Best Office Chairs Europe

The Display Screen Equipment Directive and your office chair

The EU's 1990 directive on screen work is still the legal floor for office chairs at work. Its chair requirements fit in four sentences.

Updated By The Best Office Chairs Europe editorial team8 sources

Council Directive 90/270/EEC requires employers to give display screen workers a chair that is stable and allows easy freedom of movement and a comfortable position, with a seat adjustable in height and a seat back adjustable in height and tilt, and to provide a footrest to anyone who wants one. It does not require a particular standard, brand or price.

A display-screen workstation and what the DSE Directive asks of the chairSide view of a seated person at a desk and screen. The Directive’s chair requirements: stable, freedom of movement, comfortable position; seat adjustable in height; seat back adjustable in height and tilt; footrest available to anyone who wishes.1Seat back adjustable inheight and tilt12Seat adjustable inheight23Stable, freedom ofmovement, comfortable position34Footrest available toanyone who wishes4DIRECTIVE 90/270/EEC · MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CHAIR
The four chair requirements in the Annex of Directive 90/270/EEC. Schematic drawing, not to a prescribed posture.

What exactly does the Directive say about the chair?

The minimum requirements are in the Annex. Point 1(e), "Work chair", reads in full:

"The work chair shall be stable and allow the operator easy freedom of movement and a comfortable position. The seat shall be adjustable in height. The seat back shall be adjustable in both height and tilt. A footrest shall be made available to any one who wishes for one."

Council Directive 90/270/EEC, Annex, 1(e), consolidated text of 26 July 2019

Point 1(d) adds that the work desk must have "adequate space for workers to find a comfortable position", and point 2(a) that the workstation must give "sufficient space for the user to change position and vary movements". The Annex applies where these components are present and the task does not rule them out.

What must an employer do?

  • Who is covered (Art. 2): a worker "who habitually uses display screen equipment as a significant part of his normal work".
  • Assess the workstation (Art. 3): analyse workstations for risks to eyesight, physical problems and mental stress, and take measures to fix what is found.
  • Meet the Annex (Art. 4 and 5): workstations put into service after 31 December 1992 must comply; older ones had four years to be adapted.
  • Inform and train (Art. 6): before starting work, and whenever the workstation is substantially changed.
  • Breaks (Art. 7): screen work must be periodically interrupted by breaks or changes of activity.
  • Eyes (Art. 9): eye tests before starting, at regular intervals and when problems arise, and special glasses where normal ones cannot be used, at no cost to the worker.

How is it applied in the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands?

A directive works through national law, so the instrument you deal with depends on where you work.

National rules
CountryInstrumentNotes
United KingdomHealth and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992The Schedule mirrors the EU chair and footrest wording. The HSE says the regulations cover daily users for continuous periods of an hour or more, including home workers.
IrelandSafety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Part 2, Chapter 5Guidance from the Health and Safety Authority.
GermanyArbeitsstättenverordnung (ArbStättV), AnnexAnnex 6 covers screen workstations and requires a footrest on request. We have not confirmed where the seating wording sits in the current Annex.
NetherlandsArbeidsomstandighedenbesluit, chapter 5, section 2 (art. 5.7–5.12)Article details read from secondary sources only.

For other EU countries, EU-OSHA's summary page is a good starting point.

How does the Directive relate to EN 1335?

The Directive does not cite EN 1335 or any standard. The 2020 edition of EN 1335-1 refers to the Directive in its introduction, and its Types Ax and A require more adjustment than the Directive does: seat depth, backrest inclination and lumbar height as well as seat height. So an EN 1335-1 Type A or Ax chair is a sensible way to meet the Directive, but not the only one. Read EN 1335 explained.

A chair checklist for employers

  1. Seat height adjusts over a range that suits the people using it: our height calculator gives a target for any stature.
  2. The backrest adjusts in height (or the lumbar support does) and in tilt.
  3. The chair is stable: a five-star base, and EN 1335-2 testing or the GS mark.
  4. Footrests are available on request, especially for shorter staff at fixed-height desks.
  5. For people outside the usual range, consider chairs with wider ranges: see tall, short and heavier users.
  6. Staff know how to adjust the chair: the Directive's training duty covers the workstation, and EN 1335-1 requires adjustment instructions with every chair.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Your national authority's guidance is the reference.

Questions buyers ask

Does my employer have to buy me an ergonomic chair?

Under Directive 90/270/EEC, workstations used by display screen workers must meet the minimum requirements in its Annex: a stable chair that allows freedom of movement and a comfortable position, with a height-adjustable seat and a seat back adjustable in height and tilt, plus a footrest for anyone who wants one. The Directive does not name a brand, price or standard.

Do the DSE rules apply to home workers?

In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive says the DSE Regulations apply to workers who use display screen equipment daily for continuous periods of an hour or more, including home workers. Other countries apply their own transposition; check your national authority.

Is a footrest required by law?

The Directive requires that a footrest is made available to anyone who wishes for one. It is a right on request, not something every workstation must have.

Sources

  1. Council Directive 90/270/EEC, consolidated text (EUR-Lex): eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:01990L0270-20190726
  2. EU-OSHA: Directive 90/270/EEC summary: osha.europa.eu/en/legislation/directives/5
  3. UK: Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/2792
  4. HSE: working safely with display screen equipment: www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/
  5. Ireland: HSA, display screen equipment: www.hsa.ie/eng/topics/display_screen_equipment/
  6. Germany: Arbeitsstättenverordnung, Anhang: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/arbst_ttv_2004/anhang.html
  7. Netherlands: Arbobesluit, chapter 5, section 2: wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0008498&hoofdstuk=5&afdeling=2&artikel=5.7
  8. UNMS preview of EN 1335-1:2020 (link to the Directive): normy.normoff.gov.sk/norma/131206/nahlad

All sources checked 20 October 2026. Where a manufacturer does not publish a value, we say so rather than estimate it.

Cite this page

Best Office Chairs Europe, “The Display Screen Equipment Directive and your office chair”, https://bestofficechairs.eu/standards/display-screen-equipment-directive/, updated .