The office desk is no longer the only desk. From kitchen counters to co-working pods, work happens wherever there’s Wi-Fi. While hybrid work has brought flexibility and freedom, it’s also raised a tricky question: who’s liable when someone gets hurt at home?
Sydney businesses have been quick to embrace remote models, but many still haven’t caught up with the legal fine print. Workplace safety isn’t confined to a CBD address anymore—and neither is employer responsibility. Whether it’s a back injury from an uncomfortable chair or a fall on a home staircase during work hours, personal injury law hasn’t left the chat.
And firms like Turner Freeman in Sydney are already helping employers and employees navigate this evolving legal terrain. Rather than waiting for claims to pile up, many forward-thinking companies are updating their policies, auditing remote setups, and taking a more holistic view of workplace duty of care.
Let’s break down what this new era of liability actually looks like—and what Sydney’s employers need to start doing now.
Remote Doesn’t Mean Risk-Free
It’s easy to assume that if someone’s not in the office, they’re outside your responsibility as an employer. But that’s not how Australian law sees it. The legal definition of a “workplace” extends to any location where an employee performs their duties. That means if someone slips on a power cord in their home office during business hours, that’s potentially a workplace injury.
The same legal obligations around duty of care, risk assessments, and safe work systems apply. It’s just that now, those responsibilities are harder to see—and easier to overlook.
A 2023 case in NSW saw an employer found partially liable after an employee developed a repetitive strain injury while working remotely on a non-ergonomic setup. The company hadn’t followed up after the initial work-from-home approval, and the court found that it failed to take “reasonable steps” to ensure a safe environment.
So no, remote work isn’t a free pass. It’s just a more complicated playing field.
What “Duty of Care” Looks Like Now
Before hybrid work became the norm, safety was largely a matter of checklists, walk-throughs, and mandatory training sessions. Now, those controls are more scattered. Employers can’t exactly show up to inspect every home office, but that doesn’t mean they’re off the hook.
Here’s what duty of care can look like in the hybrid era:
- Ergonomic assessments – Not in person, but via photo submissions, video walkthroughs, or employee checklists.
- Work-from-home policies – Clear documentation outlining responsibilities, hours, communication protocols, and safety expectations.
- Mental health check-ins – Because psychological injuries are real—and remote work can amplify stress or isolation.
- Training – Not just how to use tools, but how to recognise and reduce risks in a home environment.
Companies that treat this as a compliance box-tick are missing the bigger picture. The smartest employers see it as an extension of culture—a chance to show they care, even when they can’t be in the room.
The Rise of Hybrid Claims: What’s Actually Happening
Legal professionals across Sydney are already seeing an uptick in claims that stem from hybrid work complications. These fall into three main categories:
1. Physical injuries at home
Think slips, strains, and falls. Some are tied to poor home setups, others to blurred boundaries—like working on the couch or multitasking with toddlers nearby.
2. Commute-related incidents
If someone is injured while traveling between home and a co-working hub during work hours, liability can become murky. Is it a commute? Is it work-related? That grey area matters.
3. Psychological injuries
Employees struggling with anxiety, burnout, or harassment (even via Slack) may file for compensation if they can show that work conditions contributed to their mental health decline.
These aren’t hypothetical issues. They’re real claims that require real legal clarity. And that’s where expert legal guidance becomes essential.
Why Employers Should Care Before the Court Does
Waiting for a claim to land on your desk is a costly way to learn. There are faster—and much cheaper—ways to future-proof your business.
Failing to take reasonable precautions can lead to:
- Workers’ compensation payouts
- Fines under WHS (Work Health and Safety) laws
- Damage to reputation and internal morale
- Higher insurance premiums
But proactive companies are flipping the script. They’re using hybrid safety as a competitive advantage. Updating policies shows leadership. Offering ergonomic equipment or mental health support signals care. And working with legal advisors ensures those efforts are actually defensible if something goes wrong.
How Sydney Employers Are Responding
Some local businesses are already setting a smart precedent. Here’s what’s showing up across Sydney boardrooms and HR departments:
- Stipends for home office gear – Chairs, desks, monitors, and even lighting setups are being reimbursed to reduce injury risk.
- Hybrid WHS audits – External consultants (sometimes working alongside legal firms) assess safety remotely through employee-submitted data.
- Culture shifts – Encouraging clearer work hours, protected breaks, and digital disconnection to combat burnout.
Many of these changes have been shaped—or at least accelerated—by legal professionals pointing out the gaps. Legal review is no longer a final step; it’s baked into the policy creation process itself.
What Employees Need to Know, Too
It’s not just employers who need to stay sharp. Employees also have responsibilities when working from home. That includes:
- Keeping work areas tidy and hazard-free
- Taking breaks to avoid strain
- Using safe equipment
- Following any employer-issued safety guidelines
If they’re injured while clearly ignoring safety advice—or engaging in personal activities—their claim may not hold. The same principles of “contributory negligence” still apply, even if the living room is the new office.
But when both sides are informed, accidents are not just less likely—they’re easier to resolve fairly.
The Turner Freeman Perspective: Prevention and Preparedness
Legal firms like Turner Freeman aren’t just about taking cases to court. They’re also helping Sydney businesses prevent cases in the first place.
From reviewing remote work policies to advising HR teams on safety documentation, their expertise is becoming a cornerstone of hybrid strategy. Especially for employers who want to get ahead of potential risks rather than react to them.
Turner Freeman’s history in handling personal injury law means they understand how workplace injuries—physical or psychological—are investigated, argued, and compensated. That insight lets them advise not only on legal response, but on smart policy design to reduce legal exposure from the start.
Three Simple Steps for Getting It Right
For employers who want a safe and legally sound hybrid environment, it’s not about perfection—it’s about progress. Here are three easy steps to start with:
1. Update your remote work policy
Include safety expectations, reporting procedures, equipment provisions, and clear boundaries. Then review it annually with input from legal experts.
2. Offer optional ergonomic assessments
You don’t need to inspect every home, but a voluntary self-assessment (with photos or a checklist) shows proactive effort.
3. Train managers on remote WHS issues
Make sure your leadership team knows how to spot risks—from burnout to poor setups—and how to escalate concerns appropriately.
You don’t need a full legal department to take these steps—just a commitment to doing better than the bare minimum.
Final Thoughts: Liability Is a Shared Future
Hybrid work isn’t going away. If anything, it’s becoming the standard. That means liability isn’t an exception—it’s part of how modern businesses need to think.
Employers who understand that—and who take responsibility for the whole work experience, not just the parts that happen on-site—are setting themselves up for better outcomes. Not just legally, but culturally.
The takeaway? Legal protection and human decency aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, in the hybrid era, they’re part of the same strategy.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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