1. Purpose and scope
[Organisation] is committed to the safety of every worker, including those who work alone or in isolation. This policy sets out how we identify, assess and control the risks of lone work, as required under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
This policy applies to all employees, contractors and volunteers who work alone at any point, including staff conducting home or site visits, working before or after hours, driving between jobs, or working in areas without immediate access to help.
2. Definition
A lone worker is anyone who performs work without direct supervision or immediate access to another person who could help them in an emergency. Working alone can be a whole role or part of one: opening or closing a site, a single home visit, or a drive between jobs all count while they last.
3. Responsibilities
[Organisation] will: maintain current risk assessments for all lone work; provide appropriate safety equipment, including monitored duress devices where the risk assessment requires them; maintain a check-in system with a documented escalation procedure; provide training on this policy at induction and refreshers at least annually; and review this policy after any incident involving lone work.
Managers will: know which of their staff work alone and when; ensure risk assessments are current; ensure check-in schedules are followed and escalations actioned immediately; and record and investigate all incidents and near misses.
Workers will: follow check-in procedures; carry and use the safety equipment provided; report incidents, near misses and concerns; and not begin high-risk lone work identified in the risk assessment without the required controls in place.
4. Check-in requirements
Every lone worker must have an active check-in arrangement proportionate to the risk of their work. Check-in frequency is set by the risk assessment for the role: [e.g. every 30 minutes for high-risk client-facing work; every 2 hours for low-risk solo work].
A missed check-in is treated as an emergency until proven otherwise. The escalation procedure in our lone worker check-in procedure applies immediately.
5. Duress devices and monitoring
Workers in roles the risk assessment identifies as [medium or high] risk will be issued a monitored duress device or safety app. Devices must be worn or carried and charged for the full shift. An activated alarm is responded to by [monitoring provider] 24/7, who will escalate to emergency services (999) when required.
6. Emergency response
On a raised alarm or missed check-in, the response follows the escalation steps in our emergency response plan: attempt contact, notify the nominated manager, conduct or dispatch a welfare check, and call 999 where there is any indication of danger. No step waits on the previous one where the indication of danger is immediate.
7. Training and review
All staff receive training on this policy at induction. Staff in lone-work roles receive additional training covering check-in procedures, device use, de-escalation, and situational awareness, refreshed at least annually.
This policy is reviewed every [12] months by [role], and after any incident involving lone work. Approved by [name, title] on [date]. Next review: [date].