A new free online tool is available to businesses and organisations in Cyprus to help assess and manage health and safety risks associated with remote work.
The OiRA (Online Interactive Risk Assessment) tool, developed by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), helps employers identify and assess risks affecting both the physical and mental wellbeing of employees, while supporting compliance with Cyprus’ teleworking legislation.
According to Vangelis Evangelou, director of SEK’s Trade Union School and head of its Safety and Health Department, remote work has become an established form of employment for many workers.
While it offers greater flexibility and reduces daily commuting, he said it also creates challenges relating to occupational safety and health.
“The fact that an employee carries out their duties from home does not mean that they are no longer exposed to occupational risks, nor does it reduce the employer’s obligations to protect them,” he said.
As part of efforts to better address these challenges, EU-OSHA has made the free OiRA risk assessment tool available to businesses and organisations in Cyprus specifically for remote work.
The application is designed to help employers identify risks associated with working from home, evaluate them and determine the preventive and protective measures required.
“Working from home can create the impression that work is being carried out in a safer and more comfortable environment. In practice, however, occupational risks do not disappear. They change,” Evangelou said.
An unsuitable workspace, prolonged computer use, inadequate lighting and poor posture can lead to health problems, particularly musculoskeletal conditions and physical strain.
At the same time, psychosocial risks are an important aspect of remote work.
“Social isolation, increased workloads, pressure to remain constantly available and difficulty separating professional from personal life can affect employees’ mental health and wellbeing,” he said.
According to Evangelou, risks must be identified early and measures introduced that genuinely protect employees, both in relation to their physical workspace and the way their duties are organised and performed.
How the tool works
OiRA has been designed to make the risk assessment process straightforward and easy to understand, particularly for small businesses that may lack specialised knowledge or sufficient resources.
The tool guides users through four main stages.
The process begins with preparation based on the characteristics and needs of the particular business or organisation.
Users are then guided through specific questions aimed at identifying potential risks associated with remote work.
Those risks are subsequently assessed before an action plan is prepared, setting out the measures that should be introduced and the resources required to implement them.
Once the process is complete, OiRA allows employers to generate both a risk assessment report and an action plan, making it easier to implement and monitor protective measures.
The tool is free to use and also allows users to explore it without registering.
Those who create an account can save their work and return to complete their assessment at a later stage.
Preventing workplace accidents and illness
“Risk assessment is not an optional procedure or simply a bureaucratic obligation. It is a fundamental requirement for the prevention of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses,” Evangelou said.
Under Cyprus’ occupational health and safety legislation, employers are required to identify and assess workplace risks and take the necessary steps to protect employees.
More specifically, the 2023 law regulating the framework for remote work requires employers to maintain an appropriate and adequate written assessment of risks arising from teleworking.
Employers must also determine appropriate preventive and protective measures and provide employees with the necessary information, guidance and training.
“Working from home does not relieve the employer of their responsibilities. Protecting employees’ safety and health remains their obligation regardless of where the work is performed,” Evangelou said.
Workers should be involved
The participation of employees themselves, as well as Safety Representatives, is also considered particularly important during risk assessments.
Workers have first-hand knowledge of the conditions under which they perform their duties and can therefore help identify problems and develop effective solutions.
SEK said it supports initiatives aimed at preventing occupational risks and improving workplace health and safety conditions.
The union said OiRA could be particularly valuable for small businesses seeking to identify and address risks associated with remote work.
However, it stressed that the usefulness of the tool ultimately depends on how seriously its findings are implemented.
Completing an online risk assessment is not enough if it is not followed by concrete measures to prevent and reduce risks.
Continuous assessment of working conditions, implementation of appropriate measures, suitable information and training, and consultation with workers and their representatives are all essential to creating a safe and healthy working environment.
SEK called on employers, Safety Representatives and workers to learn about and make use of the new tool.
“Safety and health at work are the right of every employee and must be safeguarded whether work takes place on company premises or from home,” it said.
The tool is available through the OiRA website, by selecting Cyprus as the country and Teleworking as the tool.
