DSE assessments: the duty and doing it at scale

A DSE assessment is the analysis of a workstation that regulation 2 of the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 requires for every employee who habitually uses display screen equipment as a significant part of their normal work. You assess the risks, reduce them and review the assessment when something changes. DSE means display screen equipment, which covers desktop monitors, laptops, tablets and smartphones used for work. The Regulations apply in Great Britain, at home as well as in the office, and Northern Ireland has its own equivalent.

What DSE means, and who counts as a user

Regulation 1(2) of the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 defines display screen equipment as "any alphanumeric or graphic display screen, regardless of the display process involved". The duties attach to users: "an employee who habitually uses display screen equipment as a significant part of his normal work". The self-employed equivalent is an operator.

The Regulations set no number of hours. HSE treats someone as a user if they work on screen daily, for continuous periods of an hour or more (HSE, working safely with DSE). Its legal guidance, L26, applies the same criteria to part-time staff and counts a two-day-a-week employee who spends most of that time on screen as a user. Regulation 1(4) of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992 excludes drivers' cabs, screens on board transport or mainly for public operation, portable systems not in prolonged use, calculators, cash registers and other small displays, and window typewriters.

On a multi-site estate, users sit well beyond head office, including transport planners, control-room staff and the buying desk.

What the DSE Regulations require

The duties sit in regulations 2 to 7, as amended in 2002.

Duty	Where it comes from	Who it covers
Analyse workstations to assess the risks, reduce them to the lowest extent reasonably practicable, and review the analysis on the triggers set out below	Regulation 2 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992	Users at any workstation used for your undertaking, whoever provided it, and operators at workstations you provided
Make sure workstations meet the minimum requirements in the Schedule	Regulation 3 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992	Any workstation that may be used for your undertaking
Plan users' activities so their daily screen work is periodically interrupted by breaks or changes of activity	Regulation 4 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992	Users
Arrange an eye and eyesight test by a competent person on request, further tests at regular intervals, and special corrective appliances where normal ones cannot be used and the test shows a need	Regulation 5 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992	Users you employ, and employees or recruits about to become users
Give adequate health and safety training in using the workstation, before someone becomes a user and whenever the workstation's organisation is substantially modified	Regulation 6 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992	Users, and employees or recruits about to become users
Give adequate information about workstation health and safety and the measures you have taken	Regulation 7 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992	Operators and users

HSE says the employer pays for the eye test, and for glasses only when the user needs special glasses for the screen distance (HSE, eyes and eyesight testing). Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 stops you charging an employee for anything provided under a specific statutory requirement.

Breaks have no set length in law, and HSE prefers short, frequent ones. Training before someone becomes a user belongs in induction, which our post on Day Zero training for new hires covers.

What a DSE assessment covers

The Schedule to the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 sets the standard the assessment checks against. It applies each requirement only where the component is present and the task makes it appropriate.

Part of the Schedule	What it requires
Equipment	A stable, glare-free screen that swivels and tilts; a tilting keyboard separate from the screen; a work surface large enough for screen, keyboard and documents; a chair with a seat adjustable in height and a back adjustable in height and tilt, and a footrest for anyone who wants one
Environment	Space to change position, suitable lighting, adjustable window coverings, and equipment noise and heat kept below the point of distraction or discomfort
Interface	Principles to take into account: software suitable for the task and easy to use, and no checking of users' work without their knowledge

HSE says the assessment should also cover the job and any special requirements of the person, for example a disability. Employers must assess, it says, when a new workstation is set up, a new user starts, a workstation or its use changes, or users complain of pain or discomfort (HSE, workstations and assessment). HSE's DSE workstation checklist covers the requirements of the Schedule.

Regulation 2(2) of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992 requires a review where there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid, or after a significant change, and L26 counts relocating a workstation as one even when the furniture moves with it. Across several sites, office moves, refurbishments and software rollouts can each leave an assessment out of date.

