Written by Rick Gregory, Editorial Lead · Legal information checked in collaboration with Edward & Amaury Solicitors (SRA 800525) · September 2026 · ~5 min read

Quick Summary

Employers still owe a duty of care to workers carrying out work from home, though these claims are generally more fact-specific than a claim arising at a traditional workplace
A key question is whether your employer assessed the risks of your home working setup, particularly for injuries linked to your workstation, equipment, or the specific task you were doing
Purely domestic accidents unconnected to work — tripping over your own pet, an unrelated household hazard — generally aren't claimable, because the injury needs to be connected to your employer's failure, not just to have happened during working hours
Evidence and documentation matter more for home-working claims, since there's no independent workplace record of conditions the way there would be on employer premises

Can I claim for an injury that happened while working from home?

Potentially, yes — but the position is genuinely more fact-dependent than for an accident at a traditional workplace. Your employer's duty of care doesn't disappear because you're working from your own home; the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and related regulations still apply to home working, and your employer retains obligations to assess and manage risks connected to the work itself.

The key legal question is the same as for any claim: did your employer's failure to take reasonable care cause your injury? The complication with home working is that your employer has far less visibility of, and control over, your physical environment than they would over their own premises — which affects both what can reasonably be expected of them and what evidence is available afterwards.

What kinds of home-working injuries are more likely to support a claim?

Workstation-related injuries — repetitive strain, back or neck problems arising from an unsuitable desk, chair, or screen setup, particularly where your employer never carried out a display screen equipment (DSE) risk assessment for your home setup
Equipment your employer provided that was faulty, unsuitable, or not properly maintained
Specific work tasks your employer directed you to carry out at home that carried a foreseeable risk they failed to address

What's generally not claimable?

Purely domestic accidents unconnected to the work itself — tripping over your own belongings, a fall unrelated to any work task, or a pre-existing hazard in your home your employer had no knowledge of or responsibility for — are unlikely to support a claim, because the necessary link to your employer's breach of duty isn't there. The accident needs to be connected to the work or the working environment your employer was responsible for assessing, not simply to have happened during working hours at home.

Did my employer have to do a risk assessment for my home setup?

Employers are generally expected to carry out a suitable DSE assessment for home workers using display screen equipment regularly, and to take reasonable steps to address issues it identifies — for example, providing a proper chair or advising on desk setup. If no assessment was ever carried out, and your injury relates to your workstation, this can be central to establishing your employer's failure.

What evidence should I gather?

Any correspondence about your home working arrangement, equipment provided, or requests you made for equipment or assessment
Photographs of your workstation setup at the time of the injury
Medical records, particularly for gradually developing conditions like RSI or back pain
Records of any DSE assessment carried out — or evidence that none was
A description of the specific task or equipment you were using when the injury occurred

Does the same time limit apply?

Yes — the standard three-year limitation period applies, running from the date of the accident or, for gradually developing conditions, from the date you knew or ought to have known the condition was linked to your work.

Frequently asked questions

Does my employer need to inspect my home?

Not typically in a physical sense, but they are expected to take reasonable steps to understand and manage risks connected to home working — for example, through a DSE self-assessment questionnaire, and by responding appropriately to any issues raised.

What if I'm fully remote and never asked for equipment?

If you were never offered an assessment or the opportunity to request suitable equipment, that omission itself may be relevant to whether your employer met their duty.

Is this area of law well established?

The underlying principles are the same ordinary negligence principles that apply to any workplace, but home and hybrid working claims are a genuinely evolving area given how much home working has grown — this is exactly the kind of situation worth getting a specific, honest assessment on rather than assuming a general rule applies.