In Short
Employers still owe workplace health and safety (WHS) duties to employees working remotely. You must take reasonable steps to identify and manage risks, provide safe systems of work and support both physical and psychological safety. These obligations apply wherever your employees perform their work, including from home.
Tips for Businesses
Review whether your WHS policies address remote work. Provide employees with guidance on setting up a safe home workstation and reporting hazards. Conduct regular check-ins to monitor wellbeing and workloads. Use simple self-assessment tools to help identify risks and ensure employees understand their WHS responsibilities when working remotely.
Summary
This article explains WHS obligations for employers managing remote employees in Australia and provides a practical guide for business owners. It has been prepared by LegalVision, a commercial law firm that specialises in advising clients on employment law and workplace health and safety.
Remote work has become a prominent feature of many workplaces. However, many employers remain unsure about their work health and safety (WHS) obligations for remote employees. While flexibility brings benefits for both you and your employees, it also raises important questions. You may assume that your responsibilities towards an employee only apply while they are in the office. However, this is not correct.
Under work health and safety laws, you have a primary duty of care that extends to all workers, regardless of where they perform their work. This means your WHS obligations apply whether employees are working in your office, home, at a client site or any other location. This article explains your WHS responsibilities for remote employees and the practical steps you can take to meet them.
Overview of WHS Risk for Remote Employees
Safety legislation refers to employers as “persons conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBUs), who must provide a safe working environment. This duty does not change even when your employee is working remotely.
Therefore, you are responsible for:
- identifying and managing risks that may affect remote workers;
- ensuring the safe use, handling, storage and transport of plant, equipment and substances;
- providing adequate facilities for the welfare of workers;
- acquiring and keeping up-to-date knowledge of WHS matters;
- providing safe systems of work, including policies and procedures that extend to home offices; and
- consulting with employees about WHS matters that affect them, including remote work arrangements.
Common WHS Key Risks for Remote Employees
Remote workers can face the same WHS risks as office-based staff. Common risks include:
- poor workstation set-up, leading to ergonomic injuries such as back, neck or wrist strain;
- isolation, impacting mental health and reducing opportunities to raise WHS concerns;
- slips, trips and falls in the home workspace; and
- blurring of boundaries, which contributes to overwork, stress and fatigue.
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How Employers Can Meet WHS Obligations for Remote Workers
Assess the Remote Work Environment
While you cannot control every aspect of the employee’s home, you must take reasonable steps to ensure the space is safe. You can provide a self-assessment checklist for workers to review their workstation, lighting, electrical safety and emergency procedures. Along with this, you can offer ergonomic advice or equipment (such as adjustable chairs and laptop stands).
Provide Training and Guidance
You should ensure your remote employees understand safe work practices, including how to set up their workstation correctly, manage screentime and workloads, and report hazards or incidents when working from home.
Support Mental Health and Wellbeing
Isolation and burnout are key WHS risks for remote staff. You should:
- encourage regular communication through team check-ins;
- promote employee assistance programs (EAPs) where available; and
- be proactive about workload management and flexible scheduling.
Update Your Policies
Ensure your WHS policies and procedures specifically cover remote work. This could include:
- a work from home policy;
- incident reporting procedures from home-based accidents; and
- clear exceptions about working hours and availability.
Employee’s Duties
Both you and your employees have a lot of responsibilities under WHS laws. These duties include:
- taking reasonable care of their own health and safety and not adversely affecting others’;
- complying with your reasonable WHS instructions; and
- cooperating with reasonable WHS policies or procedures.
As an employer, understand your essential employment obligations with this free LegalVision factsheet.
Key Takeaways
Your WHS obligations for remote employees are real and enforceable. While the practical challenges of ensuring safety in home environments are significant, a proactive approach focused on risk assessment, clear policies, appropriate training and regular consultation will help you meet your legal duties while supporting your remote workforce.
The key is to adapt traditional WHS principles to the remote work context, maintaining the same commitment to employee safety while recognising the unique challenges and limitations of managing risks in dispersed work environments.
Managing WHS obligations for remote teams can be tricky. If you are unsure whether your policies and practices meet the legal standard, it is best to seek legal advice. A LegalVision lawyer can help you review your documents and guide you on practical risk management.
LegalVision provides ongoing legal support for businesses through our fixed-fee legal membership. Our experienced employment lawyers help businesses manage contracts, employment law, disputes, intellectual property, and more, with unlimited access to specialist lawyers for a fixed monthly fee. To learn more about LegalVision’s legal membership, call 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Your WHS duties apply regardless of where employees perform their work. If employees work remotely, you must still take reasonable steps to identify risks, provide safe systems of work and ensure their health and safety while performing their job.
You can manage risks by assessing the home workspace, providing ergonomic guidance, offering WHS training and updating remote work policies. Regular check-ins and monitoring also help ensure employees follow safe work practices and raise any safety concerns early.
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