What are the risk assessment requirements for lone working?
Updated · UK law and HSE guidance
Short answer
Employers must manage risks to lone workers under the Management Regulations. Assess how working without nearby help changes foreseeable harm, then provide suitable training, supervision, monitoring, contact and emergency response. Lone working is not generally prohibited, but some high-risk activities require another person or specific rescue and supervision arrangements.
| Main law | Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 |
|---|---|
| Core controls | Training, supervision, monitoring and contact |
| Emergency requirement | A reliable response when contact is missed or an incident occurs |
| Homeworkers | Employers retain health and safety responsibilities |
| Higher-risk examples | Confined spaces, exposed live conductors, diving, explosives and fumigation may require others |
Assess what changes when someone is alone
Start with the hazards of the job, then consider delayed assistance, communication, isolation and the worker's ability to deal with foreseeable events. Include violence, stress, medical suitability, travel, remote locations and work at another employer's premises. Consult the worker and obtain information about host-site risks and controls where relevant. Do not use a generic lone-worker label as the assessment.
- Identify who knows the worker's location and task
- Consider foreseeable loss of signal, power or transport
- Decide which activities must not be performed alone
Match monitoring to the risk
Set check-in frequency and escalation from the risk, not convenience. Options include scheduled calls, supervisor visits, automatic alerts or monitored devices, but equipment is useful only if coverage, charging and response are reliable. Define who responds, how quickly and what they do after a missed contact or alarm. Avoid relying solely on the lone worker to rescue themselves.
- Test the communication and escalation arrangements
- Provide clear emergency and first-aid information
- Increase supervision for new, inexperienced or higher-risk workers
Train, review and support
Training should cover the work, limits of authority, use of communication equipment, violence prevention and when to stop. Supervisors need enough information to notice missed contacts and changing risk. Review after incidents, changes, concerns or evidence that the system failed. Home and hybrid workers require suitable assessment and controls too. Practise the emergency response at suitable intervals and learn from each exercise. SitePaper can generate a lone-working risk-assessment draft for competent review.
- Confirm workers can raise concerns without pressure
- Record deviations and learn from alarms
- Keep personal and medical information proportionate and secure
Sources
- HSE: Manage the risks of working alone
- HSE: Protecting lone workers
- Management Regulations 1999, regulation 3
This guide summarises UK law and HSE guidance for small businesses. It is not legal advice; check the sources and your own circumstances.