Photo: RNZ
Data from ACC shows that there have been 200,000 ACC claims paid for people injured while working from home since the start of 2019.
The number had trended down, from 35,896 new claims in 2019 to 35,336 in 2021, 30,711 in 2023 and 24,309 in the year to date.
In 2019, there were almost 50,000 active claims, which can include claims made in previous years for which payments were still being made.
Injuries caused by things such as lifting and carrying were most common, with 6720 this year so far. That was followed by loss of balance and puncture injuries.
Most injuries were soft tissue injuries, followed by lacerations, punctures and stings. Just over 770 people in the year to date have suffered a fracture or dislocation while working from home.
Almost 300 suffered burns.
The lower back and spine was the most common injury site, followed by fingers and thumbs.
Work-from-home claims in the years from 2019 to 2024 totalled more than $800 million.
ACC injury prevention programme lead James Whitaker said injuries were more likely to happen in people's own homes than anywhere else.
"Slips, trips and falls are the biggest contributor to injuries in New Zealand. About 770,000 New Zealanders get injured from a slip, trip or fall in any given year, and home is the most common place for that to occur.
"We know that walking before a fall is the most common prior activity, which means these injuries are likely due to multi-tasking.
"If you're walking around and you're looking at your cell phone, for example, and trying to text someone back, or you're checking the surf forecast or whatever you're doing, you're going to increase your chance of having a slip, trip or fall, compared to if you're just walking around and looking where you're going."
Jim Roberts, a partner at Hesketh Henry, said employers had a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure as far as was reasonably practicable the health and safety of staff.
That was not limited to work premises and should include working from home, he said.
The term 'reasonably practicable' means the employer must make an assessment of the likelihood of the hazard or risk (that working remotely may pose) occurring, the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or risk, what the employer should have known about the hazard or risk, including how the risk could be eliminated or minimised including the availability of minimising the risk and then and only after a thorough assessment, the costs associated with eliminating, or minimising, the risk.
"A helpful rule of thumb is - the greater the risk, the more is expected to be done about it. Employers should note that hazards or risks working from home may pose are not limited to those that may cause physical harm. Workers who work from home may face social isolation and psycho-social harm as a result. Employers should be aware of these when conducting a risk assessment.
"Obviously, home is not the employer's workplace, and they have a limited ability to control and manage risks. Employers will be heavily reliant on self-reporting from their workers. Workers have a corresponding duty to ensure their own health and safety while working, which goes hand in hand with the employer's obligation."
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