” Fast forward a few years, and hybrid work has stuck around. What hasn’t caught up quite as quickly is how we define workplace safety—and more importantly, who’s responsible when something goes wrong.
In traditional office setups, duty of care is a known quantity. Employers have clear obligations to provide a safe working environment. But when part of your team is working from home, in cafés, or from co-working spaces, those lines blur. What counts as a workplace injury now? And who’s on the hook if it happens?
These are the kinds of questions legal experts like Turner Freeman lawyers help employers and employees sort through. As work becomes less location-bound, so does liability—and that makes it crucial to rethink how duty of care applies in 2025 and beyond.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
What Exactly Is Duty of Care?
At its core, “duty of care” is a legal obligation. It means employers must take reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees while they’re performing their duties. This includes physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. In Australia, it’s more than just good practice—it’s the law, enforced through Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation in every state and territory.
In an office, fulfilling this duty might mean ergonomic furniture, fire exits, air quality standards, and trip-free walkways. But what does that look like in someone’s living room? Or at a café where they’re working for the afternoon?
The shift to hybrid work didn’t remove these obligations—it expanded them into more complex territory.
Yes, Home Is Now a Workplace (Legally Speaking)
Australian law doesn’t say a workplace must have cubicles or keycards. A workplace is anywhere an employee does their work. That could be a bedroom desk, a library bench, or even the passenger seat of a car (yes, really—if you’re working from it). This makes the employer’s duty of care location-independent, which is both a blessing and a logistical headache.
Let’s look at a real-world scenario: An employee trips on a power cord while taking a Teams call from their home office and sprains their ankle. If the injury happened during work hours while they were performing their job, it could qualify as a workplace injury—even though it happened in their own home.
The same goes for repetitive strain injuries caused by poor seating or mental health issues triggered by excessive isolation. Employers must now think beyond walls and floors—they need to create safety protocols that travel with the worker.
Where Remote Work Makes Things Tricky
The biggest challenge in hybrid duty of care? Control. Employers have far less visibility over the day-to-day setup of someone’s home office than they do over the office floorplan. That’s where reasonable effort comes into play.
The legal expectation isn’t perfection—it’s proactivity. If a claim arises, courts will look at what the employer did to assess and manage foreseeable risks. If an employer ignored safety assessments, training, or employee complaints about their home setups, they may be liable.
Here are a few areas that often trip businesses up:
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Ergonomic risks: Workers slouched on beds or dining chairs are more prone to back and wrist injuries.
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Electrical hazards: Overloaded outlets and unsafe extension cords are common in home offices.
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Mental health impacts: Remote isolation can lead to burnout, stress, and even depression if not managed well.
Hybrid work demands a hybrid safety approach—one that blends policies, check-ins, and personal accountability.
The Role of HR in Hybrid Safety
HR teams now play a more central role in workplace safety than ever before. They’re the bridge between legal compliance and practical implementation. When it comes to injury liability in hybrid work settings, here’s how HR can help minimise risk:
1. Provide Clear Guidelines
Start with a remote work safety policy that spells out expectations for home setups. Include guidance on furniture, lighting, electrical safety, and regular breaks. Make sure it's easy to understand and not buried in legal jargon.
2. Offer Virtual Ergonomic Assessments
You don’t have to send an inspector to every employee’s house. Instead, offer video calls with workplace safety consultants or physiotherapists. Even better, reimburse ergonomic chairs or adjustable desks as part of a wellness package.
3. Check In Regularly
Not just about tasks—check in on wellbeing. Schedule one-on-ones that go beyond KPIs and ask how people are coping with the hybrid setup. Employees should feel safe speaking up about aches, stress, or safety issues.
4. Encourage Reporting Early
A minor wrist twinge today can become a major carpal tunnel issue later. Train your team to report early signs of discomfort or mental fatigue, and respond with support—not skepticism.
Common Myths That Need Busting
Let’s quickly clear up some assumptions that still circulate in the HR world:
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“If it’s their home, it’s not my responsibility.”
False. The employer’s duty of care follows the employee—home or office. -
“We don’t need to worry unless someone files a complaint.”
Also false. Duty of care is proactive, not reactive. -
“Mental health doesn’t count as a work injury.”
Not true. Mental illness related to work conditions can qualify under personal injury law. -
“Independent contractors don’t apply.”
This one’s trickier. While employers don’t owe the same level of duty to contractors, there are still obligations, especially if the contractor is functionally part of your team.
Tips for Employees, Too
While this article leans toward employers and HR, it’s worth mentioning that employees also have a responsibility under WHS law. They’re expected to:
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Take reasonable care of their own safety.
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Follow procedures and policies.
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Promptly report hazards or incidents.
So, if an employee insists on working on a beanbag with a laptop for eight hours a day, despite advice to the contrary, that could influence how liability is assessed. It’s not all on the employer—but it starts with them.
What Counts as "Reasonable"?
Courts use a concept called “reasonable practicability” when evaluating duty of care. That means: what could the employer reasonably foresee, and what steps could they have reasonably taken to prevent harm?
For hybrid work, that doesn’t mean controlling every home variable. It means showing that you’ve thought about the risks, made efforts to educate and equip your team, and followed up where needed.
If you’ve ignored all safety training, dismissed complaints, or haven’t updated your workplace policies since 2019, a court may decide you didn’t meet that bar.
The Future of Hybrid Compliance
Hybrid work isn’t going away. If anything, the flexibility it offers has made it the preferred setup for many Australians. That means legal structures around duty of care will keep evolving, and smart employers will evolve with them.
In the coming years, we may see:
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More formalised home-office assessments.
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Legal templates for hybrid safety plans.
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AI-based risk detection tools (e.g., posture monitoring software).
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Industry-specific safety protocols for field workers or mobile employees.
It’s not about turning your HR team into legal experts or safety inspectors. It’s about staying proactive, informed, and employee-focused.
Photo by cottonbro studio from Pexels
Wrapping It Up
Duty of care has officially left the building—literally. And while that might feel overwhelming for employers, it’s also a chance to build better, safer, and more flexible workplaces. When safety becomes a shared value between employers and workers, it’s not just about avoiding lawsuits—it’s about keeping people healthy, motivated, and engaged.
Hybrid work is here to stay. So is the need for smart, human-centred risk management. Whether you're reviewing your safety policy or just starting to rethink what counts as a workplace, it pays to act early—and consult legal experts when in doubt. Because nothing’s more expensive than assuming you're off the hook when you're not.
