Is a VDU Assessment a Legal Requirement in Ireland?
Yes. Chapter 5 of Part 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007) obliges every Irish employer to carry out an analysis — a risk assessment — of the workstation of each employee who habitually uses display screen equipment as a significant part of their normal work, and to act on the findings. The duty is enforced by the Health and Safety Authority.
The legal basis
The VDU duty sits within the General Application Regulations 2007, made under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Chapter 5 of Part 2 deals specifically with display screen equipment and requires employers to:
- Perform an analysis of each covered workstation to evaluate risks to eyesight, physical posture and mental stress, and take measures to remedy any risks found;
- Plan work so that daily screen work is periodically interrupted by breaks or changes of activity;
- Provide employees with information and training on the workstation before they start VDU work and when the workstation is significantly modified;
- Provide an appropriate eye and eyesight test on request, and special corrective appliances where needed specifically for the work, at no cost to the employee.
Which employees are covered?
Employees who habitually use a VDU as a significant part of normal work. The HSA’s guidance looks at whether the employee has no real choice but to use the VDU, normally uses it for continuous periods of more than an hour, and uses it generally daily. Most office, hybrid and remote staff in Ireland meet that test.
What an HSA inspector will look for
Consequences of non-compliance
Breaches of the 2005 Act and its regulations can lead to improvement or prohibition notices and prosecution. In practice, the larger exposure for most employers is civil: a personal injury claim for a musculoskeletal disorder is far harder to defend without assessment records showing the employer met its statutory duty.
