent large problems.
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