Policies & Procedures

Lone Worker Policy and Procedure

Lone Working Policy & Procedure

The Council’s lone workers fall into two groups:

1.   People in fixed establishments where:

  • Only one person works on the premises – eg. the Council Offices
  • People work separately from others
  • People work outside normal hours


2.   Mobile workers working away from their fixed base:

  • Service workers – eg. cemeteries, parks, street cleaning

 

Safe working arrangements for lone workers

Risk Assessments are conducted for all routine activities which involve workers who work alone.


The Risk Assessments will address:

1.   Can the risk of the job be adequately controlled by one person?

  • Is there a safe way in and out for one person?
  • Can any temporary access equipment which is necessary, such as portable ladders or trestles, be safely handled by one person?
  • Can all plant, substances and goods involved in the work be safely handled by one person?
  • Is there a risk of violence?
  • Are women especially at risk if they work alone?
  • Are young workers especially at risk if they work alone?

2.   Is the person medically fit and suitable to work alone?

3.   What training is required to ensure competency in safety matters?

4.   How will the person be supervised?

  • Supervisors periodically visiting and observing people working alone
  • Regular contact between the lone worker and supervisor using either phone or radio
  • Automatic warning devices which operate if specific signals are not received periodically from the lone worker – eg. systems for security staff
  • Other devices designed to raise the alarm in the event of an emergency and which are operated manually or automatically by the absence of activity
  • Checks that a lone worker has returned to their base or home on completion of a task

5.   What happens if a person becomes ill, has an accident or there is an emergency?

  • Lone workers should have access to adequate first-aid facilities and mobile workers should carry a first-aid kit suitable for treating injuries
  • Occasionally, risk assessment may indicate that lone workers need training in first aid