What does your employer have to provide when you work from home?

The test that decides most of this

HSE says employers have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for anyone else. Their risk assessment should include home working, covering things such as stress and poor mental health, the safe use of computers and the working environment. HSE adds that most of these risks are low and that the fixes are usually simple.

The stronger entitlements come through the display screen rules, and those turn on one question: are you a DSE user? You are if you work on a computer, laptop, tablet or phone daily, for continuous periods of an hour or more. HSE's page for home workers says the rules can apply if you are at home permanently or long term, or if you regularly split your time in a hybrid pattern. They do not apply to people who use a screen at home only occasionally or for short periods.

Most people working at a laptop all day will clear that test without trouble. Someone who answers a few emails from home once a month will not.

What you are owed if you are a user

Software alone does not settle it. HSE's assessment guidance says a trained assessor should review the results from any software or paper form, clear up anything unclear, give feedback and make sure problems are fixed. If you filled in an online form two years ago and heard nothing, it is reasonable to ask what happened to it. A new assessment is also due when your workstation changes, or when you complain of pain or discomfort.

Three things people often get wrong

"They have to give me an office chair and desk"

Not automatically. HSE says home workers should be able to reach a comfortable, sustainable posture, and that this may not need office furniture. The assessment decides. If it shows you need something, including for your individual needs, it is on your employer and not on you. If your own equipment is suitable, it may be fine, and your employer should check. Our desk guide shows how far you can get with a cushion and a riser.

"They have to pay for my glasses"

Only in a narrow case. Your employer must pay for glasses only if the test shows you need special ones prescribed for the distance you view the screen. If your normal prescription works, they do not. Employers can arrange the test however suits them, such as reimbursing you for one you book or sending everyone to one optician.

"They have to cover my bills"

We could not find anything in the HSE or Acas guidance saying so. Acas tells employers to consider any extra costs and to discuss who will pay them with staff and their representatives, and to agree who will provide or pay for equipment and repairs. Your contract or your employer's home working policy may say more, so read those first. Employers can pay something towards household costs tax-free within limits, while the employee's own claim has now ended, and our note on tax relief explains how that works.

Worth agreeing in writing

Acas's list of what to settle is useful even if you are the employee reading it, because anything left vague tends to get decided at the worst moment. Ask about:

• what the job needs, for instance a reliable and secure connection or a suitable desk and chair
• who provides, pays for and repairs equipment
• how to report a problem, and to whom
• how use of equipment is monitored and how information is handled
• what to do if a work device is lost or stolen

Acas also tells managers to agree how and when to communicate, and warns that constant or unnecessary contact can cause stress and affect morale. If yours has turned into a stream of messages at all hours, that gives you a polite way in.

How to raise it

Start by putting it in an email, as you would anything you may later want a record of. Say that you work from home at a screen every day, and ask when your display screen assessment was done. HSE's workstation checklist is free and gives you a shared list to work through. If something hurts, say what and since when, since that is one of HSE's triggers for review.

HSE also says your employer must assess the risks to your health from stress at work and share the results, which may be relevant if the problem is less about the chair and more about the workload. Our note on burnout covers that side of things.

If a disability is involved, the separate duty to make reasonable adjustments may apply as well. For a dispute that is not moving, a union representative or the Acas helpline can advise on your own situation, which a general guide like this one cannot do.