Many small businesses now have a mix of office-based staff, home-workers, people "out on the road" and individuals locking up or working late alone. The work pattern has changed, but in lots of cases the policies haven't caught up. That's where lone-working and home-working policies become useful.
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What counts as lone working?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines lone workers broadly as people who work by themselves without close or direct supervision. That can include:
- staff locking up or opening up premises
- home-workers
- engineers or sales staff travelling to customers alone
- people working in a separate part of a building away from colleagues
The risks are not always higher, but the consequences can be – there may be nobody nearby if something goes wrong.
What HSE expects you to do
HSE guidance for employers is clear:
- identify roles and tasks that involve lone working
- assess the risks (environment, people, equipment, health conditions)
- put proportionate control measures in place
- keep in touch with lone workers and respond to missed check-ins
For higher-risk work, HSE is explicit that lone working may not be appropriate at all.
Home-working and hybrid working
Home-working is often also lone working and has its own considerations:
- workstation set-up and display screen equipment
- safe electrical equipment
- mental health, stress and isolation
- data security and confidentiality
- clear expectations about availability, hours and contact
Hybrid working adds an extra layer of coordination: who's where on which days, how managers keep in touch and how you cover emergencies.
Why a simple lone working policy helps
A short lone working policy can:
- define who counts as a lone worker in your business
- set out responsibilities for managers and staff
- describe your check-in / check-out approach
- make clear when certain tasks must never be done alone
It doesn't need to be complicated, but it should sit alongside your health & safety policy and home-working/hybrid policies so the messages are consistent.
Plugging this into your HR documents
If you already have a staff handbook, you can:
- add a standalone lone working policy
- cross-refer to it from the health & safety and home-working sections
- make sure your privacy information covers any monitoring or location-tracking you use for safety
If you don't, a basic H&S statement plus a simple lone working procedure is still better than nothing – and a good step towards a more complete set of HR documents.
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