Many people do their job with nobody else nearby. A shop assistant opens up alone. A carer visits a client's home. A van driver spends the day on the road. A cleaner works in an empty office at night. All of them are lone workers.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines a lone worker as someone who works by themselves without close or direct supervision. HSE's leaflet INDG73, "Protecting lone workers", explains how employers should manage the risks. This course is based on it.
Who counts as a lone worker
Lone workers exist in every sector. They include people who:
- work alone at a fixed base, such as a shop, petrol station, factory, warehouse or leisure centre;
- work apart from others on the same premises, or outside normal hours, such as security staff, cleaners and maintenance staff;
- work at home;
- work away from a fixed base, such as home-visiting health and social care workers, engineers, delivery drivers, estate agents, postal staff and agricultural workers;
- are volunteers working on their own, for example litter-picking or fundraising.
Gig-economy workers, who take tasks through an online platform, are often lone workers too. Many of them are self-employed.
Is it legal to work alone?
Yes. Working alone is not against the law. It is often perfectly safe. But the law says the employer must think about and deal with the risks before people are allowed to work alone.
Lone workers meet the same hazards as everyone else. The difference is that nobody is there to help if something goes wrong. A small problem, such as a fall or a sudden illness, can become serious when no one knows about it.
The main laws
- The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). Employers must ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees so far as is reasonably practicable. Employees must take reasonable care of themselves and others and co-operate with their employer.
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. They require employers to assess risks, plan and organise safety measures, give information and training, and make emergency arrangements.
HSE's guidance is not compulsory. But an employer who follows it will normally be doing enough to comply with the law.
Who is responsible?
- The employer is responsible for the health, safety and welfare of all workers, including contractors, volunteers and self-employed people they engage. HSE says these responsibilities cannot be transferred to anyone else, including the person who works alone.
- Workers have duties too. They must look after their own safety and that of others, follow the safe system of work, and use equipment as trained.
- Self-employed people may not be covered by every part of health and safety law. HSE has a separate page that explains when the law applies to them. If you hire a self-employed person to work on your premises, you remain responsible for their safety.
What employers should provide
HSE says employers should provide training, supervision, monitoring and support for lone workers. The rest of this course looks at how:
- assessing the risks (lesson 2);
- work that should not be done alone (lesson 3);
- keeping in touch (lesson 4);
- violence and aggression (lesson 5);
- health, wellbeing and who can work alone (lesson 6);
- home, mobile and driving work (lesson 7);
- emergencies, training and your own duties (lesson 8).
What this course does not do
It gives general awareness. It does not replace your employer's own risk assessment, check-in system or practical training for your job. Always follow the arrangements your employer sets for your workplace.