The desk and chair help to meet the obligations of the Health and Safety Display Screen regulations. Notification by employees to their insurance company that they have computers at home, supplied and insured by their organisation, which they use for work. A policy that states that no business meetings should be held at home, as business visitors are not normally covered by either home or employer's insurance. Another well known example is BT, who take a different view of their Health and Safety obligations. They inspect the home workplace.
Some organisations also provide a complete home office set up service.
Others also provide and pay for the appropriate insurance for business visitors to the home. The Legal Issues One of the key difficulties facing managers adopting flexible working is the legal and tax situation for teleworkers. It seems that current UK legislation is entirely based on the assumption that employed staff work in offices owned by their employers and under their direct supervision. It is particularly surprising that the Display Screen regulations were not framed such that the obligations by employees and employer were more clear for staff based at home. The Digital approach is to rely on a questionnaire and the responsibility of the employee, rather than taking the complex and intrusive route of ensuring right of entry in the employment contract, as BT do.