Recently, there have been some notable decisions in the NSW Personal Injury Commission regarding claims from workers injured whilst working from home during COVID-19 restrictions.
CASE #1: Hallmann v Southern Cross University [2023] NSWPICPD 57 (18 September 2023).
A worker successfully argued that his employer should supply him with a $12,000 mattress due to the aggravation of a pre-existing injury caused by his unsuitable home setup.
CASE #2: State of New South Wales (Western NSW Local Health District) v Knight [2023] NSWPICPD 63 (10 October 2023).
A worker was bitten by a dog on her right hand as she attempted to intervene in a dog attack on her daughter’s puppy that was tied up outside the worker’s front door. It was acknowledged that the worker's duties "had nothing to do with dogs", and that the ownership and care of the puppy were "personal matters". Even so, it was acknowledged that the probability of the injury occurring was substantially increased by the puppy being tied up at the front of her home under circumstances that arose from the worker "being at work and the nature of her employment".
In each case, it was held that the worker had been injured in the course of their work.
Notwithstanding that these two cases are personal injury cases, it is a timely reminder for persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) and employers that work health and safety laws also apply to home workplaces, just as they do to traditional workplaces.
In this regard, there is a duty, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work, including managing WHS risks when working from home. That duty arises regardless of whether a worker requests to work from home or is required to do so due to external factors. The standard four step risk management process – identifying hazards, assessing the risks arising from those hazards, eliminating or (where not reasonably practicable) controlling / minimising those risks, and reviewing control measures regularly – should always be adopted. In some cases, managing those risks may require implementation of alternative working arrangements or a hybrid working arrangement.
Workers equally have a duty to:
- take reasonable care for their own health and safety and to not adversely affect others health and safety;
- comply with reasonable WHS instructions, as far as they are reasonably able; and
- cooperate with reasonable WHS policies or procedures that apply to them.
Looking ahead
Where employees are working from home or remotely, PCBUs / employers should consider the following questions:
- When was the “Working from Home” procedure last reviewed? Does it contain an obligation for workers to provide an update on any changes to their work area?
- Have all workers completed a risk assessment for the home workplace, and if so, are those assessments still valid? (For example, location, home set-up, equipment maintenance, etc.).
- Are the controls for managing risks at the worker’s home still suitable?
- Do the home risk assessments properly take into consideration psychosocial hazards (For example, high / low job demands, lack of job control, poor support, lack of role clarity, or exposure to harmful behaviours such as online abuse)?
PCBUs / employers should also consider how to manage and handle appropriately what can be an increased risk of an employee experiencing family and domestic violence where they are working from home.
These developments highlight the continuing importance of proactive risk management. If you have questions about your obligations and responsibilities in remote work scenarios and on work health and safety issues generally, our national Employee Relations and Safety team is here to provide guidance and support.
