Although there is no general legal prohibition on the Lone Worker, the broad duties of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1999 still apply. These require identifying hazards of the work, assessing the risks involved, and putting measures in place to avoid or control the risks. Control measures may include instruction, training, supervision, protective equipment etc. Employers should take steps to check that control measures are used and review the risk assessment from time to time to ensure it is still adequate.

Conduct a Lone Worker Risk Assessment

When your risk assessment shows that it is not possible for the work to be done safely by a Lone Worker, arrangements for providing help or back-up should be put in place. Where a Lone Worker is working at another employer’s workplace, that employer should inform the Lone Worker’s employer of any risks and the control measures that should be taken. This helps the employer to assess the risks. A risk assessment should help decide the right level of supervision. There are some high-risk activities where at least one other person may need to be present i.e. high-risk confined space working where a supervisor may need to be present, as well as someone dedicated to the rescue role, and electrical work at or near exposed live conductors where at least two people are sometimes required. The Lone Worker should not be at more risk than other employees. This may require extra risk-control measures. Precautions should take account of normal work and foreseeable emergencies, e.g. fire, equipment failure, illness and accidents.

Looking for Lone Worker E-learning?

If you’re looking for lone worker e-learning courses try our new e-learning website envicourse.com, it enables learners and training buyers to purchase lone worker e-learning and distance learning courses from almost any country in the world and in your local currency!