Seating at work: ergonomic selection and adjustment

Health and Safety Executive (a) A risk is the chance, great or small that someone will be harmed by the hazard. (b) A hazard is anything that may cause harm. Monitoring and reviewing 12 Monitoring and reviewing are also important in ensuring proper health and safety performance. Monitoring involves looking at how far set standards have been met. Reviewing involves looking at standards, planning, control and organisation, and changing them, where necessary, to improve health and safety. Feedback from users is helpful when deciding whether the seating meets good practice standards. How to do a risk assessment 13 Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (see Appendix 1), employers must assess risks in the workplace, including seating. A risk assessment involves identifying hazards and deciding whether enough has been done to prevent harm to people. There are five simple steps that employers can take to make sure that a proper risk assessment is done: Step 1: Look for the hazards It is important for employers to assess seating in the workplace to see what may cause harm or injury. For example, seating that is not adjustable may lead to common complaints, such as back pain. Usually seating needs to be looked at as part of a work system. Those responsible for health and safety in the workplace can use paragraphs 14 and 15 as a starting point when conducting a risk assessment on workplace seating. Step 2: Decide who might be harmed Employers must consider employees and others who may use seating in the workplace. For example, if employees are working at home, children’s safety may need to be considered. Further guidance on the health and safety of homeworkers is given in Homeworking: Guidance for employers and employees on health and safety (see Appendix 3). Step 3: Evaluate the risks Employers need to consider whether existing seating poses a health or safety risk to employees. If it does, they must take action to remove, reduce or control the risk. To help assess the risks see paragraphs 14 and 15. If there is no risk present, then no action needs to be taken. For example, if the seating is suitable and safe, it meets the needs of the user and is fit for the task at hand, then no further action is needed. Step 4: Record the findings Employers who have five or more employees are required by law to record the significant findings from a risk assessment. They also need to record their health and safety arrangements so that: n people in the workplace are informed about the hazards and are better placed to deal with them; n safety representatives can use this information to carry out their duties; n any action that is taken can be referred to if, in the future, a similar hazard needs to be addressed. Seating at work Page 6 of 22