EBM Insights podcast series is a deep dive into current issues surrounding insurance and risk management in today’s ever-changing world.
Now that the workforce is a few years into the ‘norm’ of flexible working arrangements, including working from home (WFH), we speak with John Sheehy from Recovery Partners about the current Work, Health and Safety policies and procedures.
A transcript of the interview with Recovery Partners is below. The complete EBM Insights podcast series is available here.
Duration: 14 minutes
Introduction:
In this podcast, we discuss the current Work, Health, and Safety policies and procedures that are in place to support the new way of working. We are joined by John Sheehy – Senior Safety Consultant from Recovery Partners.
00:00:00 Disclaimer
In this podcast, we have provided general advice only and not personal advice. In giving this advice we have not considered your personal circumstances.
00:00:04 Speaker 1 – Sandy Cattley (Senior Marketing Specialist, EBM Insurance & Risk)
Welcome to EBM Insights. Now that the workforce is a few years into the norm of flexible working arrangements, including working from home, it’s timely that we discuss the current work, health and safety policies and procedures that are in place to support this new way of working.
In particular, there is a legal argument that if an employee is injured while they are working from home, the employer could be found liable.
To discuss this and some of the latest topics around working from home procedures, policies and ergonomic checklists, I’m joined by EBM’s National Manager of Injury Management -Julian Lane, and from Recovery Partners we have John Sheehy, who is their Senior Safety Consultant. Welcome to you both.
So, Julian, can you give an overview of how EBM’s Injury Management team supports our clients?
00:00:58 Speaker 3 – Julian Lane (National Manager – Injury Management, EBM Insurance & Risk)
Yeah, absolutely. So, we assist our clients with their workers compensation claims from start to finish from a strategic and advocacy approach.
This can include attending informal conferences and dispute proceedings on behalf of our clients. We also have a look at how injuries are occurring within a workplace and where applicable, we might recommend a provider from our Risk Solutions Network, of which Recovery Partners is our newest member.
00:01:23 Speaker 1 – Sandy
John, Recovery Partners was founded in 2004 with the objective to reduce the human and financial costs of worker injuries and illnesses.
Can you tell us a little bit more about the business?
00:01:35 Speaker 2 – John Sheehy (Recovery Partners)
Recovery Partners has grown from humble beginnings back in 2004 to be an industry leader in this area with over 100 staff providing services across safety, the NDIS area, return to work, occupational rehabilitation, pre employment medicals, functional and vocational assessments and economic assessment.
We have a commercial focus and jargon free approach when it comes to delivering outcomes to our clients.
Offices are located around Australia, which allows us to support both national multi-site clients as well as single site organisations.
00:02:16 Speaker 1 – Sandy
So, I mentioned in the introduction that we are focusing on working from home. This has been the new way of working the last few years, for reasons we don’t need to go into. How do businesses ensure they are effectively supporting their workforce now that we have shifted to hybrid ways of working?
00:02:36 Speaker 2 – John
Sandy, under Work Health and Safety legal obligations, there’s still the legal obligations that apply to the workplace that continue to apply when you’re working from home.
These obligations apply to both the business and the worker.
Employers have an ongoing duty of care to ensure that so far as reasonably practicable, their staff are working in a safe and healthy environment and in a safe and healthy manner.
Working for Home office setup should reflect the same standards as those within the office, They need a proper ergonomic desk, proper ergonomic chair, that’s adjustable, a keyboard and monitor.
Part of this is also where you have my own checklist or agreement outlining the responsibilities of both parties.
Employees are also responsible for taking reasonable care for their own health and safety when they are working from home.
The need to consider the psychosocial hazards of working from home, e.g., the isolation, the team interaction and domestic violence.
00:03:48 Speaker 1 – Sandy
So, are employers liable if something happens to their staff while working at home?
00:03:54 Speaker 3 – Julian
From a workers comp perspective, if an employee was to sustain an injury while working from home, the relevant test would be whether the injuries sustained arose out of or in the course of the workers employment.
There’s a lot of nuances in this, but the key takeaway is that if they were doing something, they’d be expected to do as part of their employment, the claim may well be accepted.
I think most employers understand that employees are entitled to workers compensation benefits if they’re hurt while doing their job, but many underestimate their liability for someone working from home. And I think as John touched on there, it’s important to include psychological injuries in this.
John, what about from a work health and safety perspective?
00:04:37 Speaker 2 – John
Well, Julian, from a work health and safety perspective, a workplace as deemed by the WHS legislation is no longer just contained within an office environment and is now seen as any location where an employee completes there work tasks or activities.
So as an employer, you need to ensure that the home office is set up correctly, you know, does the desk meet ergonomic standards? Is it the correct height, width and is there a designated work area?
Is their chair adjustable? Is there a backrest adjustable in height? Does the backrest have a lumbar support roll, and is it on a 5-star caster?
If using your laptop, a separate keyboard or mouse monitor should be used.
The home office should be located on the ground floor where possible and away from family. The biggest risk is not knowing the person’s home workplace and there isn’t hidden hazards within that.
As with the general workplace, you continually complete workplace inspections.
With a home, where does the office finish and where does the home start?
If you go and make a coffee in your home kitchen, then is this deemed part of the workplace?
Looking at the general home life and control the employee has to family relationships and as a child minder. As far as the legislation goes, the worker must enjoy the same safety and those around them, whether they be another worker or visitor or as in this example, a child.
So, if the child injures themselves due to the lack of supervision due to the parents work commitment, can this constitute as a workplace incident and a workplace claim?
