An Employer’s Guide to Lone Working
In this guide, we’ll go through everything you need to know about lone working, including the most common risks lone workers face, who is a lone worker and what you can do to keep your lone workers safe.
Contents:
Lone working refers to situations where employees perform their duties in isolation from other workers without close or direct supervision. This can occur in a variety of environments, including remote locations, client premises, or even within an otherwise populated workplace during off-peak hours.
The key characteristic of lone working is the potential for the worker to be out of sight or out of immediate assistance from colleagues. This puts them at greater risk compared to their colleagues who work under direct supervision or with others around them at all times.
A lone worker is any individual who works by themselves without close or direct supervision. This can include:
- Maintenance and repair staff working off-site
- Delivery drivers or postal workers
- Health and social care workers visiting clients at home
- Security personnel on duty at night
- Agricultural workers in remote fields
- Retail staff opening or closing a store alone
- Home workers
Lone workers are found in various sectors and their isolation can be physical or situational, such as working from a home office.
UK
In the UK, there aren’t any specific laws surrounding lone working. However, there are laws in place that give employers legal duties to assess all risks to health and safety, which includes lone working:
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974: Requires employers to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of their employees, including those working alone.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: Mandates employers to conduct risk assessments, including those specific to lone working scenarios, and implement appropriate measures to mitigate risks.
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992: Covers various aspects of workplace safety, applicable to environments where lone working occurs.
Employers must also adhere to sector-specific regulations that may impose additional requirements for lone working safety. For example, there may be additional regulations around working alone at height or among dangerous chemicals.
You have a duty of care to all employees, including lone workers, under UK law. You must do everything that is ‘reasonably practicable’ to keep your workers safe.
USA
Similarly to the UK, the USA as a whole doesn’t have specific rules on how to keep lone workers safe. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does, however, have a ‘General Duty’ clause that requires employers to make a reasonable effort to ensure that all employees, including lone workers, do not encounter workplace hazards.
Health and safety laws vary by state, so it’s important to check the laws in your area. For example, the latest workplace safety legislation to come into effect in California, SB 553, requires all organisations to have a workplace violence prevention plan in place. Similar laws could come into effect across the country.
Australia
Australia has two important laws regarding lone working: the Workplace Health and Safety Act (WHS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OHS).
The WHS applies to all employees, so employers have a duty of care to lone workers within these laws. Furthermore, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OHS) specifically refers to lone workers in section 3.3:
If an employee is isolated from other persons because of the time, location or nature of the work then the employer must ensure that —
(a) there is a means of communication available which will enable the employee to call for help in the event of an emergency; and
(b) there is a procedure for regular contact to be made with the employee and the employee is trained in the procedure.
Little Green Button can help Australian organisations meet this part of the OHS with our on-screen panic alarm and the mobile app.
While there is an element of risk to all workers in most job roles, lone workers face unique risks due to their isolation.
Some of these risks include:
- Physical harm: Increased vulnerability to accidents or injuries without immediate help
- Psychological stress: Feelings of isolation and anxiety, which can affect mental health
- Medical emergencies: Difficulty in getting medical assistance quickly if required
- Violence and aggression: Higher risk of encountering hostile individuals, especially in client-facing roles such as home social care
These risks can be broadly categorised into three groups: environmental, task-related and social risks:
- Environmental: These include hazards specific to the environment where the lone worker operates, such as unsafe premises, extreme weather conditions or remote locations without access to help.
- Task-related: These involve dangers inherent to the tasks being performed, such as handling dangerous substances, operating machinery or working at height, where the risk of injury is higher when alone.
- Social: These risks come from interaction with other people, including the potential for violence, harassment or aggressive behaviour from clients, customers or the public.
Your risk assessments should cover all of these types of risks. For task-related risks, it’s important that you train your lone workers in how to conduct dynamic risk assessments.
In the UK, it’s not a legal requirement for staff to have a specific lone working risk assessment. However, you have a duty to include risks to lone workers in the general risk assessment that you carry out for all your employees and take steps to avoid or control these risks where necessary. Some things you should consider include:
- Taking steps to remove risks where possible or put control measures in place
- Involving the lone workers when you’re considering risks and how to control them
- Providing adequate training and supervision
- Reviewing your risk assessments regularly
Although there aren’t specific laws surrounding lone worker risk assessments, the Health and Safety Executive has published a guide on protecting lone workers, which can help you understand how to keep your staff safe.
In the USA and Australia, the law is similar – you must include lone worker risks in your general risk assessment.
In the UK, USA and Australia, working from home can be classed as lone working as you have the same responsibility for the health and safety of your employees when they work from home as you do for any who work on site.
UK regulations state that you must provide supervision, education and training, and implement control measures to protect a home worker. This could mean providing ergonomic office equipment and furniture. You must also accept liability for accident or injury of a home worker as you would for on-site employees.
You must protect lone workers in your organisation in the same way that you would protect all other employees.
Here are our five steps you can take to protect lone workers:
1. Conduct thorough risk assessments
Identify specific risks associated with lone working in your organisation and develop measures to remove or control them. Though there’s no legal requirement to conduct a separate lone working risk assessment, you may find it useful to have one to help you understand the unique risks to your lone workers.
2. Develop lone working policies
Establish clear policies and procedures for lone working, including communication protocols, emergency response plans and regular check-ins.
Make sure all employees have access to the lone working policy, and encourage those who don’t work alone to read it to ensure they understand what they can do to prevent hazards to lone workers.
3. Provide training and support
Ensure lone workers are trained to handle emergencies, recognise potential hazards and know how to seek help. Offer support systems such as access to counselling for mental health concerns.
4. Utilise technology
Use technology such as panic alarms, GPS tracking, and mobile apps to monitor lone workers’ safety and provide a means for them to raise an alarm if needed.
The Little Green Button panic alarm software operates on desktop and mobile and there’s even the Big Green Button, a physical USB panic button, so lone workers have peace of mind that they can raise the alarm wherever they are.
5. Regular monitoring and review
Continuously monitor the effectiveness of your lone working strategies and update them based on feedback and changing circumstances. Make sure you involve your lone working employees in the review process, as they may spot new hazards or ways to control risks that you might miss.
Keep your lone workers safe with Little Green Button
Little Green Button’s brand new companion mobile app gives staff who work alone peace of mind that they can call for assistance when they need it. Customise the features to suit your organisation and keep your lone workers safe wherever they are.