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Module 2 of 8 · 20 min

What the employer must do: assess, breaks and training

Free display screen and telework course: read the module, review with the questions and move on to the next one. At the end, a test and a PDF certificate.

Module 2 of 8 · Course contents

Assess the risk (article 3.2)

The employer must assess the risks of the workstation, looking above all at eyesight, physical problems and mental workload, and how they add up. The assessment takes into account in particular:

  1. The average daily time using the equipment.
  2. The maximum time of continuous attention to the screen the task requires.
  3. The degree of attention the task demands.

Breaks or a change of task (article 3.3)

If there is a risk, the employer must reduce the maximum length of continuous screen work: organise the day so it alternates with other tasks or, if that is not possible or not enough, set the necessary breaks. How many and how long can be set by your collective agreement (article 3.4); check yours.

Training and information (article 5)

  • Training on how to use the equipment before you start and whenever the workstation changes noticeably.
  • Information on the risks and the measures taken.
  • Like all prevention training, it is free for you and during working hours (Law 31/1995, article 19).
In practiceIn a call centre you answer non-stop and the system puts the next call through automatically. That is exactly the case where the assessment must provide breaks, because you cannot switch to another task.

Source: Real Decreto 488/1997, sobre trabajos con equipos que incluyen pantallas de visualización (work with display screen equipment; consolidated text, in Spanish), articles 3 and 5 · Ley 31/1995, de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales (Law on the Prevention of Occupational Risks, in Spanish), article 19

Quick review

Check that you've understood. These are questions from the final test: tap an answer to see whether it's right and why.

Which risks must the assessment of a screen workstation look at in particular?

If the assessment finds a risk, what must the employer do about continuous screen work?

Where can the number and length of breaks be set?

Course contents