The health risks HSE names are fatigue, eye strain, upper limb problems and backache (HSE, INDG36). It adds that DSE work does not cause permanent damage to eyes.

Regulation 3(6) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires an employer with five or more employees to record the significant findings of its risk assessment, and HSE's DSE leaflet applies that to DSE assessments.

Home and hybrid workers

Regulation 2(1) of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992 covers workstations used by users for your undertaking "regardless of who has provided them". A spare-room desk used by a home-working user is a workstation you must assess.

HSE's home-working guidance applies to people who work at home long term or on a hybrid pattern, and leaves out occasional or short use. For them, the guidance says (HSE, working with DSE at home):

• assess each worker individually, covering home and office where they use both;
• in most cases you need not visit, and a worker given suitable training may complete a self-assessment;
• equipment the assessment shows they need cannot be charged to them.

Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 adds the general duty to assess the risks to employees "whilst they are at work", which for a home worker means the home office. Our guide to employer duties covers that general assessment.

Doing DSE assessments at scale

Sending an assessor to every desk is one way to meet the duty. For employers with many users, HSE describes another, built on trained assessors (HSE, INDG36).

1. Decide who the users are centrally. L26 allows you to treat everyone with DSE access as a user and spend the time saved on fixing risks.
2. Assess the fixed elements by group. Under L26, chair adjustability, keyboard characteristics and the nature of the work can be assessed once for a type of equipment or a group doing the same tasks, leaving comfort and adjustment to the individual checklist.
3. Train users before they fill in a checklist, which L26 asks for whatever checklist you use.
4. Have a trained assessor review every return, clear up doubtful points and make sure problems are put right. In HSE's words, software "is not an assessment on its own".
5. Check the assessors. L26 suggests the trainer reviews a sample of each assessor's work.
6. Bring in outside expertise where L26 points to it: equipment faulty in design or use, complex workstation design, or critical tasks.

A shared desk is assessed for every user who shares it, so its chair has to adjust for the tallest and the shortest (L26). For eye tests, HSE leaves the method to you: for example, users arrange their own test and claim it back, or you send every user to one optician.

An in-house team can run this. L26 says that for many office tasks the assessment can be a judgement based on the checklist responses, and that in-house staff can act as assessors if they have, or are trained for, the abilities required.

Our one-day DSE assessor course trains your own assessors at your premises, and delegates practise an assessment on a real workstation. Our workplace DSE assessments do it for you and give you a risk-rated report per user and a prioritised action list covering equipment adjustments, replacements and eyesight test eligibility, with hybrid and home setups mapped alongside the office. Where pain persists after adjustment, occupational health is the next step.

Frequently asked questions

What is a DSE assessment? An analysis of a user's workstation, their job and their needs, made to find and reduce health and safety risks under regulation 2 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992.

What does DSE mean? DSE means display screen equipment, which regulation 1(2) of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992 defines as any alphanumeric or graphic display screen. HSE's examples are PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Can I do a DSE assessment myself? Yes, if your employer has trained you to complete the self-assessment. The duty remains with the employer, and HSE expects a trained assessor to review it.

What are the requirements for DSE assessments for home workers? The same as in the office, for a DSE user working at home long term or on a hybrid pattern. Regulation 2(1) of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992 covers workstations "regardless of who has provided them", and HSE accepts a self-assessment by a trained worker, usually without a visit.

What are four types of ill health caused by DSE? HSE names fatigue, eye strain, upper limb problems and backache, from overuse or improper use of DSE or from poorly designed workstations.

How often should a DSE assessment be reviewed? The Regulations set no fixed interval. Regulation 2(2) of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992 requires a review where there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid, or after a significant change.

Do employers have to pay for glasses for screen work? Only where the eye test shows normal glasses cannot be used. Regulation 5(5) of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992 then requires special corrective appliances, and HSE says the employer pays for a basic pair of frames and lenses.