Can my NHS secondment require photos of my home working setup?

[StolenPineappleCup]

Currently on a secondment within the NHS. I don't have a concrete base - it can be any premises within the Trust - but like the rest of my team work remotely at least 2 of my 4 days a week (usually 3 even). The days I would go into a base would be to specifically meet in person rather than just to work from a hot desk. My team has no permanent set up anywhere, just hot desking rooms we can book.

Since Covid when we all moved to WFH we've had to complete an annual DSE assessment for health and safety - a quick, online form - done. This year however they want photographs of our set up at home! Apparently we have to have at least a mouse, keyboard, and a monitor. My work setup is that I sit on the sofa with a laptop table and use the laptop only - it works absolutely fine for me, and I have no MSK issues, etc.

Apparently if we can't have this setup at home we will need to be in a base permanently - even though I don't have one. I feel this would massively impact my work/life balance due to commuting and also the fact I was allowed to WFH before Covid due to ASD.

I don't see how it's fair that they want to police how people work in their own homes? Aren't we all grown adults? Yes they have a HSE/duty of care role etc. but surely if you can sign and agree you're happy with your way of working they surely can't force you to change?!

(I do have a desk and chair upstairs by the way but the desk is one of those stupid angled ones that doesn't adjust for me, and the room where it is is getting renovated - I will have a new one but not until the end of the year)

Buy the desk and chair you know you eventually want and put it in that nice tidy living room. You can move it to the spare room when the spare room redecoration is finished.

Ask for your mouse, keyboard, etc order to be expedited on the grounds of yoir disability.

In my honest opinion, it is totally unprofessional to be working from a sofa and people can tell even if you use a faux background. A colleague did this in my previous job and everyone was talking about it discretely as it looked like they had rolled out of bed, downstairs and turned the laptop on.

I am not a boomer and I am not anti work from home but I do think there are appropriate standards to be met and sitting on a sofa to conduct a full time job is not suitable - let alone all the potential muscle and posture issues you’ll end up with!

In my job we don't have time to worry about whether someone is sat on a sofa - furniture police alert

Mocking it is fine until someone is off sick for 6 months on full pay with a bad back caused by their not adhering to the regulations - which in the NHS reduces efficiency for patients and costs you and I as taxpayers money. Not to mention the ability it opens up for workers to sue for a workplace injury if there are no compliance checks.

My back is just fine - leaving this thread, bored of the melodrama.

Yes, I work in the NHS and had to do a video call on my phone so I could show them.

So speaks someone who’s never had to deal with compliance, managing sickness or occupational health!

It’s simple - the OP has to comply or stop working at home. Your back and your lack of the recognition of the regulations doesn’t actually matter here.

Of course it’s ok. It’s part of their compliance measures to keep you well and safe.

do the fake thing if you need to but you’re highly liked to get a bad back/neck etc working as you do and they won’t take kindly to time off etc if you’ve just been playing the game!

Good for you. You’re clearly too important to worry about staff welfare.

It isn’t a worry but an observation. When someone is sat almost horizontal, camera at a weird angle, constantly adjusting seating position when delivering a presentation to enable senior decision making and potential investment then of course people notice as it impedes the quality of work delivered and can negate the outcomes achieved. Hardly furniture police!!!

Just ask AI to create the image you need

This

I just meant rent space for long enough to take the required pictures! 🤷‍♀️

I'm guessing you and all the others who didn't read even the OP updates, never mind the full thread, will be blaming your neurotypicality for your inability to do simple due diligence to ensure that you aren't all just repeating each other's suggestions.

Input overload is real and the OP's evident frustration, in the face of her justified worry, is a consequence of that.

I'm sorry for your poor neck! Sorry if I'm being dense but wouldn't it be ok if you had a decent office chair and a stand thing to angle the laptop or place it on something? X

A laptop riser does the job, but then I need a separate keyboard and mouse. I open my laptop to be almost flat and put it in a recipe book stand. The keyboard and touchpad are unusable in that position.

You asked "Why is using laptop at a desk or on a table worse than using a separate keyboard and monitor". Even with the recipe book stand to take away the need for a separate monitor, I need the separate keyboard and mouse.

Also, if you want a fast track to carpal tunnel syndrome, use a touchpad all day. I cannot use one for just an hour without tingling fingers.

The answer is simple then. You can't do the office set up now. So you will have to explain to them you are doing a refurb and working on the dining room table/sofa is temporary . They may ask you to work from the office until you can complete your refurb. Just accept and move on.

Reasonable adjustments go both ways, and you're not being reasonable

This drives me mad. The amount of money MSK type sickness costs all industries but definitely the NHS is staggering.

It’s a completely normal ask of you. As someone upthread said - cheat if you must but don’t ever take time off for MSK or carpal tunnel etc issues.

And will wreck your back.
Ask me how I know...

If you are renovating your spare room to make it into a suitable home office in a month or two then I dont see that harm in blagging it. Do you know anyone with a home office? Ask them to send you a picture and use that on a temporary basis until you are able to buy the correct equipment. I would send you a picture of mine but I dont use a laptop. Its a complete set up with a PC and a workstation with cubby holes for printer, scanner etc etc and looks a bit "lived in" most of the time.

I agree with the suggestions to use a photo of someone else’s desk and equipment instead. I think it’s important to work in whatever way you feel most comfortable - Ive worked from home sitting on my sofa with my laptop on my lap for almost 30 years and have yet to have any problems caused by working like that.

You do seem oddly under-equipped to WFH. I have an office, a bank of desks with two desktop computers, printer, laptop etc. Ergonomic chairs.

Everything I'd demand if doing the same work in a "workplace".

Your setup sounds unprofessional. If you don't have a suitable desk and chair, or don't have room for them, you should not be working from home.

I must be an idiot because I’ve read the thread entirely and still don’t understand why you can’t take your equipment to a friend house, or co working space.

you’ve said it’s becuase they won’t have the NHS issued equipment but then surely neither have you? Because people are suggesting you take the equipment YOU use to THEIR house to mock up a photo.

If there is particular equipment you need but do not have, your employer must supply it, otherwise if you’re free to buy it yourself, it won’t be NHS specific. So if you don’t have it, request it.

Alternatively, as has been suggested, get a desk from freecycle/super cheap from Ikea and bodge it at home for a photo. I know you feel you shouldn’t have to, but the choice appears to be source a photo or be called back into an office - your work won’t care either way, only you care. So best to proactively find a solution rather than bemoaning the unfairness of it. As the only third alternative you could speak to them and explain the situation but the risk of that is they call you in while it’s being resolved.

Im a bit confused at “I’ve had a really awful day and don’t have time for this” too. You started the thread to ask if your employer could ask for photos and you’ve overwhelmingly been told yes, they can. If you weren’t prepared to hear that, it was risky to start the thread. It seems the only answer you’ll be happy with is “no they can’t” and that’s just not the case here.