In last month's HSW, we looked at the more traditional health and safety aspects of homeworking, particularly equipment and electrical issues. In this concluding feature, we consider the issues that have increased in importance - although not always in risk - over the past decade.

One concern that is more pressing than 10 years ago is fraud and theft. Homeworkers often overlook security arrangements, lulled into a false sense of security by having lived in their homes without problems for years.

Homeworkers should be discouraged from advertising that their homes contain valuable work equipment, particularly by leaving computer boxes outside for refuse collection; managers should also provide paper shredders if staff are handling confidential or sensitive documents at home.

They also need to ensure that the security arrangements are satisfactory; does the homeworker need a burglar alarm, for example? Check that front doors have deadlocks and that window are secure. Some employers rule out  employees setting up home workspace which can be easily overlooked by passers by outside.

Checklist.

Security extends to computer equipment too; it is vital that use of computers, firewalls and anti-virus software conform to the employer's specifications, particularly where a home computer is linked to a company network.

Person centred

Personal safety is frequently raised as an issue, though the risks are again often overstated. People live in their homes on a day-to-day basis without problems after all.

The most significant risk here arises when homeworkers have to meet clients in person, and many employers prohibit meetings in the employee's home.

Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council's homeworking policy, for example, is explicit that "homeworkers must not meet clients or representatives in their home. Rooms at the council offices or other suitable locations should be used for this purpose." Local serviced office centres or hotels will often provide quiet meeting space by the hour.

While it is highly unlikely that things will go wrong at home, it is imperative that homes have sufficient numbers of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, and that homeworkers know how to use the extinguishers.

Similarly you should issue homeworkers with first-aid kits and, ideally, they should have completed a basic first-aid training course.

Some companies use plans or photographs of the work area in the home. While this can be helpful in avoiding problems in the first place, it could also help in the unlikely event of a litigation claim.

One major employer with thousands of home-based staff says that it has only ever had one personal injury claim for a home accident and this was easily contested as the employee had tripped exiting his own French windows for a lunchtime cigarette.

Employers should check that their employers' liability insurance arrangements cover homeworking (they usually do, or can be extended at little or no cost), while homeworkers should ensure that their home insurance covers equipment for which they might be liable.

Employers are, however, responsible for any equipment they supply (this includes testing, safety - see House of hazards? - repairs and insurance).

Points of contact

Research carried out by the HSE's research arm, the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), into good homeworking practice (available by clicking here) concluded that communication is the issue on which effective health and safety management relies.

But the HSL cautioned that employers cannot try to keep homeworkers in the loop using the same methods as for on-site employees. In particular, employers need to ensure that their managers are proactive in dealing with homeworkers.

Psychological problems arising from isolation and reduced interaction with colleagues are increasing in importance as an issue, though there is little evidence to indicate that they have been a major health issue in homeworking.

This may be in part due to the type of person who wants to work from home, or possibly because research into stress has not looked conclusively at isolation and homeworking. Still, it's a potential hazard that needs constant attention.

Managers should keep in touch with their homeworkers through regular email and phone contact, as well as through physical visits to the office and social functions.

A utilities company examined by the HSL, for example, required all homeworkers to visit the office once a week. Managers may also visit their homeworkers, though this may be a disproportionate use of a manager's time. It can also create difficulties for the managers if they have to raise questions of poor performance in the employee's "home ground".

It may be worth "buddying" each homeworker with an office-based colleague who can keep in touch by phone and make sure they don't miss out on day-to-day developments or gossip.

Cut-off point

Risks emerge too from overworking - a combination of never being able to leave work behind and the desire to make homeworking succeed. (This is in stark contrast to the worries of many managers that their employees will begin slacking if they are working unsupervised.)

Physical controls should be considered if this is likely to be a problem: limited "log-in" hours might help, or software that reminds homeworkers when they have worked a set period.

Ensure that reporting systems allow homeworkers to note any injury or illness (homeworkers are prone to work through illnesses or not to report in as sick) and that they are able to recognise early warnings of common work-related ill-health conditions, for example upper-limb pains.

Choosing who is going to work at home is a legitimate area for safety professionals to engage in; weed out the liabilities at selection stage and the likelihood is that homeworking will be safer and healthier. Look at whether the person is self-motivating, mature, self-sufficient, flexible and disciplined.

Ask, too, about any medical conditions that might have an impact on homeworking. Such conditions should not rule out work from home, but you may need to make allowances or adjustments for them. Diabetics, for example, might require more frequent daily contact.

Unvarnished

The best practical approaches to homeworking generally involve keeping policies and arrangements as simple as possible. Overlong and overly prescriptive documentation can prove counterproductive, as managers and their homeworkers often ignore it in practice.

There is usually no need to employ expensive consultants to facilitate safe homeworking; equally, while standard pro-forma questionnaires should suffice, check that the forms ask for what's needed and no more.

For example, the only point in asking about pets or children in the home is if a manager follows it up with some advice if either are present.

In a similar vein, many pro-formas and guidance require the room set aside for homeworking to be "large", whereas there is no real need for the room to be anything other than fit for purpose. (It may also be unhelpful in those homes that lack large rooms.)

Avoid, too, lengthy series of questions that ask about every aspect of the minimum legal requirements for display screen equipment. The checklist for managers at the end of this article is a much pared-down version of those that are generally available, but concentrates on the issues likely to make a significant difference.

Most employers with homeworking programmes have found the health and safety elements straightforward to manage, with far fewer problems than they imagined. We are, after all, talking about an environment with which the worker is most familiar; indeed the greatest risk might be over-familiarity and over-confidence.

Howard Fidderman is a freelance journalist and editor of Health and Safety Bulletin. He wrote the homeworking chapter for the Institute of Directors' recent book on Wellbeing at Work.