Lone Workers

Lone Workers are persons who work by themselves without close or direct supervision.
Examples are;

  • one person working in a fixed establishment
  • mobile workers
  • workers in remote locations
  • employees working at another employers' premises
  • home-workers.

There is no general prohibition in health and safety law of working alone.

Employers should distinguish between: -
a) Employees who find themselves alone by chance,
and
b) Specifically requiring work to be carried out by an employee in isolation.

The first instance may be addressed by simply putting in place a procedure where employees can alert fellow workers to the fact that they are leaving a person to work on his or her own.

However, it is likely that there will be a need for additional controls to be put in place when determining a safe system of work.



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