DSE Assessment (UK)

If your staff spend much of the day at a screen, you have a legal duty to assess their workstations. A DSE assessment is a short, practical check of the desk, chair, screen and working habits that prevents the aches, strains and eye trouble that come from poorly set up work.

What DSE means

DSE stands for display screen equipment: computers, laptops, tablets and similar screens. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 require employers to assess the workstations of anyone who is a DSE user and to reduce the risks found.

Who is a user

A user is someone who uses DSE daily, for continuous periods of an hour or more. Most office staff qualify, and so do many home and hybrid workers. If someone only uses a screen occasionally for a few minutes, the duty does not bite in the same way.

What the assessment covers

1. Screen. Position, height, brightness and glare.
2. Keyboard and mouse. Separate, within easy reach, allowing a neutral wrist.
3. Chair and posture. Adjustable chair, feet flat or on a rest, back supported, screen at eye level.
4. Desk and environment. Enough space, suitable lighting, no trailing leads.
5. Work pattern. Short frequent breaks or changes of activity away from the screen.

Eye tests and breaks

Users are entitled to an eye and eyesight test on request, and to a repeat at intervals. Where a test shows special corrective appliances are needed for the screen work, the employer pays for the basic ones. The regulations also expect work to be broken up by short breaks or changes of task, which are better taken often and briefly than rarely and at length.

Homeworking

The duty follows the worker home. For staff working from home regularly, a self completed DSE checklist is the usual way to cover the home workstation, with follow up where problems are reported.

Record it

A DSE assessment template, included in membership, gives you the checklist to issue to each user and a place to record the actions taken. For the wider picture of office hazards, see our office risk assessment guide.