AD | Did you know, an estimated eight million of us in the UK are classed as lone workers – around 25% of the workforce? The HSE describes a lone worker as someone who works by themselves and ‘without close or direct supervision’. And lone worker safety for delivery drivers, health workers, engineers, security staff, cleaners, warehouse or petrol station staff, as well as any employees who work from home can sometimes prove tricky. But it’s not impossible.
How To Ensure Lone Worker Safety for Your Staff
Here are five simple steps all businesses with lone workers can take to ensure their employees stay safe and sound while working alone, wherever they are.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
According to the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR 1999), all UK-based employers must perform a risk assessment of their work sites. That means you need to identify and pinpoint all the risks and hazards your employees might face as they go about their jobs.
Hazards include elements of the work environment that pose a threat to workers, while risks cover the likelihood that a worker will encounter that hazard on the job. If your company has over five employees, you must also document those risk assessment findings, and outline the steps you’ve adopted to mitigate those risks.
Train Employees
Training is important in any job but, when it comes to lone workers, it might be the difference between life and death. An important part of the training process is showing your lone worker how to manage and mitigate the risks and hazards identified in the risk assessment.
This means that at the training stage, the lone worker should be shown how to use any safety equipment and devices, and also how they function in an emergency.
Keep in Touch
The nature of lone work means a manager can find it difficult to keep tabs on workers in person. This means keeping in touch remotely is essential, as is providing the means for allowing lone workers to check in periodically, and call for help should an emergency arise.
Keeping in touch can involve something as simple as checking in via a phone call. And businesses can also exploit the power of technology to monitor the status of a worker, using a lone worker app and GPS technology to track their whereabouts.
Use Lone Worker Tech
Lone worker tech has been a game-changer as far as lone worker safety is concerned. Nowadays, there’s a lone worker device for most types of lone work. The easiest-to-use and most convenient of these, the lone worker app, is a piece of software that can run on most Android and Apple devices.
Lone worker apps often come with lots of handy features. For example, True Man Down detection sends an alert if it detects the worker is injured or incapacitated, and always-on-top SOS buttons give workers a vital lifeline should an emergency arise.
Carry Out Regular Reviews
Risk assessments are a legal requirement and should also be an ongoing process as the risk profile lone workers face will likely change, sometimes rapidly. So, it’s important to update risk assessments and keep on top of your lone worker safety while they work away from your company base.
For example, lone working can cause work-related stress and affect your employee’s mental health and wellbeing. So, a regular review with direct contact will help you recognise the signs of stress as soon as possible.
Lone Doesn’t Mean Alone
Yes, nature of lone work makes keeping tabs on workers difficult. But if your company follows these easy steps, you’ll be able to monitor your lone workers and provide them with the help they need, should an accident occur.
* This is a collaborative post – please see my Disclaimer.
So very important but I can see how this can be readily overlooked. The aspect of workplace safety, that is, while being a lone worker. There are a few practices noted to put in place and with this many of us now classified as lone workers, this post does a great job raising awareness on the topic.
Thank you, Bev, and you’re right, there are a lot more of us that are technically lone workers since the pandemic. Glad this post was useful.
Hello,
This post is on a very pertinent subject about lone workers, we need to be aware of these safety issues!
xoxo
Thank you, Marisa, glad it was useful.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful tips. I really need to check out the lone worker app. This would give me so much piece of mind whenever I am alone and loved ones are not close by!
Exactly that, it’s peace of mind, not only for the employee but the employer too – thank you, Heidi.
This is an interesting topic. People can feel lonely when they work even if they work from the office, but far from others. At the same time, someone working alone at home with plenty of meetings, might never get the chance of feeling lonely. Great topic to tackle on your blog.
Thank you, Anca, I definitely fall into the latter category!