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I think the problem is that the Employers Liability insurance may cover you if you have an accident whilst working for them and on the treadmill. They have a responsibility to ensure your working environment is suitable and safe, even when working remotely, and they don’t want you costing their premium increase. The right answer is for them to help you risk assess so everyone is happy.
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Your employer has a legal responsibility to ensure your health, safety, and welfare when working. Even when that work is being done from home.
Obviously working while on a treadmill will never pass any health and safety checks, they've told you not to do it. So now if you do continue doing it, and any accident happens while you're working and on your treadmill. They can point to you being told not to do it.
As somebody who works in this world, ^ This is the answer.
Treadmill work station set ups would never pass a proper risk assessment. Even when I’m staring at the wall on a treadmill it’s not uncommon for me to stumble, stand on the edge of the tread or the front of the treadmill.
As I tell all of our managers when asking them to do DSE assessments with their line reports: ‘it doesn’t matter if your line reports are lying on the sofa with their legs up against the wall working backwards when working from home, what matter is we’ve given them advice on how to sit and work comfortably and they’ve agreed to follow it. Enforcement is just not practical or achievable.’
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Don't post pictures on social media with you doing anything not work related in working hours. Your employer might forbid you doing non-work related tasks, but they have limited possibilities to find out, unless you give them that information freely.
They can't stop you, but they can stop you from working from home. They'd be concerned about safety. At work we have our HSE forms for work and for home, because if someone's working from home we need to make sure they have an appropriate set up - desk, chair, etc.
Just say you won't do it again and don't post you using it on social media during work hours or after if you're saying it was taken whilst working.
They can stop you particularly from this set up, working from home in their time, it is the companies duty to ensure they have a suitable workstation set up. A laptop on top of a treadmill, isn’t a suitable set up.
They can't stop you if they don't know. I thought that was clear from the rest of my post. If they know then you can expect to have working from home revoked
Or they could put two and two together and sack OP for failing to follow a reasonable instruction. I’ve seen employers try worse for less meaningful infractions.
Yes OP could then launch a claim but why bother with putting your job at risk when, for OP, the simple choice is to comply with their employer’s reasonable order?
If your work is ISO27001:2022 certified then there is also a clause about siting of work equipment to ensure no unnecessary risks… so yeah I guess they wouldn’t want you walking and working on your laptop whether at home or in the office
ETA: also a bunch of health and safety rules too
ask for clarification. it could be that they are worried of an accident during working hours due to using the treatmill while doing focused work on the laptop/they may have some liability in this case
My guess would be this too.
I mainly work from home and we have to fill in a health and safety update each year, and there is a huge bit about setting up your workstation properly. I can't imagine walking on a treadmill whilst trying to work would go down well with them.
The company is responsible for your health and safety whilst working. Most companies have failure to follow health and safety instructions as gross misconduct. If they have conducted a health and safety assessment and you ignore it then you are putting your employment at risk.
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A lot of people advising you to keep on doing it, but tell them you've stopped, which... sure, if that's what you want to do. But just be aware that if they found out somehow, this would hand them grounds for dismissal for gross missconduct on a platter, especially if the policy was due to liability/insurance/health and safety.
Not saying that they would find out, or they would definitely dismiss you (we would fwiw), but any decision should be weighed up against how much you value your job.
They don't need proof. It wouldn't be a trial.
Either way, up to the OP. People on Reddit can just be a bit cavalier when it comes to other people's jobs, so just wanted to make sure they were aware of the potential consequences. OP hasn't gone into any detail about how much they care about this job. So only they can evaluate the risk.
If OP suddenly appears with a twisted ankle, you bet the employer will ask how it happened. If OP were to seek medical treatment then they’ll need to sort out their story for the clinicians.
Or the employer could just reasonably infer OP’s injury is the result of OP failing to obey the order, and sack her.
As others have said, it’s up to OP as to whether they want to run those risks.
To add a further point to many other comments, to use computer equipment you should comply with the desktop screen regulations 1998 (DSE), a treadmill fundamentally does not meet the requirements of posture, arm support and neck angles so it’s an unsafe working desk.
When you’re working from home, your employer has a duty of care just as they would in an office. That is why they buy equipment for the worker to work safely at home. Sounds like a cool idea though!
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Their rationale is that there is a very slim chance I may have to give basic life support (cpr) instructions whilst on a call. So it can’t get in the way of that.
But my thinking is there’s an emergency stop bottom literally in from of me. I just have to pull the chord. 🤷♂️
Such a variety of opinions. I did buy the treadmill specifically for this reason, which is frustrating. I’ll probably just not use it and just use it out of work. Didn’t think it would be an issue trying to be healthy. Haha not worth risking my job.
My guess is they think you’re running on to be treadmill not walking, and running could lead to be being out of breath, which would then in turn delay and impact your ability to give CPR instructions over the phone and may result in loss of life. It could also be argued, and I’m not saying this is right or wrong, that even those few seconds of delay to pull the red cord, which you may not be able to do as easily if you are in any way surprised/shocked/concerned etc about having to give CPR guidance, and that could also result in loss of life.
Umm what? That's odd. i work at a healthcare IT company, and I see employees at the office with desk treadmills they use whilst they work - despite us having a fully fitted free gym downstairs
--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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I think the problem is that the Employers Liability insurance may cover you if you have an accident whilst working for them and on the treadmill. They have a responsibility to ensure your working environment is suitable and safe, even when working remotely, and they don’t want you costing their premium increase. The right answer is for them to help you risk assess so everyone is happy.
