Health and Safety - Rules of the house

We live in a 24-7 world. Work can require employees to be left alone and isolated, and although not always obvious it can prevent risks. Lone working may be defined as any work activity intended to be carried out in isolation from other workers by an individual or a small team of people. Examples include those that work at a fixed site, e.g. at home; those separate from others; those working from remote locations; those that work outside normal hours; and those travelling as part of their work.

There are no specific legal duties on employers in relation to lone working, however the general duty of employers to maintain safe working arrangements under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) applies. The HSE advises employers that they have a legal duty to ensure enough is done to protect employees that work alone.

Hazards that lone workers can encounter include accidents or emergencies arising from the work, sudden illnesses, inadequate provision of rest, hygiene and welfare facilities as well as stress. Employers must maintain safe working arrangements and, under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, carry out a risk assessment of the hazards to which their employees are exposed, such as ensuring equipment is safe. A further follow-up risk assessment should be carried out six months later and repeated every 12 months, unless there are significant changes.

If someone works from home at a remote location then you should take into account how long the work takes and how frequently the worker reports in if the employee has a safe means of travel to and from the location, especially out of normal hours. Thought should also be given to whether or not there is access to adequate rest, hygiene, refreshment, welfare and first aid facilities, as well as the provision for emergency services to approach the location without hindrance. Procedures for responding to worst-case emergencies should be in place.

Appropriate conditions should be available to those employees required to work alone as part of their normal duties. The conditions that necessitate review and should be afforded to these employees are: a safe means to entry and exit to the workplace; adequate illumination, heating and ventilation for the job to be carried out; that all equipment, such as computers, can be used safely; that lifting operations can be performed safely by one person and finally that fire precautions are sufficient to meet the demands of the job.

Appropriate communications should be maintained with the lone worker, especially when continual supervision is required. The lone worker should be equipped with a means of two-way communication, a pager or a personal alarm or, at the very least, a mobile phone. Ideally some kind of instant alarm should be available.

- Peter Done, managing director, Peninsula.

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