How to assess the risks of employees who work alone: identifying lone workers, hazards to consider, rating risk, choosing controls, check-in procedures, emergency plans and reviewing the assessment.
A person can be a lone worker for part of a shift, such as the last hour of closing. Include those situations too. Our lone worker safety guide covers the wider topic.
With the EZTime time clock app, employees clock in from their phone with GPS and managers approve hours from anywhere.
Walk through each role and shift with the people who do the work. Note when, where and for how long employees are alone, what tasks they perform and how far they are from help. Include travel between sites and work in clients’ homes. Check schedules and time records too: they often reveal lone working that nobody planned, such as one employee regularly staying late to finish closing tasks or arriving early to accept deliveries. Record how each worker would call for help today, and whether that method actually works at that location and time.
| Hazard | Examples |
|---|---|
| Violence or aggression | Robbery, aggressive customers or clients, working with cash at night |
| Medical emergency | Sudden illness, a fall, an allergic reaction with no one to help |
| Task hazards | Lifting, ladders, electrical work, machinery, confined spaces |
| Environmental | Heat, cold, poor lighting, remote locations, poor cell coverage |
| Driving | Fatigue, weather, breakdowns |
| Chemical | Cleaning agents, fuels, exposure without supervision |
| Psychological | Stress, isolation, fear |
For each hazard, estimate how likely harm is and how severe it would be. A simple matrix with ratings such as low, medium and high for each gives an overall risk level. Consider who might be more vulnerable, such as new or young workers, pregnant employees or people with medical conditions, and whether the worker could summon help.
| Likelihood \ Severity | Minor | Serious | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlikely | Low | Low | Medium |
| Possible | Low | Medium | High |
| Likely | Medium | High | High |
Start by asking whether the task needs to be done alone at all. Some high-risk tasks, such as confined space entry or certain electrical work, should never be done alone. Where lone work continues, combine several controls:
The lone worker check-in log gives you a format to start with.
Write down exactly what happens if a lone worker is hurt, threatened or does not respond: who goes to the location, when emergency services are called, how the worker’s location is known and who informs family or managers. Practice the plan so people know it works, especially on night and weekend shifts. Keep emergency contacts and site addresses up to date, and test the alarm and check-in tools regularly.
Document the assessment, the controls and the people responsible. Share it with the lone workers and their supervisors, and get their feedback; they often know risks managers miss. Review it at least yearly and whenever there is an incident, a near miss, a new task, a new location or a change in staffing.
| Item | Entry |
|---|---|
| Situation | One clerk closes the store alone from 9 to 10 p.m. |
| Hazards | Robbery, aggressive customer, slip on wet floor, medical emergency |
| Initial risk | High (robbery, possible and severe) |
| Controls | Drop safe with limited cash in drawer, panic button, cameras, lit parking lot, second person on Friday and Saturday nights, check-in via app at 10 p.m., de-escalation training |
| Residual risk | Medium |
| Owner and review date | Store manager; review in six months or after any incident |
This is an illustration. Your assessment should reflect your own site and workers. The dynamic risk assessment template helps with changing conditions.
The people who work alone are the best source of information about their risks. Ask them where they feel unsafe, which customers or locations worry them, how reliable their phone signal is and what would help. Encourage them to report near misses and uncomfortable situations without fear of blame, and act on what they tell you. When workers help design the controls, they are also more likely to follow them.
Repeat the training regularly and include it in onboarding for any role that involves working alone.
EZTime supports lone worker procedures with GPS clock-ins so managers know who is on shift and where, tasks for scheduled check-ins with photo proof, scheduling to add a second person at high-risk times and digital forms for incident and near-miss reports. See workplace safety.
A documented review of the hazards faced by employees who work alone, how serious the risks are and which controls reduce them.
Generally yes, but employers must protect workers from recognized hazards, and some tasks and industries have rules requiring more than one person.
It depends on the risk. Higher-risk work needs more frequent check-ins and a clear plan for missed ones.
High-risk tasks such as confined space entry and some electrical or hazardous work often require more than one person under safety rules.
At least yearly and after any incident, near miss or change in tasks, location or staffing.
EZTime tracks GPS clock-ins and scheduled check-in tasks so no lone worker is out of sight.