The flip side is if working from home, it can cause psychosocial hazards. The couple can end up fighting or there is unknown evidence of spousal abuse or abuse from a child with mental health issues.
00:06:48 Speaker 1 – Sandy
Thank you. That’s great information.
What types of injuries have arisen during recent years of working from home that you’ve noticed?
00:06:58 Speaker 2 – John
We’ve seen several cases where an employee has been injured at home and entitled to workers compensation. One case involves an employee who fell down the stairs whilst wearing socks, was awarded compensation.
In that case it was found that she was locking her front door as this was part of her working from home arrangement, due to recent burglaries in the area and she slipped at the door.
She was found to be in the course of her employment, and therefore entitled to workers compensation.
In another case, a teacher returned from home and was carrying books that needed marking and was using a cane basket. She fell and broke her ankle and was entitled to workers compensation.
00:07:44 Speaker 3 – Julian
I’ve also seen one where the worker was employed as a caseworker, a role that required her to be constantly on the phone and taking video calls. On the day of the injury, the worker was working from home and happened to be looking after her daughter’s puppy.
The puppy was tied up outside so that she didn’t get disturbed by it. Shortly after completing the work call the applicant heard the puppy crying outside and the worker went out to investigate and discovered the puppy was being attacked by a cattle dog.
The worker intervened and attempted to rescue the puppy and in doing so she was attacked by the cattle dog and sustained physical and psychological injuries.
Initially the claim was declined by the insurer, stating she was not in the course of her employment. However, the worker appealed to the Personal Injury Court where she was successful.
So, John, what are some of the findings of working from home risk assessments, Recovery Partners have carried out over the last few years?
00:08:41 Speaker 2 – John
Recovery Partners risk assessments have found that it’s not appropriate for the primary carer to work from home with young children, or in regard to pre-existing medical conditions, e.g., they suffer from diabetes or have severe allergies.
If these occurred in the primary work office, you would have first aid officers and other staff to notify 000. So, the question is, what safeguards are in the home office if the person is working alone?
Or what is the process if the worker cannot be reached? That is, does a welfare check need to be completed?
If an injury occurs while the person has left their home office to go shopping or pick up the children from school, is this still deemed as part of their lunch break?
Wearing work appropriate clothing shoes seems to be one of the causes of incidences in the home. Wearing socks on polished floors can lead to a slip and fall.
00:09:43 Speaker 1 – Sandy
So, Julian, what are the ramifications for the employer if someone is hurt in the home while a staff member is working?
00:09:51 Speaker 3 – Julian
As discussed, there’s potential for a workers compensation claim, but there’s also circumstances that a public liability claim could be brought. It’s really important that employers make sure that they have adequate insurance in place to cover people working from home and any equipment that they might have supplied.
There’s the potential for work, health and safety breaches for serious injuries which can include large monetary fines and custodial sentences.
John, how could a risk assessment help with working from home?
00:10:20 Speaker 2 – John
Well, Julian, the purpose of a risk assessment is to identify any risk and how we can eliminate them or remove them, whether it’s the workplace or from a work site. It is individualised.
For example, if we attended someone’s home, and they plan to work in an old desk and chair. We’ll recommend a new desk and chair.
We look at ergonomics, most companies don’t want their employees working from a lounge or a kitchen table.
So, we look for obvious physical hazards such as electrical hazards. If there are, is there a safety switch?
We’ll look at how the employee safety can be best managed.
We looked at the phone reception. Most people don’t have home phones any longer, so they rely on their mobile phones. Do they get adequate reception?
Well, look at what would happen if there was a fire or an emergency.
We also look at psychosocial risks such as personal security and isolation.
And finally, we’ll also look at what the agreed process are for start and finish times.
00:11:36 Speaker 1 – Sandy
Thanks, John . That’s really good information.
So how can employers make sure that home is a safe working environment?
00:11:46 Speaker 2 – John
The best way is to do an assessment.
Employees might feel very strange about going into someone’s home, but working from home is still a place of work and a part of the employee’s responsibility.
Just don’t believe what is completed on the working for my own checklist. Ask for visual confirmation.
They can either be a video or a webcam of the area.
Always monitor, review and chat to the person to see how they are getting on both physically and from a mental health aspect.
Each workplace will be different and will be assessed on a case by case basis.
00:12:21 Speaker 3 – Julian
I guess, John, it’s also important that employers continue to check in and make sure that those workplaces are still safe.
00:12:28 Speaker 2 – John
That’s correct, Julian. There should be a period within the agreement that there’s regular check-ins and regular updates of the work from home assessment to keep it all in place.
00:12:42 Speaker 1 – Sandy
Is there anything else happening in the work health and safety space of note?
00:12:48 Speaker 3 – Julian
There’s the aged care and residential facilities proactive inspection programme. This is where inspectors are going to be placing a strong emphasis on industry specific hazards along with workplace violence and aggression, staff training and other priority issues identified by WorkSafe. Residential aged care has been identified as an industry with significant challenges in relation to workplace violence and aggression and a high number of injuries due to manual handling and slips, trips and falls.
00:13:15 Speaker 2 – John
In regard to worker safety in general, Safework Australia has just made a commitment to all the other harmonised states, including WA, that they are looking at increasing the reporting of incidences primarily in the area of psychosocial and that’s so this may be something to be kept on the radar for future.
00:13:42 Speaker 1 – Sandy
Thank you. That’s a lot of information to take in and really good information as well.
Thank you to John Sheehy from Recovery Partners for joining Julian and myself today.
You can learn more about the topic we’ve discussed and the programmes provided by Recovery Partners on their website which is rrp.com.au.
Thank you to John and to Julian.
