A DSE assessment tells you what to buy.
Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments identify the chairs, screens and desk setup a role actually needs, before an order goes in. For office managers and owner-operators buying UK office furniture.
What a DSE assessment covers, and who needs one
This applies in the United Kingdom, under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The regulations set out what an employer must do for anyone whose work relies on a screen, and a DSE assessment (display screen equipment assessment) is the check that shows whether a particular workstation meets that standard.
Who needs one
The regulations apply to a DSE user: someone who uses a screen as a significant part of their normal work, usually daily, for continuous spells of an hour or more. Someone spending most of a shift on data entry or case management is a user in this sense, whereas someone who checks email for ten minutes between other tasks usually is not. The test is how the work is actually done.
What the assessment covers
A DSE assessment looks at the whole workstation: the screen and its position, the chair and how it supports the person using it, the desk height, the lighting, and the software the person works with day to day. It also covers how the work is organised, including whether there are natural breaks or changes of activity away from the screen.
What HSE requires of the employer
- Assess workstations used by DSE users, and act on the risks that assessment finds.
- Provide adjustable, suitable equipment where the assessment shows it is needed.
- Give users information about the risks and how their workstation is set up to reduce them.
- Offer eye tests on request to anyone who is a DSE user, and pay for glasses if the test shows they are needed for the screen work.
- Review the assessment when a workstation, the work, or the person doing it changes.
None of this depends on a particular chair or screen being bought first. The assessment sets out what the workstation needs; the equipment is chosen to meet that finding, which is worth knowing before a purchase order is raised. HSE's own guidance sets out the detail behind each of these duties, and is the reference to check: HSE guidance on display screen equipment. This page describes what HSE requires; it is not a substitute for a workstation assessment carried out for a specific person and role.
Furniture specs before and after a DSE assessment
The left-hand column is a common starting point when furniture is bought without an assessment. The right-hand column shows what a DSE assessment typically changes on the same item.
| Item | Typical starting spec | After the assessment | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | Fixed-height chair chosen on look or budget, often the same model for every desk | Seat height, depth and lumbar support adjusted to the person using it, with armrests set or removed to suit | Whether the adjustment range actually fits the person |
| Screen | Laptop screen used on its own, sitting wherever it landed on the desk | Screen raised to eye level, usually on a stand, riser or arm, and positioned an arm's length away | Height and distance together, not height alone |
| Desk | Fixed-height desk sized to fit the room | Desk height matched to the seated user, or a sit-stand desk where the assessment flags long periods of static sitting | Clearance for knees and feet once the chair is set correctly |
| Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and mouse laid out however they arrived in the box | Repositioned so forearms stay level with the desk and wrists sit straight while typing | Whether a separate wrist support is needed or the layout alone solves it |
| Footrest and accessories | Not part of the original order | Added where the assessment finds the user's feet don't reach the floor once the chair and desk heights are correct | Whether the need comes from the chair setting or from the desk height itself |
This is general guidance on the kind of changes a DSE assessment commonly leads to, not a record of a specific assessment. What a particular workstation needs depends on the person using it.
Find a UK office furniture supplier before you order
Each entry sets out what a supplier actually stocks and works well for, so you can match a chair or a screen to the assessment.