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Around one in five workers over 55 regularly works from home, according to a TUC analysis of official figures published last week on National Work From Home Day, organised by Work Wise UK. These figures make a mockery of the Tory government plans to exempt self employed people and those working from home, from health and safety protection.
Furthermore, a significant proportion of home workers are self-employed. While home working is increasing across all age groups, older workers are by far the most likely to work from home. Workers over 55 years of age are more than twice as likely to work from home (19.7 per cent) as those under 35 (8.6 per cent). Setting up a work station at home can be hard for those who have families and/or live in cramped shared accommodation, whilst early-years childcare commitments can also get in the way of home working. Chris Ingram, Unionsafety web editor and formerly health & safety officer in CWU Liverpool District Clerical Branch said: " Further increased risks to the health of the home worker comes from the so-called ‘DSE Desks’ being sold by many providers of not only furniture, but also stationers and office supply companies. These are too often the source of employee provided home workstations, and will cause musculosketal disorders at some point in their use as a result of the inability of the user to attain the correct seating position, height and distance from the keyboard and screen, not to mention other equipment such as telephone etc." He added: "The majority are simply not ergonomic in design, and contrary to the claims made by the suppliers and manufacturers; have had no one with any knowledge of safe computer working at home, anywhere near the design process." Exempting self employed and home workers in particular from health & safety law, advice and guidance is an appalling indictment of this government’s understanding of protecting the health and safety of working people.
Inevitably, the attitude of employers toward homeworkers will also change when it comes to providing office equipment, risk assessing it, and monitoring the health and safety of their homeworkers. The TUC’s research shows that around one in five employees who are never able to work from home say they would like to do so. But despite the advances that some major companies have made with home working, far too many employers are still reluctant to trust their workers enough to give it a try. Problems with the transport infrastructure of the country, and particularly in London, have been highlighted by the forthcoming Olympic Games this summer Up to six million more people are expected to need to travel in connection with the Olympics so many employees may have no choice but to change their working patterns. There is a risk that once the mass migration of employees to home working is found to be an advantage to the employer, it will be unlikely those workers will return to normal office based working; and could face the loss of health and safety protection at work.
"There is a huge demand from staff for more flexible working practices but too often they are held back by out-of-date attitudes and a lack a trust from bosses. "But everyone can benefit from modernising the workplace. Working from home can help workers cut out the stressful and expensive commute. Employers who have already taken the plunge have gained improved productivity and staff motivation. And it will also reduce congestion and help the Olympics to run smoothly. "With just 70 days are left until the opening ceremony employers still have time to plan smarter working practices, but there is now a sense of urgency.
"As the employment market emerges from the downward trend, the way in which people work will have changed significantly. Increasingly, It is becoming the norm for employees to work away from the office, with 'presenteeism' becoming a thing of the past. Managers habits and controls must change in order to maintain this momentum." However, neither of them have considered the health & safety impact on the workers involved; and the government’s dismissal of the need for good health and safety practice being maintained by homeworkers and the responsibility of their employers to ensure this is the case. Source: TUC / Work Wise
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The TUC analysis shows that the number of home workers has grown steadily during the past decade, from around three million in 2001 to 3.8 million by the end of 2011 - up 765,000 (25.4 per cent) over the decade. 
Currently, musculosketal disorders come second in the list of major causes of work related ill-health. With the guidance to both employees and employers being removed from the HSE website, inevitable given the government’s stance on self employment and homeworking; there will no doubt be a large increase in work related upper limb disorders, and incidences of chronic back pain.
However, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 
Work Wise UK Chief Executive Phil Flaxton said: