UK DSE Assessment Checklist 2026: The Complete Workstation Guide

If you work at a computer for any significant part of your day, your employer has a legal duty to assess your workstation. That is not a suggestion. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, amended in 2002, require every UK employer to analyse workstations, reduce risks, and ensure minimum standards are met.

This checklist covers everything a proper DSE assessment should include. Whether you are an employer running assessments, an office manager setting up new desks, or someone working from home who wants to get their setup right, this is the reference you need.

Who Needs a DSE Assessment?

Under the regulations, a DSE assessment is required for anyone who:

• Uses a computer or display screen daily as a significant part of their normal work
• Typically uses the screen continuously for an hour or more at a time
• Works from home, hybrid, or in the office (the 2002 amendment extended coverage to all locations)

That covers most office workers, developers, designers, call centre staff, and anyone else whose job revolves around a screen. If you are reading this at your desk right now, it almost certainly includes you.

Employers must also reassess when:

• A new workstation is set up or an existing one changes significantly
• A new employee starts using an existing workstation
• An employee reports discomfort, pain, or visual symptoms
• An employee returns from a long absence
• An employee becomes pregnant
• Work moves between office and home (both workstations need separate assessments)

The Checklist

Work through each section below. For each item, check whether your workstation meets the requirement. Any item that does not pass needs action.

1. Display Screen

Your screen is where your eyes spend most of the day, so getting this right matters more than almost anything else.

• Screen height — The top of the viewable area should sit at or slightly below your natural eye level. If you are looking up at the screen, your neck is under strain. If you wear progressive or bifocal lenses, the screen should be lower so you can view through the correct part of the lens without tilting your head back.
• Screen position — Directly in front of you, not off to one side. Your neck should not need to twist or rotate to see the screen.
• Viewing distance — Between 450 mm and 750 mm from your eyes, roughly arm's length. You should be able to read text comfortably without leaning forward.
• Tilt and swivel — The screen should be adjustable without tools. You need to be able to angle it to avoid reflections and find a comfortable viewing position.
• Brightness and contrast — Both should be adjustable and set to comfortable levels for the room lighting.
• Image quality — Characters should be sharp and well-defined with no visible flicker, blurring, or shimmer.
• Glare and reflections — Check from your normal seated position. No reflections from windows or overhead lights should be visible on the screen surface. Position the screen perpendicular to windows where possible.
• Window control — Blinds or curtains should be present and functional where windows cause direct glare.
• Dual monitors — If you use two screens, the primary one should be centred directly ahead. The secondary screen should be angled to minimise neck rotation, and both should sit at the same height.
• Laptops — If you use a laptop for more than an hour regularly, you need a separate keyboard and mouse plus a laptop riser or monitor stand to bring the screen to the correct height. A laptop on its own does not meet the minimum requirements for sustained use.

2. Keyboard

A poor keyboard setup is one of the most common causes of wrist and forearm problems in office workers.

• Separate from screen — The keyboard must be separate from the display for sustained use. Laptop keyboards on their own do not meet this requirement.
• Tiltable — The keyboard should have adjustable slope. However, most people should keep the feet retracted. Raising the back of the keyboard increases wrist extension, which causes more strain, not less.
• Surface finish — Matt or low-reflectance to avoid glare.
• Key legibility — Markings on keys should be clear and not worn away.
• Space in front — At least 100 mm of clear desk space in front of the keyboard for resting your wrists and forearms during pauses. This is a legal minimum requirement under the Schedule.
• Wrist position — When typing, your wrists should be straight and roughly horizontal. If they are bent upward or to the side, something needs adjusting.
• Centred position — The B key should be roughly aligned with the centre of your body. If you use a full-size keyboard with a number pad, this often means the keyboard needs to shift left.
• Wrist rest — Available if needed, but used during pauses in typing rather than while actively pressing keys. Resting your wrists on a support while typing can actually increase pressure on the carpal tunnel.

If you are experiencing wrist discomfort, an ergonomic keyboard with a split or curved layout can make a significant difference by allowing your hands to sit at a more natural angle.

3. Mouse and Pointing Devices

The mouse is often overlooked in assessments, but it is a major source of strain for many people.

• Same height as keyboard — Your mouse should sit on the same surface and at the same level as your keyboard.
• Close to the keyboard — No reaching or stretching sideways. If your mouse is far away because of a number pad, consider a compact or tenkeyless keyboard.
• Correct size — The mouse should fit your hand comfortably. Too small forces a claw grip; too large forces the hand open.
• Light grip — You should not be gripping, clenching, or tensing your hand or forearm while using the mouse.
• Smooth movement — The mouse should move freely on its surface. Replace worn mouse mats.
• Alternative devices — If you are experiencing forearm or wrist pain, consider a vertical mouse or trackball. These position the hand differently and can relieve strain on the tendons that run through the wrist.

4. Chair

Your chair is the foundation of your entire setup. An expensive screen on a cheap chair is a false economy.

• Stability — Five-star base as a minimum. The chair should not tip or wobble.
• Seat height — Fully adjustable. Set it so your forearms are approximately horizontal when your hands rest on the keyboard.
• Feet on the floor — Your feet should be flat on the floor or on a footrest. No dangling or standing on tiptoes.
• Seat depth — There should be a gap of about two to three centimetres between the front edge of the seat and the back of your knees. The seat should not press into the underside of your thighs.
• Backrest — Height and tilt should both be adjustable. The lumbar support should sit at the natural inward curve of your lower back, roughly at belt height.
• Posture angle — The backrest should support a slightly reclined or upright posture, between 90 and 110 degrees. You should not feel forced to lean forward.
• Armrests — If present, they should be set so your shoulders stay relaxed. Too high causes shrugging; too low adds nothing. They should not prevent you from sitting close enough to the desk.
• Castors — Hard castors for carpet, soft castors for hard floors. The wrong type makes it harder to move and adjust position.
• Training — This one gets missed constantly. The user must know how to adjust every control on the chair. An adjustable chair set incorrectly is worse than a basic one set right.

Browse our office chair recommendations for options that meet these requirements at every budget.

5. Desk and Work Surface

• Size — Large enough to accommodate your screen, keyboard, mouse, documents, and anything else you use without forcing you into awkward reaches or cramped positions.
• Height — Your forearms should be roughly horizontal when typing. Standard fixed desks are typically 720 to 740 mm high. If that does not work for your height, a height-adjustable desk solves the problem for both sitting and standing.
• Surface finish — Matt or low-reflectance. A glossy desk surface creates glare that adds to visual fatigue.
• Legroom — Clear space beneath the desk with no bags, boxes, cables, or pedestal units restricting leg movement or forcing awkward postures.
• Cable management — Cables should be tidy and secured. Loose cables trailing across the floor are a trip hazard, and cables draped over the desk edge can pull peripherals or restrict movement.
• Reach — Items you use frequently (phone, documents, pens) should be within easy arm's reach without stretching.
• Document holder — If you frequently type from paper documents, a document holder positioned between the screen and keyboard reduces repetitive head movements between the document and the screen.

6. Sit-Stand Working

If you have a standing desk or sit-stand converter, there are additional points to check.

• Smooth adjustment — The desk should move through its full range without sticking or requiring excessive force.
• Alternation — Standing all day is not better than sitting all day. Aim to alternate: roughly 30 to 60 minutes sitting, then 15 to 30 minutes standing.
• Anti-fatigue mat — Standing on a hard floor for extended periods causes foot and lower back discomfort. A cushioned mat helps.
• Screen recalibration — When you switch between sitting and standing, your screen height needs to change too. A monitor arm makes this adjustment easy and quick.

7. Lighting and Glare

Poor lighting causes eye strain, headaches, and fatigue. It is one of the easiest things to fix and one of the most commonly ignored.

• Overall lighting — Sufficient for your tasks without causing glare on the screen. Office lighting should typically be between 300 and 500 lux for screen-based work.
• Screen vs window — Do not face a window (causes excessive contrast and silhouetting). Do not have a window directly behind you (causes screen reflections). Side-on to windows is ideal.
• Window coverings — Blinds or curtains should be functional and actually used when needed.
• Overhead lights — Check that ceiling lights are not reflected in your screen surface. If they are, reposition the screen or fit a polarising filter.
• Task lighting — An adjustable desk lamp is useful where you need local light for reading documents without raising the ambient level and creating screen glare.
• Consistent brightness — Large contrasts between the screen and its surroundings cause the eyes to constantly readjust, which leads to fatigue. The area around your screen should not be dramatically brighter or darker than the screen itself.

8. Temperature, Ventilation, and Noise

These environmental factors are legally required to be addressed as part of a DSE assessment.

• Temperature — The Approved Code of Practice sets a minimum of 16 degrees Celsius for office-type work. The workspace should be comfortable, not too hot or too cold.
• Ventilation — Dry, stale air makes eye discomfort and headaches worse. Adequate fresh air circulation is important, especially in rooms with multiple computers generating heat.
• Humidity — Very dry environments exacerbate dry eye symptoms, which are already more common in screen users who tend to blink less. If the air is consistently dry, a humidifier may help.
• Draughts — Air conditioning vents should not blow directly onto the user.
• Noise — Equipment noise (fans, printers, other people's mechanical keyboards) should not impair concentration. If it does, reposition the workstation or address the source.

