With recent technological advances, avoiding the commute, it’s no surprise more workers are asking to work from home. This is especially the case where women have young children.
For businesses flexible working arrangements can deliver a competitive advantage.
However a recent ruling against Telstra means it is time to stop and think about occupational health and safety in the home environment.
Telstra had to provide workers compensation to an employee working from home who hurt her shoulder after falling down a flight of stairs while on break at home.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal found in June this year that Hargreaves’ injuries had occurred in the “course of employment”, and depression and anxiety she developed was caused by issues involving her return to work plans.
Telstra was ordered to pay the cost of all medical and related treatment expenses, and weekly compensation payments “in respect of incapacity for work for all periods when Ms Hargreaves’ ability to earn was less than the normal weekly earnings,” as well as costs related to the action.
This sounds like madness to me and was described by an industrial lawyer, Freehills partner Kate Jenkins as “pretty frightening one for employers”.
I have copied a lot of this and attributed it to those who wrote it, because I want to get it right for you. It is a bag of worms!
Rae Phillips, founder and director of human resources consultant Inspire Success, says the ruling provides a message to small- and medium-sized business that they need to be proactive and organised when it comes to flexible work arrangements.
It might be as simple as a paragraph detailing the responsibilities of employers and employees, she says, or as complex as an extensive agreement which delivers rights of entry for the employer to inspect the home. But you do need to sit down and agree where the limits are.
Kate Jenkins of Freehills says working from home came to prominence a couple of years ago when the Fair Work Act encouraged businesses to accept flexible working arrangement requests – such as working part-time, job sharing or working from home – unless there are reasonable business grounds to reject them.
The onus on business is higher when the request is driven by the employee’s carer responsibilities. Companies must also be cognisant that refusing a request for flexible working arrangements might breach state and territory discrimination laws.
Industrial relations experts are quick to point out that the increased focus on working from home has not just been driven by legislation, or employees for that matter, but because employers recognise the benefits of flexible workplace arrangements – from happier workers, to improving your appeal to prospective employees and having “fresher” part-time workers rather than worn-out full-time staff.
Supervision is not really an issue because employers can easily figure out if productivity or work quality is dropping off through regular emails, phone calls and deadlines.
However there is now an OHS minefield
The obligation to OH&S extends beyond employees. If you have contractors working from home or in a home office and one of them zaps themselves or gets their hands struck in the shredder, your obligation is no less.”
One thing to keep in mind that it is not just the working area that needs to be safe in a home office, but also facilities such as the kitchen and bathroom.
What to do
When faced with a request to work from home, Kate Jenkins from Freehills says business should start the process by thinking about the employee’s role, the barriers to it being performed effectively from home, and how those barriers could be overcome.
Kate Jenkins and Freehills partner Harold Downes and Freehills solicitor Kathryn Bion have more advice for companies facing work from home requests:
• Consider a trial before making a commitment.
• Put your decision-making process, and arrangements, in writing.
• Set up a broader policy to be used company-wide.
Rae Phillips says although Inspire Success generally sets up the home office of its employees, who all work from home, it gives employees a checklist for self-audit rather than send someone in to tick the boxes.
This is my take on the subject also. Train your workers to use a hazard checklist and risk analysis and give them a checklist that you require to have returned completed.
The worker is then making a commitment they have a safe work environment
“For a larger business with a lot of people, maybe in that situation it’s practical to have inspectors. But for a small business, it’s not as practical.”
Another issue to consider is whether an employee feeling under the weather and therefore unable to head into the office should be permitted to finish off a few things at home before going to the doctor or bed.
The employee avoids going into the office, and gets key jobs out of the way so they don’t have to play catch up when they return. The employer isn’t caught with one less worker, and doesn’t have somebody spreading germs around the office. But consider the OH&S implications of it first.
For more information about occupational health and safety and protecting yourself with a practical approach go to http://www.integratedisosystems.com/as-nzs-4801-safety-management.html
Jean Cannon

Jean is an award winning small business management expert. She gives you the almost paperless ISO Quality, Safety and Environment certification that protects your business and saves you time and money. For more information go to
http://www.integratedisosystems.con
You can register your interest in the next risk management workshop at
http://www.riskmanagementinbusiness.com