Organizational Safety From the Home Office
How does safety apply when working from a home office? What a quandary. With government-mandated shutdowns, rules, laws, and recommendations changing on almost a daily basis…the question becomes difficult to focus on. But it’s a good one, isn’t it? Rules have been made pretty clear for our skilled trade and field workers, but the waters remain relatively muddied regarding our office staff. If an office worker is injured, while on the job and working from home, do You, as an employer have a role or responsibility in it?
The short answer is yes. Safety still applies. So does workers compensation.
You may be a little alarmed to hear it, but we confirmed it in a recent conversation with a WCB representative – Claims are still being accepted, even for those working at home. A quick summary of the situation reads like this…”Your employer responsibilities haven’t changed, but your control over the employee’s workspace has”. The following shouldn’t be considered to be an exhaustive list of requirements, but it will get you on the road to ask the right questions to ensure you are taking proper precautions to look after your people and your business.
“Your employer responsibilities haven’t changed, but your control over the employee’s workspace has”.
Consider Issuing a Short “Working from Home” Orientation for your Company.
As an employer, you have an obligation communicate risks to your employees, the most common vehicle we use to do this an orientation. Your COR certification requires an orientation when workers start at a new worksite. This sounds a little silly considering the workplace has changed to the employee’s place of residence, but your ability to maintain the work environment has been restricted – so it makes sense to revisit worker requirements. It can be as simple as a PDF or PowerPoint that you have the employee sign off on. You may want to cover a few things that are not so obvious at first glance. Consider including things like hours of work, professional expectations, and tasks that fall under the umbrella of “Work”.
Help Workers Setup a Dedicated, Ergonomic Workspace.
A worker’s risk of traumatic injury is pretty small in the office, but statistics have proven that it rises considerably at home. Even so, throughout our conversation with WCB, they were careful to point out that repetitive strain injuries (as well as traumatic ones) were still covered, regardless of employee location. When you unpack that point, much of it equates to ergonomics. If your team was sent home from a cozy office desk and ergonomic chair to a kitchen table and a laptop, it may be difficult to defend against a future claim of repetitive strain.
Educate your workers on ergonomics. Also, If you provided them with ergonomic chairs and features at the worksite, make them available while working from home. If you don’t, at the very least, find out what your peers are doing and protect yourself by doing the same.
Have workers Submit Inspections of Their Dedicated Workspaces.
A worksite is a worksite. This is a good way to translate your risk mitigation strategy into your workers home. Not only that but as an employer, it’s in your interest to ensure that your workers have healthy workspaces. In many cases, your workers may not know what to look for without your help. Consider creating and issuing a weekly workspace inspection for workers. It will help them evaluate and improve their workspace, and to boot, it will keep them connected to the due diligence atmosphere of the office. There is a catch here, you will need to review them for accuracy, and provide suggestions if you find something needs work!
Partnering with BASTION for your Safety Program brings strategic advantages not found elsewhere in the industry. We’ll make the process of getting your COR and maintaining it almost seamlessly, using our software to drive your COR processes, and build it out into much, much more.
Contact Bastion to find out we can help you achieve:
1. WCB Discounts – Discounts on their WCB rates of up to 40%
2. Competitive Advantages: Reduced premiums result in larger profits.
3. Increased Client Base: Access to bigger jobs & more exclusive Clients.
4. Reduced Risk: In bids, insurance for both employers and the employee.
5. Efficiency Improvements: Establish workflows that support all facets of the business – not just safety.
