This guide explains what a lone worker policy is, why you need one, how to create a lone worker policy, and the most critical elements to incorporate.
A lone worker policy is an official set of guidelines, practices, and rules that establish your organization’s regulations for ensuring the safety of employees working alone or in isolated environments. Every lone worker policy should outline general guidance for working safely, potential lone worker hazards and risks, roles and responsibilities, clear and simple safety procedures and processes to follow, tools to use, how to assess and report incidents, and what to do in cases of emergency.
Between healthcare workers providing home visits, surveyors completing site inspections, utility workers operating in dangerous or remote areas, or office employees working from home, lone workers come in many forms. They all have one important thing in common: they work alone or isolated, without close, regular, or direct supervision, and therefore, face higher health and safety risks than those who don’t.
It may be legally required of your organization to have a lone worker health and safety policy in place, especially for certain cases like
working at night.
Australia’s Work Health and Safety Act 2011 maintains that, so far as is reasonably practicable, organizations must ensure “the provision and maintenance of safe systems of work” and “the provision of any information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety.” It also states that workplaces and workers’ health must be monitored to prevent illness or injury.
Among other countries, the US, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand all have similar workplace health and safety laws, stating that employers have a general duty of care to provide and ensure safe workplaces, safe systems, and ways of working (policies and procedures), and the health and safety of all employees.
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When employees work alone, they’re exposed to a higher risk of experiencing a serious incident. According to the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), risks that particularly affect lone workers include the following:
Having the right real-time monitoring systems, check-in and reporting procedures, and emergency response coordination processes in place can ensure that organizations know exactly where lone workers are, what they’re doing, and that they’re safe.
So how do you monitor employees when they work alone? You can deploy a lone worker safety app called SHEQSY by SafetyCulture. It’s a lone worker safety solution that protects workers in real-time with duress alarms, periodic check-ins, and overtime alerts–while keeping managers informed.
Your lone worker policy document should be customized to meet your organization’s needs, comply with legal obligations, and mitigate specific lone worker risks. However, there are a few essential elements that every organization should include in their lone working safety policies, no matter the industry:
While organizations may have various requirements and guidelines for lone working, the following steps can be used as a framework to building an effective policy:
Start by identifying all of your employees who work alone regularly. Some examples include delivery drivers, home healthcare workers, utility maintenance staff, social workers, and even employees working from their home offices.
Identifying as many lone worker hazards and assessing their risks is critical to the effectiveness of your lone worker safety policy. Ultimately, the goal is to identify (and then rectify) as many health and safety issues as possible.
This lone working risk assessment example can guide you through the eight steps involved in identifying and assessing lone worker risks:
If you identified a variety of different lone worker roles in Step 1, then it may be advisable to complete a lone worker risk assessment for each role. Only then, can you be sure that you have identified all of the common risks your employees could face.
With common hazards and risks in mind, set out to create a clear, specific, and practical guide to working alone safely. This section of the policy should be customized to fit your organization’s industry, employees, and other unique factors.
Next, you must outline the roles and responsibilities of everyone covered in the policy: lone workers, team leaders, managers, supervisors, officers, and if applicable, your professional security monitoring center.
It’s very important to ensure that your management team and lone workers understand your lone worker policy, how to use it, and most importantly, why they should. Your lone worker policy should include additional resources, information, and opportunities for training.
Lone worker roles, workplaces and their conditions, government regulations, and industry best practices can all change over time. Perhaps the most important step in creating a lone worker policy is reviewing, updating, and improving it regularly. Depending on the nature of the work, annual or bi-annual reviews and updates may be wise.
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Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential hazards specific to lone working conditions. Next, establish clear communication protocols, including regular check-ins and emergency procedures, to ensure lone workers can always be reached. Finally, provide comprehensive training and resources to equip lone workers with the necessary skills and knowledge to handle emergencies and maintain safety.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) doesn’t have specific regulations that explicitly address working alone but emphasizes that employers must provide a safe and healthful workplace under the General Duty Clause. OSHA recommends conducting hazard assessments and implementing measures to protect lone workers, such as communication systems and regular check-ins.
Employers can ensure the effectiveness of a lone worker policy by conducting regular training sessions and drills to keep workers informed and prepared. Additionally, continuous monitoring and periodic reviews of the policy, along with gathering feedback from lone workers, help identify and address any gaps or issues.
Without a lone worker policy, employers risk increased accidents and injuries due to inadequate safety measures and lack of immediate support. This can lead to legal liabilities, including fines and penalties from regulatory bodies like OSHA, as well as potential lawsuits from injured workers. Additionally, the absence of such a policy can harm employee morale and trust, leading to decreased productivity and higher turnover rates.
Patricia Guevara is a content writer and researcher for SafetyCulture. With her extensive content writing and copywriting experience, she creates high-quality content across a variety of relevant topics. She aims to promote workplace safety, operational excellence, and continuous improvement in her articles. She is passionate about communicating how technology can be used to streamline work processes, empowering companies to realize their business goals.
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