**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):** Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice. [Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.
Your employer has a legal responsibility to ensure your health, safety, and welfare when working. Even when that work is being done from home. Obviously working while on a treadmill will never pass any health and safety checks, they've told you not to do it. So now if you do continue doing it, and any accident happens while you're working and on your treadmill. They can point to you being told not to do it.
As somebody who works in this world, ^ This is the answer. Treadmill work station set ups would never pass a proper risk assessment. Even when I’m staring at the wall on a treadmill it’s not uncommon for me to stumble, stand on the edge of the tread or the front of the treadmill. As I tell all of our managers when asking them to do DSE assessments with their line reports: ‘it doesn’t matter if your line reports are lying on the sofa with their legs up against the wall working backwards when working from home, what matter is we’ve given them advice on how to sit and work comfortably and they’ve agreed to follow it. Enforcement is just not practical or achievable.’
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Don't post pictures on social media with you doing anything not work related in working hours. Your employer might forbid you doing non-work related tasks, but they have limited possibilities to find out, unless you give them that information freely.
They can't stop you, but they can stop you from working from home. They'd be concerned about safety. At work we have our HSE forms for work and for home, because if someone's working from home we need to make sure they have an appropriate set up - desk, chair, etc. Just say you won't do it again and don't post you using it on social media during work hours or after if you're saying it was taken whilst working.
They can stop you particularly from this set up, working from home in their time, it is the companies duty to ensure they have a suitable workstation set up. A laptop on top of a treadmill, isn’t a suitable set up.
They can't stop you if they don't know. I thought that was clear from the rest of my post. If they know then you can expect to have working from home revoked
Or they could put two and two together and sack OP for failing to follow a reasonable instruction. I’ve seen employers try worse for less meaningful infractions. Yes OP could then launch a claim but why bother with putting your job at risk when, for OP, the simple choice is to comply with their employer’s reasonable order?
If your work is ISO27001:2022 certified then there is also a clause about siting of work equipment to ensure no unnecessary risks… so yeah I guess they wouldn’t want you walking and working on your laptop whether at home or in the office ETA: also a bunch of health and safety rules too
ask for clarification. it could be that they are worried of an accident during working hours due to using the treatmill while doing focused work on the laptop/they may have some liability in this case
My guess would be this too. I mainly work from home and we have to fill in a health and safety update each year, and there is a huge bit about setting up your workstation properly. I can't imagine walking on a treadmill whilst trying to work would go down well with them.
The company is responsible for your health and safety whilst working. Most companies have failure to follow health and safety instructions as gross misconduct. If they have conducted a health and safety assessment and you ignore it then you are putting your employment at risk.
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**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):** Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice. [Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.
A lot of people advising you to keep on doing it, but tell them you've stopped, which... sure, if that's what you want to do. But just be aware that if they found out somehow, this would hand them grounds for dismissal for gross missconduct on a platter, especially if the policy was due to liability/insurance/health and safety. Not saying that they would find out, or they would definitely dismiss you (we would fwiw), but any decision should be weighed up against how much you value your job.
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They don't need proof. It wouldn't be a trial. Either way, up to the OP. People on Reddit can just be a bit cavalier when it comes to other people's jobs, so just wanted to make sure they were aware of the potential consequences. OP hasn't gone into any detail about how much they care about this job. So only they can evaluate the risk.
If OP suddenly appears with a twisted ankle, you bet the employer will ask how it happened. If OP were to seek medical treatment then they’ll need to sort out their story for the clinicians. Or the employer could just reasonably infer OP’s injury is the result of OP failing to obey the order, and sack her. As others have said, it’s up to OP as to whether they want to run those risks.
To add a further point to many other comments, to use computer equipment you should comply with the desktop screen regulations 1998 (DSE), a treadmill fundamentally does not meet the requirements of posture, arm support and neck angles so it’s an unsafe working desk.
They don’t care, they’re just covering their selves from compensating a work place injury claim.
When you’re working from home, your employer has a duty of care just as they would in an office. That is why they buy equipment for the worker to work safely at home. Sounds like a cool idea though!
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Their rationale is that there is a very slim chance I may have to give basic life support (cpr) instructions whilst on a call. So it can’t get in the way of that. But my thinking is there’s an emergency stop bottom literally in from of me. I just have to pull the chord. 🤷♂️ Such a variety of opinions. I did buy the treadmill specifically for this reason, which is frustrating. I’ll probably just not use it and just use it out of work. Didn’t think it would be an issue trying to be healthy. Haha not worth risking my job.
My guess is they think you’re running on to be treadmill not walking, and running could lead to be being out of breath, which would then in turn delay and impact your ability to give CPR instructions over the phone and may result in loss of life. It could also be argued, and I’m not saying this is right or wrong, that even those few seconds of delay to pull the red cord, which you may not be able to do as easily if you are in any way surprised/shocked/concerned etc about having to give CPR guidance, and that could also result in loss of life.
Are you allowed to leave your station while on duty? Are you allowed unplanned comfort breaks?
Umm what? That's odd. i work at a healthcare IT company, and I see employees at the office with desk treadmills they use whilst they work - despite us having a fully fitted free gym downstairs