The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 992 implement an EC Directive and came into effect from January 99 (some small changes were made in 2002). The Regulations require employers to minimise the risks in VDU work by ensuring that workplaces and jobs are well designed.

The Regulations apply where staff habitually use VDUs as a significant part of their normal work. Other people, who use VDUs only occasionally, are not covered by the requirements in the Regulations (apart from the workstation requirements). However, their employers still have general duties to protect them under other health and safety at work legislation.

Employers have to:

• Analyse workstations, and assess and reduce risks;
  

• Look at the whole workstation including equipment, furniture, and the work environment; the job being done;
  

• Any special needs of individual staff.
  

• Ensure workstations meet minimum requirements
  

Office Wise can assess all the worstations in you office and provide a report highlighting potential problems and advising staff on best practise and practical ways of imroving they workstation layout and working practice.