Recent Car Jackings force businesses to review Working alone!

published 17 January 2012

In light of the recent car jackings occuring over the last 2 weeks in Belfast City Centre, now may be a good time for you to review your Lone Working Policy and the general safety of employees.  To assist you, the H&S Consultants at Prestige have put together some information in relation to the considerations you need to give to Lone Workers within your business and what questions you should ask in completing your Risk Assessment.

General Information

According to the HSENI, Lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision.  They are:

•    people in fixed establishments where only one person works on the premises, e.g. in small workshops, kiosks, shops and people who work from home  
•    people who work separately from others in factories, warehouses, research and training establishments, leisure centres or fairgrounds
•    people who work outside normal hours as cleaners, security, special production, night shift workers, maintenance and repair staff
•    people who work away from their home base on construction sites, in plant installation, maintenance, cleaning work, electrical repairs, lift work, painting and decorating or vehicle recovery
•    agricultural and forestry workers
•    service workers who collect rents, postal workers, home helps, community nursing staff, pest control workers, drivers, engineers, estate agents, sales representatives and similar professionals visiting domestic and commercial premises.

Working alone is not in itself against the law, and it will often be safe to do so.  However, the law requires employers and others to think about and deal with any health and safety risks before people should be allowed to work alone.  This includes consideration of any self-employed people an employer engages and visitors such as contractors.

It is the employer’s duty to assess risks to lone workers via a Risk Assessment and ensure that they take steps to avoid or control risks where necessary.

Employees also have a responsibility to take reasonable care of themselves and other people affected by their work activities and to co-operate with their employers in meeting their legal obligations.

The Risk Assessment

Employers of lone workers should:

1.    involve staff or their representatives when undertaking the required risk assessment process;
2.    take steps to check control measures are in place (examples of control measures include instruction, training, supervision and issuing protective equipment);
3.    take account of normal work and foreseeable emergencies, eg fire, equipment failure, illness and accidents.
4.    Employers should identify situations where people work alone and ask questions such as:
- Does the workplace present a special risk to the lone worker?
- Is there a safe way in and out for one person?
- Can any necessary temporary access equipment, such as portable ladders or trestles, be safely handled by one person?
- Can all the machinery and goods involved in the workplace be safely handled by one person?
- Are there any chemicals or hazardous substances being used that may pose a risk to the worker?
- Does the work involve lifting objects too large for one person?
- Is more than one person needed to operate essential controls for the safe running of equipment or workplace transport?
- Is there a risk of violence?
- Are young, pregnant or disabled workers particularly at risk if they work alone?
- Are there any other reasons why the individual (for example a trainee) may be more vulnerable than others?
- If the lone worker’s first language is not English, are suitable arrangements in place to ensure clear communication, especially in an emergency?
- Does a person have a medical condition – are they able to work alone
- Consider the risks of lone working for pregnant workers
- Can the worker be supervised in some way?
- Give consideration to situations where a worker becomes Ill, has an accident, do they have the skills/ knowledge to deal with the situation?
5.    review risk assessments annually or, as few workplaces stay the same, when there has been a significant change in working practice;
6.    when a risk assessment shows it is not possible for the work to be conducted safely by a lone worker, address that risk by, for example, making arrangements to provide help or back-up;
7.    where a lone worker is working at another employer’s workplace, that employer should inform the lone worker’s employer of any risks and the required control measures.
8.    Document  Lone Workers Policy in light of the risks you have identified and the measures your employees should take to ensure their own health and safety

Risk assessment should help employers decide on the right level of supervision.

NOTE:

1.    Employers who have five or more employees must record the significant findings of all risk assessments.
2.    Employers also need to be aware of any specific law on lone working applying in their industry. Examples include supervision in diving operations, vehicles carrying explosives and fumigation work.

Should you have any questions or queries in relation to this article, please contact the H&S and HR Experts on 0845 9011 901 or email your query to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .