The Occupational Safety and Health Directorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has developed a guide for safe and healthy work from home, with the goal of making it easier for employers and employees to work during the pandemic, the Ministry has announced.
The guide is available on the Ministry’s website and provides employers with practical guidelines related to obligations and responsibilities of their employees who are working from home, and conditions that a workplace designated as a work from home location should meet.
The standards address the employer’s care for their employees’ health, including mental health, which they are required to follow when workers work from home, risk assessment, monitoring of occupational safety and health, and reporting of work-related injuries.
For example, the guide states that, in cooperation with the employee, the employer is obligated to provide a safe and healthy workplace and work environment, i.e. to ensure that the home work space is safe and healthy. The employer also must take care of its employees’ health, including mental health and, if necessary, provide a consultation with a professional. Furthermore, the employer must provide work equipment to the employee if the employee does not have it, supervise the employee’s work and occupational health and safety measures, as well as contact employees during agreed work hours.
The employee’s obligations include implementing measures aimed at safe and healthy work, using work equipment carefully and handling it with care, and inspecting the workplace before starting, including the work equipment they use, and to inform the employer if there are any deficiencies.
The employee is also obligated to establish a work-life balance and maintain regular and timely communication with the employer or occupational safety and health person during agreed work hours.
(Blic, 18.01.2021)
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