9. Breaks and Work Patterns

This is the part of the regulations that employers most often get wrong. Regulation 4 does not merely suggest breaks. It requires employers to plan work so that DSE use is periodically interrupted.

• Regular breaks are a legal requirement — Not optional, not at the employer's discretion, and not something that can be waived because the employee says they do not want breaks.
• No continuous session beyond 60 to 90 minutes — HSE guidance recommends that no uninterrupted period of screen use should exceed this. Plan work accordingly.
• Short and frequent is better — Five to ten minutes away from the screen every hour is more effective at reducing fatigue than a single long break.
• Genuine change of activity — A break means getting away from the screen, not switching to a different screen task. Filing, making a phone call while standing, or walking to the printer all count.
• The 20-20-20 rule — Every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet (about 6 metres) away for 20 seconds. This relaxes the focusing muscles in the eyes and reduces visual fatigue. It is simple, free, and effective.
• Scheduled, not discretionary — Employers must plan work so that breaks actually happen. Relying on employees to take breaks themselves is not sufficient under the regulations.

10. Eye Tests

Under Regulation 5, every DSE user in the UK has the right to a free eye test, paid for by their employer.

• On request — Any habitual DSE user can request a full eye and eyesight test at any time. The employer must arrange and pay for it.
• Full examination — This must be a proper examination by a registered optometrist, not a basic vision screening.
• Corrective lenses — If the test shows the employee needs glasses specifically for the screen viewing distance (not for general use), the employer must pay for a basic pair. If the employee chooses a more expensive frame or lens, the employer covers the basic equivalent.
• Retesting — Should be available on request, particularly if the user reports visual symptoms like headaches, difficulty focusing, or eye strain. In practice, every two years is a sensible interval.

11. Home and Hybrid Working

The 2002 amendment to the DSE Regulations extended full coverage to home workers, and HSE updated its guidance after 2020 to explicitly address hybrid arrangements. If you work from home regularly, every section of this checklist applies to your home setup.

• Full regulations apply — If you work from home daily for an hour or more continuously, your home workstation must meet the same standards as an office one.
• Separate assessment required — Your office assessment does not cover your home. Both workstations need their own assessment.
• Self-assessment is acceptable — In most cases, a trained self-assessment by the worker is sufficient. A physical visit is not usually required unless issues are identified that cannot be resolved remotely.
• Employer provides equipment — If your home workstation does not meet the minimum requirements, the employer must provide what is needed to bring it up to standard. They cannot charge you for this.
• Defined work point — Working from a sofa, bed, or kitchen stool does not meet the requirements. You need a proper chair with back support, a suitable work surface, and a screen at the correct height.
• Laptop users — At home more than anywhere, a laptop on a table without external peripherals fails the assessment. A laptop stand, separate keyboard, and mouse are the minimum.
• Reassess on change — If you move house, change rooms, or significantly alter your home setup, a new assessment is needed.
• Both locations assessed for hybrid workers — If you split time between office and home two or more days per week, HSE guidance is clear that both workstations require individual assessment.

12. Software and Task Design

This section of the regulations is frequently overlooked, but it is legally binding.

• Suitable for the task — Software should not force unnecessarily complex or repetitive operations.
• User-paced — Information should be displayed at a speed the user can manage. Systems that rush or overload the user are a risk factor.
• Feedback — The system should provide clear, timely feedback on user actions.
• Performance monitoring — If any form of automated performance monitoring is in place, this must be disclosed to the user.
• Readability — Font sizes and contrast ratios should be sufficient for comfortable reading without strain. Accessibility features (magnification, high-contrast mode) should be available where needed.

When to Reassess

A DSE assessment is not a one-off exercise. Reassessment is triggered by:

• New workstation or significant equipment change
• New user at an existing workstation
• User reports of discomfort, pain, or visual symptoms
• Return from extended absence
• Pregnancy (reassess as it progresses)
• Move between office and home, or change of home workspace
• At least annually as good practice, even without a specific trigger

Organisations with five or more employees must keep written records of their assessment findings.

Quick Reference: The Legal Requirements

Making It Right

Most DSE issues are straightforward to fix. A monitor stand raises a screen to the right height. A footrest solves the feet-not-reaching problem. An ergonomic chair with proper lumbar support transforms a workstation. A standing desk gives you the option to alternate postures throughout the day.

The regulations exist because musculoskeletal problems and visual fatigue are preventable. The assessment process is how you find the problems. The fixes are usually simple, inexpensive, and make a noticeable difference from day one.

If you are setting up a workstation from scratch or overhauling an existing one, our buying guides cover every product category with tested UK recommendations.