Who counts as a DSE user?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describes DSE users as workers who use display screen equipment daily for continuous periods of an hour or more. That can include people using desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones and other display-screen equipment for work.
The regulations can apply to office-based employees, mobile workers, home workers and people who routinely split their time between home and another workplace.
1. Carry out DSE workstation assessments
Employers must assess DSE workstations used by DSE users. The assessment should consider the whole workstation, including the equipment, furniture, working conditions, the job being performed and any individual requirements of the worker.
Where risks are identified, appropriate action should be taken. Assessments should also be reviewed when circumstances change, such as when a workstation is changed, a new user starts work or a worker reports pain or discomfort.
HSE — DSE workstation assessment
2. Reduce the risks identified
Completing an assessment is not the end of the process. If it identifies a problem, the employer should take appropriate action. Depending on the circumstances, that could include changes to screen position, seating, desk layout, lighting or glare, input devices, working practices or the way DSE work is organised.
3. Plan breaks or changes of activity
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of DSE compliance. UK law does not prescribe a universal rule such as five minutes every hour, ten minutes every hour or twenty seconds every twenty minutes.
Instead, employers must plan DSE work so that there are suitable breaks or changes of activity. Where a job naturally contains other tasks, those changes can interrupt continuous DSE work. Where there are no natural interruptions, employers should plan rest breaks.
HSE advises that shorter, more frequent breaks are preferable to longer, less frequent ones. Its example of 5–10 minutes every hour being better than 20 minutes every two hours is guidance, not a statutory timetable.
HSE — Work routine and breaks for DSE users
4. Provide eye tests when requested
Employers must arrange and pay for an appropriate eye and eyesight test where a DSE user requests one. If the examination shows that special glasses are needed specifically for the viewing distance used for DSE work, the employer may also need to pay for them.
HSE states that DSE work is not known to cause permanent eye damage, although long spells of screen work can be associated with tired eyes, discomfort, headaches and temporary visual symptoms.
HSE — Eyes and eyesight testing for DSE users
5. Provide appropriate training and information
Employers must provide DSE users with suitable health and safety training and information. This should cover safe workstation setup, posture, screen and lighting adjustment, breaks and changes of activity, risk assessment, reporting problems and eye-test arrangements.
HSE — DSE training and information
6. Include remote and hybrid workers
Moving somebody away from the office does not automatically remove DSE responsibilities. The regulations can apply to people who work permanently or long-term from home and to those who routinely split their time between home and another workplace.
In many cases workers can complete their own workstation assessment, provided they have received suitable training.
HSE — Working with display screen equipment at home
7. Make screen-break arrangements work in practice
A policy saying employees should take regular breaks is useful. The practical problem is remembering to do it. Somebody concentrating on a spreadsheet, technical report, design, presentation or piece of software can easily work for a prolonged period without noticing how much time has passed.
HSE specifically recognises that break-monitoring software can remind DSE users to take regular breaks. It also makes clear that employers remain responsible for properly planning work and making sure users take suitable breaks. Software therefore supports a DSE programme; it does not replace one.