A TELSTRA employee who slipped down the stairs in her own house while working from home has won a multi-million dollar compensation case that could change work practices for all Australians.

Dale Hargreaves, 42, took legal action against Telstra when she slipped down the stairs twice in two months while working on marketing campaigns from her Brisbane townhouse.

Telstra denied liability because the falls occurred outside her designated workstation but, in a ruling that has angered employer groups, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal found her shoulder injuries were work-related and ordered Telstra to pay medical and legal costs and compensation for lost income.

Under the terms of the ruling, Ms Hargreaves stands to pocket millions of dollars in compensation if she is unable to work again.

In the first fall at 6pm on August 21, 2006, Ms Hargreaves tripped while she was getting cough medicine from the fridge in her sock-clad feet.

In the second at 8.40am on October 9 the same year, she was locking the front door, in line with Telstra's instructions, following a break-in at home.

The tribunal found both falls "arose out of Ms Hargreaves' employment with Telstra" which made them workplace injuries.

The Australian Industry Group's David Miller said working from home could now create problems for employers.

"(This ruling) does have implications for people working from home and creates issues for employers at large," Mr Miller said.

"What the tribunal has done is extend beyond what the employer thought was reasonable in terms of their liability for an employee's safety. That's always going to be a difficult judgment."

An ACTU spokeswoman said employers could not "contract out health and safety obligations".

"They have a duty of care for all employees engaged in work, no matter where that work physically is," she said.

Solicitor Rachael James said it was a significant win for her client who had been forced to leave Brisbane to live with her parents in Victoria because of her medical and financial circumstances.

"She can't dress herself for work. She is unable to do up a bra or a shirt, or carry a laptop," Ms James said.

"She's going to get a whole back-payment from the date of the injury up until today and, depending what the medical evidence says going forward, she could continue to receive those payments until she's 65."

A Telstra spokeswoman said they were still examining the ruling but if changes needed to be made to the company's workplace health and safety practices that would occur.

Originally published as Compensation law in free fall