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Injuries in home offices are workplace accidents

Workplace Accidents - Level 4

A court ruled that getting injured at home or your home office is a workplace accident. Judges said walking from your bed to your desk in another room is a commute to work. Any injuries you get on that journey is eligible for compensation. A rule was made in a case where a man slipped down his stairs from his bedroom to his home office and broke his back. The court said the "first morning journey from bed to the home office is an insured work route".

The idea of what a workplace is changed after the pandemic. Millions of people are now working at home. This changes health and safety rules about the workplace and accidents. A question is who is responsible for ensuring a home office follows safety laws. Also, how much an employer is liable for injuries sustained in an employee's home. An expert on employment law said new legislation would be needed to decide future claims.

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Workplace Accidents - Level 5

A court has ruled that sustaining an injury at home or your home office is a workplace accident. The judges decided that walking from your bed to your desk in another room can be considered a commute to work. Any injuries sustained on that short journey can be eligible for compensation. The ruling was made in a case where a man slipped while walking down stairs from his bedroom to his home office and fractured a vertebra. The court decided that the "first morning journey from bed to the home office is an insured work route". This decision could start a rush of similar cases.

The idea of what a workplace is has changed since the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people have switched to working at home. This has implications for health and safety issues around the home workplace and accidents. One question is who is responsible for ensuring a home office satisfies safety laws. Also, to what extent an employer is liable for injuries sustained in an employee's home. An expert on employment law said new legislation would be needed to decide future claims. He told the CNN news agency that: "It seems likely that insurers will…have to revisit this ruling often."

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Workplace Accidents - Level 6

A German court has ruled that sustaining an injury while walking from your bedroom to your home office constitutes a workplace accident. The judges decided that walking a few metres from your bed to your desk in another room in your house can be considered a commute to work. As such, any injuries sustained on that short journey can be eligible for compensation payouts. The landmark ruling was made in a case where a man slipped while descending a staircase from his bedroom to his home office and fractured a vertebra. The court decided that the "first morning journey from bed to the home office is an insured work route". This decision could start a rush to get similar cases heard in courts.

The notion of what constitutes a workplace has changed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people have switched from working in offices to working at home. This has implications for health and safety issues as well as the legalities around workplace accidents. One big question concerns who is responsible for ensuring a home office satisfies safety requirements, and to what extent an employer is liable for injuries sustained in an employee's home. An expert on German employment law said new legislation would be needed to decide future claims. He told the CNN news agency that: "It seems likely that insurers will…have to revisit this ruling often."

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