There is nothing illegal about lone working, but it must be recognised that there are risks associated with the practice that may not otherwise arise and it is important to assess the risks and put in place precautions to adequately manage them.
This legal responsibility on the part of employers extends to employees and anyone else who is affected by their work activities, such as visitors, contractors and members of the public.
Anyone who is working alone must take reasonable care over their own health and safety but this does not reduce the employer’s duty, under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act, to provide a safe and healthy working environment.
Additional Complexity
A lone worker is someone who has no visual or audible communication with another person who is capable of providing assistance without delay, should illness or injury occur.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty about risk assessments for lone workers is the very wide range of situations in which lone working can occur, for example:
- People who are constantly moving from place to place, such as service engineers or cleaning contractors
- Those employed in public service industries such as medical and social workers or delivery services
- Employees working from home
- Those whose responsibilities require them to work outside normal hours, such as security staff
As well as location there are other considerations that need to be taken into account. For example, lone workers can be engaged in a very wide range of activities, using every conceivable type of equipment and handling all kinds of potentially hazardous substances.
In addition, it is important to take account of the capabilities of individual workers. In some situations, lone working may be permissible but may not be suitable for women who are pregnant or disabled workers, for example, because their individual circumstances may increase the level of risk to which they would be exposed.
As a consequence, it is not usually practicable to conduct a single risk assessment that covers all lone workers. Each worker (or class of worker) needs to be assessed on a more individual basis.
Basic Process
Risk assessments should be carried out and managed in much the same way as for any other work situation.
It’s important to consult workers whenever you undertake risk assessments but this is never more important than when assessing lone workers. After all, by definition, they may well be aware of issues that are not obvious to anyone else.
Lone workers are often employed on the premises of other organisations. Where this is the case, the other employer has a duty to inform the worker’s employer about any risks that are present and the control measures that are in place. It is worth double checking that such information has, in fact, been provided and is included in risk assessments.
In addition to regular health and safety legislation, there are laws that control lone working in particular industries, such as diving operations or scaffolding. Clearly you need to take them into account in your risk assessments.
Control Measures
In regard to the control measures that need to be in place, it may be that there are risks associated with some situations that are simply too great to permit lone working and another person must always be present. These are high risk situations where it is not practicable to eliminate or reduce the risk to an acceptable level, such as work in close proximity to exposed electrical power cables, or tasks that are carried out in confined spaces.
In situations where lone working is appropriate, all control measures that would normally apply should be in place.
However, in most cases, additional control measures will be required, for example:
- Although a worker is predominantly working alone, supervision of some kind is still important to ensure health and safety procedures are not being compromised and to provide aid in case of an emergency. The level of supervision required and how it is organised is a management decision, based on the results of risk assessment.
- Associated with supervision is the need for reliable communication so that the lone worker has the means of calling for help if and when required. Modern technology offers a wide choice of communication channels but they all depend on the right person being available at the other end when they are needed.
- Emergency situations are a particular concern and might arise, for example, as a result of sudden illness, accident, fire or perhaps aggressive acts such as violence or robbery. Most such circumstances are foreseeable and lone workers should receive training on how to respond appropriately in each case as well as how to use equipment provided for emergencies such as first aid facilities.
How to Proceed
If you are considering lone working for the first time or introducing it into new areas of your organisation, then proper risk assessments are the vital first step.
If you are unsure about your ability to carry out effective risk assessments, then we offer training courses that lead to various levels of external accreditation. Alternatively, if you prefer to leave it to the professionals, then we can carry out your risk assessments for you and provide you with comprehensive reports on what you need to do.
We also provide training packages for your lone workers that can be tailored for their specific circumstances.
For Health, Safety and Environmental solutions for larger organisations, please visit the EDP Health Safety & Environment Consultants website for more information about outsourcing Health and Safety , Health and Safety Consultants, health and safety training courses: www.edp-uk.com
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