A laptop on a kitchen table for the whole day
- Raise the screen and use a separate keyboard so the neck is not bent for hours.
- Agree breaks. A policy that says “take a break” and a calendar that never allows one are different things.
DSE assessment template
A DSE assessment is for someone who uses display screen equipment as a significant part of their work. It looks at the screen, the chair, the desk, the software, the lighting, and the way the day is broken up. It is not a RAMS for a building site, and it is not a substitute for one.
The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, as amended, apply to workers who habitually use DSE. Home working does not switch the duty off. RamsBox does not generate DSE forms. This page sets out what the assessment has to cover so an office or a home workstation is not left to a one-line policy.
What it has to cover
- Who is a DSE user, decided by the work they do, not by whether they asked.
- The chair, the desk height, the screen, the keyboard and the space for the mouse.
- Lighting, glare, reflections, and noise that forces someone into a bad posture.
- The software and the pace of the work, including whether they can take breaks.
- A laptop on its own for a full day: a separate screen, keyboard or stand where the assessment says so.
- The eye test entitlement for users, and how they ask for it. Training so they can set the workstation up themselves.
Hazards and controls
Glare from a window behind the screen
- Move the screen or control the light. Do not tell the user to live with a headache.
- Reassess when they move desk or start working from home.
Relevant UK law and guidance
- Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992. Analyse workstations, reduce risks, plan breaks or changes of activity, provide eye tests for users, and give training.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The general duty still applies to office and home working.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The DSE assessment sits inside the wider duty to assess work, including home stations you do not visit every week.
Sample excerpt
User: estimator in the yard office, five hours a day on a laptop, plus site visits.
Findings: screen too low, chair has no lumbar adjustment, window behind the monitor in the afternoon.
Actions: laptop stand and keyboard this week; blinds; show them how to set the chair; review if they start doing the same hours from the kitchen.
Questions
Is a DSE assessment a legal requirement?
For workers who habitually use display screen equipment as a significant part of the normal work, the employer has to analyse the workstation. Occasional use is not the same thing. The decision should be written down so it is not remade from memory.
Who should carry out a DSE assessment?
Someone competent, often the user with a checklist and a person who will act on what they find. The user knows the aches. They may not know they are entitled to an eye test or a better chair. The employer still owns the duty.
Does home working need its own assessment?
If the home is where the DSE work is done, yes. A photograph and a conversation can be enough for a simple station. Ignoring it because you cannot see the kitchen table is not an assessment.
What is the difference between a DSE assessment and a RAMS?
DSE is the workstation and the working day at a screen. A RAMS is the plan for a task that can hurt people on a site or a premises, such as roofing or guarding. They solve different problems. Do not staple a DSE form to a scaffold method and call it covered.
Are eye tests paid for?
Users are entitled to an appropriate eye and eyesight test, and to glasses if they are needed specifically for the screen and normal glasses will not do. Special “corrective appliances” have a defined meaning in the regulations. Do not invent a broader promise than the law, and do not quietly drop the entitlement.
Can I start a RamsBox document for DSE?
No. The generator builds trade RAMS. If your business also sends people to site, start with the trade that matches that work. Keep the DSE assessment as its own record in the office.
Related
AI-assisted draft. A competent person must review it and approve it for the site before use. RamsBox does not provide health and safety advice and is not affiliated with HSE.