How to keep staff safe when they are lone working

For lone workers, the risk of verbal and physical abuse is increased. How can employers support their lone working staff?

‘Lone working’ can refer to any situation where a member of staff is working without close or direct supervision, or without a colleague nearby; even staff working in buildings such as GP surgeries and hospitals can be considered lone workers. 

An increasing number of health and social care staff work alone in community settings, including patients’ homes and outreach work; lone workers are at an increased risk of physical or verbal abuse from patients and the public and are without the immediate support of their colleagues or security staff. Employers have a duty to protect lone workers in their teams, as far they are able to, and the staff themselves can take a number of practical steps to improve their own personal safety.

Employers must comply with several legal duties to ensure the health and safety of lone workers. 

• Risk assessments 

Employers must carry out risk assessments for any work-related activities that present a risk to a lone worker’s health and personal safety at work. It should identify who might be harmed, the dangers they face and the practical measures that can be taken to prevent them. 

The assessment should be completed after consulting with trades union health and safety representatives. It should take into account the job being done by the lone worker, the environment they will be working in, the patients they will be dealing with – for example, if the patients have a record of violence – and any other relevant factors. 

• Risk preventions

Before looking to reduce the risk, the employer should first consider how the risk to the lone worker can be prevented. If the risk cannot be prevented, the employer must them implement a safe way of working that deals with the risk to the loner worker – for example, providing a way for staff to discreetly raise the alarm with a lone worker safety device.

• Policies 

Employers must ensure their organisation has a policy to inform lone worker of the arrangements in place to protect them when they are working alone. The policy should include roles and responsibilities of the lone worker and identify who is responsible for implementing these measures and should also outline what measures need to be taken after an incident. The policy should be communicated to all lone workers at induction or team meetings; it is important to ensure all lone workers understand the policy. 

• Training

As part of the risk assessments, employers must identify the training needs of lone working staff.

• Support 

Employers must implement a system to support individuals in the case of a violent or aggressive incident. This could include an investigation of the incident – and additional measures to ensure it doesn’t occur again – advice on how to access counselling support and assistance liaising with the police. Employers must also support the lone worker if they have to withdraw from a dangerous situation. 

How lone workers can take action

Lone workers have a duty to take care of their own safety and the safety of other who may be affected by what they do and employers must endure that staff are following policies and taking all necessary steps. Lone working staff should:

• Report incidents – by reporting incidents, lone workers are providing vital details about violent individuals, unsafe environments and risks. This helps the organisation takes steps to prevent further incidents.  

• Attend training – lone workers should attend training providing by their employers to help them in lone working situations. 

• Be aware of policies and procedures –lone working staff should ensure they understand and follow the local policies and procedures put in place.

• Assess the risks to their personal safety – when they go to work, staff working alone should assess the immediate risks to their personal safety. If they feel in imminent danger, they should withdraw as soon as possible, to a place of safety. 

• Use their lone worker device – some lone worker devices can be integrated in mobile ‘phones, whilst others are stand alone units, such as SIM cards within ID badges. Staff working alone should know how to use their device, ensure it is well-maintained, charged and carried with them at all times.