We open our 'Ask the Experts' with two questions:

1. Are there general guidelines about what to include in a contract for ergonomics and safety?
    
2. Are you familiar with other large employers that have telecommuting programs? Can you provide specific contacts?

Question 1:

Are there general guidelines about what to include in a contract for ergonomics and safety?

Answer: 

As a general rule, most companies use the ergonomic and/or safety policy that they provide for their in-house employees.  Usually, an employee who telecommutes must provide the space to be used for the home-office, and the company provides the equipment.  Therefore, the guidelines for ergonomics and safety that apply to an in-house employee can be equally applied to a teleworker. The employer is responsible for providing a safe work environment, so we suggest that the employer develop a policy that includes a home inspection checklist to ensure that the space provided by the employee follows safety and ergonomic guidelines.  This list would include such items as work station set-up, safety, security, etc.  In addition, the employer can develop a policy that specifically states that the employee is responsible for maintaining the safety of the office space.

In terms of ergonomics, The St. Paul Companies Risk Management suggests that if a company is unsure about what to provide for the telecommuter, the first investment should be an ergonomic chair. Beyond that, we have found that companies have tended to provide a greater amount of equipment to teleworkers who spend more time working at home than in the office.  That is, an employee who works at home four days a week will be provided with more equipment than an employee who works at home two days a week. In short, a company can make its telecommuting policy as specific or as general as they wish.  The most important "guidelines" of the policy deal with the safety of the home-office, who owns the equipment that is being used and who is responsible for the maintenance and damage repair (if any). In general, the employer is not responsible for maintenance and damage that occurs with employee-owned equipment.  These issues can, and should, be addressed in the policy agreement.

Question 2:

Are you familiar with other large employers that have telecommuting programs? Can you provide specific contacts?

Answer: Yes, we are familiar with many large employers who have telecommuting programs.  MITE has trained a total of 12,000 employers over almost 9 years. A few references that may be of help to you:

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