Who are Lone Workers?
A lone worker is an employee who performs an activity that is carried out in isolation from other workers without close or direct supervision.
There is a need to provide a safe working environment for any staff working alone. For some organizations you may likely even have more staff working alone that you might initially realize. This need is not only a good ethical practice, but it’s also a requirement for protecting your organization from the risks of litigation.
In many countries and regions, governments have even enacted legislation to require employers to provide adequate safety solutions and monitoring for lone workers. For example, in Canada some provinces have enacted legislation regarding an employer’s responsibility towards Lone Workers. In these cases, the definition of a lone worker is someone who is alone at work or when they are on their own; when they cannot be seen or heard by another person.
Examples of Lone Workers
- People working at home such as telecommuters, affiliated marketers, writers.
- Workers in the energy industry or oil and gas industry including upstream workers like surveyors, land managers, drillers, and midstream or downstream workers such as refinery workers and drivers
- Construction workers, or other tradespeople.
- Mobile workers such as traveling salesmen, delivery staff, truck drivers, divers, health visitors.
- People who work in any type of manufacturing facility.
- People working outside normal hours such as security guards, cleaners.
- Facilities staff, such as parks workers, sanitation staff, dispatched maintenance staff.
- Utility workers such as meter readers or technicians.
- Security personnel.
- Travelling business persons or executives.
- People who work apart from their colleagues such as receptionists, retail clerks, service station attendants, Real Estate agents, Home care nurses and other health providers.
How to discover your Lone Workers
- take an assessment of all the staff you have in your organization.
- First see if they fit into any of the above categories. If so, they are lone workers, even if only for periods of time.
- For those not simply on the list above, they may still be lone workers.
- Work through a regular work schedule. Are the workers alone and away from any other coworkers for any period of time while doing their jobs? Will they be travelling any distance? Will they be exposed to any significant risks where an injury might possibly go unnoticed or undetected? If a worker were to be incapacitated during any of their time at work, would you as an employer be aware?
- If you answered yes to any of the above, then you likely have a lone worker situation which needs to be assessed and addressed. Please browse further and follow some of LWSA’s recommendations to find a solution to your needs.