A recent judgment handed down by the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET), is a timely reminder for employers that work health safety and workers compensation laws apply when workers work from home just as they do in traditional workplaces such as offices.
A worker of a local Council was babysitting a colleague’s puppy while working from home on September 19, 2022 and had set up a 60cm temporary fence across the doorway to her home office to separate the dog from her pet rabbit. About an hour after her shift started, the worker stood up from her desk having decided to make a coffee. As she walked towards the kitchen, she stepped over the barrier and got her left foot “caught in the top of the pet fence, causing her to lose balance and fall forward”.
Tripping over the fence, she landed on the right side of her body and wound up with a fracture to her humerus and an injury to her right knee. The worker lodged a claim with the Local Government Association Workers Compensation Scheme, who subsequently rejected her claim for compensation on the basis it was not satisfied that the worker’s employment was a significant contributing cause of her injury(ies).
The worker subsequently lodged a dispute with the South Australian Employment Tribunal
The SAET found that the worker’s fall occurred during an authorised coffee break at her place of employment (her home) on 19 September 2022 and that employment was a significant cause of any injury sustained in the fall, as the pet fence was a feature of her place of employment. The SAET also accepted that as well as a right humerus fracture, the applicant suffered a right knee injury of temporary duration.
A fully copy of the decision can be found here.
What this means for employers
This decision highlights the importance of employers ensuring that they meet their WHS duties when workers work from home and that working from home may change WHS risks or create new ones – as it certainly did in this case.
Employers are also at risk of workers compensation claims being lodged in the event that an injury occurs.
Employers have a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their employees. This duty applies to both physical and psychological health and extends to the home when work from home arrangements are in place. Employers should:
How we can help
South Australian Business Chamber expert WHS Consultants can help employers ensure they have the right workplace policies and procedures in place and how these can best apply when working from home arrangements need to be considered.
We can also assist you in ensuring that you work with your employees to set up safe work station in the home environment to reduce risks of injury.
Call our Business Advice Hotline today on (08) 8300 0000 (select option 1) or register you query on line here .
Employees and employers have work health safety responsibilities and you can also learn by attending our industry leading training programs which include training to help you manage work health safety in the workplace – access what’s available here.
