Telework and Home Office Health and Safety Guide

Maintain a healthy and safe home office work environment.

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Section I Planning Telework

Introduction
Advantages and Disadvantages
Before You Start
Sample Agreements
Telework Checklist – Putting it all Together

Section II Overview of Roles and Responsibilities Under Health and Safety Legislation

Basic Principles of Health and Safety Legislation
Background: Health and Safety Legislation in Canada
Responsibilities Under Health and Safety Legislation
Employer Responsibilities for Health and Safety
Supervisor Responsibilities
Employee Responsibilities
Employee Rights
Health and Safety Committee Responsibilities
Employer’s Responsibility for Teleworker’s Health and Safety

Section III Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders – Risks and Controls

Introduction
Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs)
Workstation Ergonomics
General Work Environment
Workstation Design
Work Organization

Section IV Other Health and Safety Elements

Personal Safety and Security
Preventing Workplace Violence, Harassment, and Bullying
Fit for Work
Potential Safety Hazards at Home

Section V Psychological Health

Set a Schedule
Stay Connected
Work-Life Balance
Maintaining Your Mental Health

Appendix A Canadian Government Departments Responsible for Occupational Health and Safety

General Health and Safety Questions
Canadian Government Departments Responsible for Occupational Health and Safety

Appendix B Occupational Health and Safety Legislation in Canada

Government’s Responsibilities
Employer Responsibilities
Supervisor Responsibilities
Employee Rights and Responsibilities
Health and Safety Committee (HSC)
Work Refusals
Work Stoppage

Appendix C Applicability of OHS Legislation to Private Residences

Federal
Provincial

Appendix D Emergency Planning for Working at Home

Fire Emergency Procedures
Apartment Buildings / High Rises / Hotels: When to Stay or Go

Appendix E Workplace Violence Legislation

Federal
Provincial

Appendix F Commonly Used Abbreviations

Resources Additional Resources from CCOHS

Single book:: $20.00 $20.00 ^*

Format:: PDF

Language:: English | French

Description

Telework, also known as working from home or remote work, has become popular as more companies are using video conferencing tools and collaborative technology. Teleworking is a general term for when people perform work duties from outside the traditional office, usually from home. In this work arrangement, the employee does not commute or travel to a central place of work.

Objectives

This guide provides practical information for employers and individuals working from home on how to:

Integrate health and safety prevention measures into everyday activities
Ensure compliance with any applicable health and safety legislation
Help manage the telework or working from home arrangement for both the employer and employee
Understand the importance of ergonomics, work organization, psychological health, and other safety and security needs that may be unique to a remote work arrangement

This 142-page pocket guide is written in clear language, with safety tips, charts, diagrams, checklists, and helpful resources, including legislative references.

Scope

This guide covers the main aspects of implementing a comprehensive health and safety program for employees when working from home. The focus is integrating health and safety into home-based offices through remote work agreements, and the actual set up of the home office.

Target Audience

This guide is for anyone working from home, whether as an employee or self-employed. Managers, supervisors, health and safety professionals, and human resources professionals can benefit from this guide and use it as a helpful reference in developing policies and practices. Employers and human resources professionals can use the guide for safety orientations of new employees to make sure they understand their rights and responsibilities under health and safety legislation.

Each publication produced by CCOHS undergoes several stages of review. As part of this review, representatives from government, employers, and labour are requested to comment on draft copies of CCOHS documents for technical accuracy and readability.

Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy and completeness of the information, it is understood that CCOHS makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such information and assumes no liability for any damages or loss suffered as a result of any inaccuracy or incompleteness therein.

Version: Second edition
Publication date: 2021

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CCOHS publications are unique in that they are developed by subject specialists in the field, and reviewed by representatives from labour, employers and government to ensure the content and approach are unbiased and credible.