The TUC have revealed that safety concerns about computer screens and the physical strains of using a computer are among the most worried-about elements of working life. The union's safety representatives reported that ill health due to poor use of computer screens is workers' second biggest concern, behind stress at work.
Concerns about screen displays were reported by 41% of the union's safety representatives. As a result, employers are being urged to provide work station assessments for all employees, provide pay for time off for eye tests and allow workers to take regular and frequent breaks away from desks.
TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber said, "Simple office hazards, such as spending too much time fixed on a computer screen or sitting on a badly designed chair, are often overlooked by employers. But today's survey shows that they are actually a huge concern to workers and need to be addressed." The TUC said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) should more vigorously take up concerns around computer screens and that not enough is being done to highlight and combat the issue of poor use of computer screens. While union safety representatives said that risk assessments overall were generally carried out, with just 7% saying that they were not carried out, the quality of assessments may, nonetheless, be suffering, with 30% of representatives saying that assessments were inadequate.
Jonathan Cowlan, health and safety consultant with Pinsent Masons, said "Employers do have to undertake assessments of work stations, and that is not just the screen, it's the desk, the chair and any other furniture. It should also be specific to what the person is actually doing, and sensible adjustments have to be made for the individual."
Employers take a risk if they do not provide properly assessed work stations and provide adequate facilities for workers. Mr Cowlan added, "As well as civil actions, this is a statutory duty so employers could be prosecuted by the HSE or their local authority, or they could be served enforcement orders giving them a time period in which to fix a problem."
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