In our health and safety conscious culture it has become more and more important to be knowledgeable about the issues. Should you have an accident through whilst running the business in your home and need to claim on your insurance, then showing you know about health and safety risks and have done all you could to minimise them is a good idea. Legally you don’t need to have a written health and safety risk assessment unless you employ 5 people though a list showing you know about possible hazards and what you have done about them is a really good idea.

If you are running a home office using a computer you need to know about setting up your workstation to minimise eyestrain and repetitive strain injury, as well as possible electrical hazards (have you a surge protector fitted and checked your electrical equipment plugs and wires?) The home office if small may also have hazards for tripping and falling over boxes or cables on the floor and you may be a risk from back injury if you try to lift heavy loads incorrectly. You should also be aware of the quickest exit in case of fire. If you have a home workshop you may also need to show you are aware of risks with tool handling, and storage requirements for hazardous chemicals. Working on your own at home can also be stressful and lonely which is a major health and safety issue – and you should think about how to deal with this. (I know someone who plans a trip to the gym three times a week for health and socialising benefits). It’s worth just making a quick list of health and safety risks and noting what you can do to minimise them. If you have any doubt there is plenty of business advice available on these issues for the home business.