Guidance · Reviewed September 2026
Who counts as a lone worker, whether working alone is legal, what your risk assessment has to cover, the risks that weigh more heavily on people working alone, and the work that should not be done alone at all.
The short answer
It will often be safe to work alone, and it is not against the law. But the law requires employers to think about and deal with the health and safety risks before people are allowed to do so. You do not need a separate lone working risk assessment, but you must include the risks to lone workers in your general risk assessment, and provide training, supervision, monitoring and support. Those responsibilities cannot be transferred to anyone else, including the person working alone.
Who Are Lone Workers?
HSE defines a lone worker as someone who works by themselves without close or direct supervision. They exist in every sector.
At a fixed base
People working alone in shops, petrol stations, factories, warehouses or leisure centres.
Apart from others, or out of hours
Security staff, cleaners, and maintenance and repair staff working separately on the same premises or outside normal hours.
At home
Anyone working from home. Employers have the same responsibilities for them as for any other employee.
Away from a fixed base
Health and social care workers visiting homes, construction and maintenance engineers, delivery and HGV drivers, couriers, postal staff, estate agents, sales and service representatives, and agricultural and forestry workers.
Volunteers
People carrying out work on their own for charities or voluntary organisations.
Ways of working are changing. Many gig economy workers are lone workers, working to deadlines and exposed to road risk on work-related journeys, and lone HGV drivers often work long, unsociable hours with high physical and mental demands. HSE links these patterns to musculoskeletal disorders, stress, tiredness and fatigue.
Is It Legal to Work Alone?
Yes. The duties come from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. You are responsible for the health, safety and welfare at work of all your workers, and that extends to contractors, volunteers and self-employed people working for you.
There is no legal requirement for a specific, separate lone working risk assessment. You do have a duty to include the risks to lone workers in your general risk assessment and to avoid or control them. If you employ five or more workers you must write down what you find, and you must review and update it when anything changes. For lone workers that must include:
- involving workers when considering the risks and the measures to control them
- removing risks where possible, or putting control measures in place, for example by choosing work equipment one person can use safely
- instruction, training and supervision
- reviewing the assessment periodically and after significant changes such as new staff, processes or equipment
- consulting the other employer about risks and controls when a lone worker is at someone else’s workplace
What the Risk Assessment Should Consider
Take account of normal work and of foreseeable emergencies such as fire, equipment failure, illness and accidents. HSE groups the questions under three headings.
| Area | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| The lone worker and other people | How experienced is the worker in the role and in working alone? Have they received relevant training? Is there any reason they might be more vulnerable, for example because they are young, pregnant, disabled or a trainee? |
| Environment and equipment | Does the work involve operating equipment alone or lifting objects too large for one person? Is it in a rural or isolated area? Is the worker going into someone else’s home or premises? Is there a safe way in and out for one person working outside normal hours? Do they have an adequate and reliable means of communication and a way to call for help? |
| How the work could trigger an incident | Is it a security role, with authority over customers and the enforcement of rules? Does it involve handling cash, asking for payment or removing goods or property? |
Some work should not be done alone
The risk assessment should help you decide the right level of supervision. HSE gives examples of high-risk activities where at least one other person may need to be present:
• working in a confined space, where a supervisor may need to be present along with someone dedicated to the rescue role
• working near exposed live electricity conductors
• diving operations, vehicles carrying explosives and fumigation
Work-Related Violence
Lone working does not automatically mean a higher risk of violence, but it does make workers more vulnerable: without a colleague nearby, a lone worker may be less able to prevent an incident. HSE’s key violence risks include:
- working in locations with a known high risk of violence
- late evening or early morning work when fewer people are around
- holding a position of authority over customers or clients, as security staff do
- alcohol and drug use by clients or members of the public
- carrying money or valuable equipment
Training in personal safety, which may include conflict resolution, helps a worker recognise situations where they may be at risk and take steps to avoid or manage it. Other measures include designing the work environment so people are not isolated, and providing devices to raise the alarm. Employers should also have measures in place to support any worker who has been subject to an abusive or violent incident.
Stress, Mental Health and Wellbeing
Lone working can negatively affect work-related stress levels and mental health. Being away from managers and colleagues makes good support harder to achieve, and where contact is poor people may feel disconnected, isolated or abandoned. HSE advises employers to:
- agree how to keep in touch through regular meetings, or provide other opportunities to share concerns
- include lone workers in social events and in work or team updates
- include them in any consultation on changes, which may affect them differently
- make sure they are included in any training that is required
Work-related mental health issues must be assessed, and where a risk is identified you must take steps to remove it or reduce it as far as reasonably practicable. Where a lone worker has a pre-existing mental health condition, you may need to make reasonable adjustments, including those required by the Equality Act 2010.
Medical Conditions, Illness and Emergencies
Medical suitability. Seek medical advice if necessary, and consider both routine work and foreseeable emergencies that may put additional physical and mental burdens on the individual.
Emergencies. Your assessment should identify foreseeable events. Emergency procedures should be established and employees trained in them, with regular and realistic practice, and they should say how and when lone workers can contact their employer. The assessment may indicate that some lone workers should carry first aid equipment or need first aid training, including how to give first aid to themselves, and they should have access to adequate first aid facilities.
Working from home. You have the same responsibility for the health and safety of employees who work from home as for any other employee. That means providing supervision, education and training, and enough control measures to protect them.
Next step: training, supervision and keeping in touch
Once the risks are assessed, the controls HSE expects are training, supervision and monitoring. Our separate guide covers what lone worker training should include, how much supervision is needed, and the systems for keeping in touch and confirming people are safe.
What Lone Workers Must Do
Workers have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by what they do at work, and must cooperate with their employer. Anyone with concerns should raise them with their employer, a manager or supervisor, or a health and safety representative.
Health and safety law may not apply to every self-employed person, but if you have contracted a self-employed person to work for you, you are still responsible for their health and safety.
Training
| If you need to… | Usual route |
|---|---|
| Train people who work alone | Introduction to Personal Safety for Lone Workers, and see the lone worker training guide. |
| Carry out the risk assessment | The risk assessment training courses. |
| Prepare people to deal with an injury alone | First aid training. |
| Review your arrangements as a whole | A health and safety risk review. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to work alone?
Yes. It will often be safe to work alone. The law requires employers to think about and deal with any health and safety risks before people are allowed to do so.
Do we need a separate lone working risk assessment?
No. There is no legal requirement for a specific, separate risk assessment for lone workers. You must include the risks to lone workers in your general risk assessment and take steps to avoid or control them.
Does this cover contractors, volunteers and self-employed people?
Yes. Employers are responsible for the health, safety and welfare at work of all their workers, and HSE says this applies to contractors, volunteers and self-employed people. The responsibility cannot be transferred to anyone else, including the person working alone.
Can someone with a medical condition work alone?
It depends on the condition and the work. HSE advises seeking medical advice if necessary and considering both routine work and foreseeable emergencies that could put additional physical and mental burdens on the person.
Does lone working increase the risk of violence?
Not automatically, but it makes workers more vulnerable, because there is no colleague nearby to help prevent an incident. The risk is higher in locations with a known risk of violence, late at night or early in the morning, in roles with authority over the public, and where people carry money or valuable equipment.
Related Guidance
General guidance only, reviewed September 2026 against the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, HSE’s lone working guidance for employers and INDG73 Protecting lone workers (rev4). It is not a substitute for your own risk assessment. Envico is an independent training intermediary and is not affiliated with the HSE.