LONE WORKER PROTECTION
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Cathy Hayward, a freelance journalist specialising in the world of work and the workplace, uncovers the reality of working alone; assessing the real dangers and the ways in which you can prevent
and combat the problem. Work has left the office – thanks to rapid advances in communications technology, combined with the rising cost of real estate which is forcing many organisations to reduce their office space, an increasing number of employees spend much of their time working in everything from coffee shops to perched with smart phones and tablets on park benches. Research from Motorola estimates that 35% of the global workforce will be mobile workers by 2013.
They add to an already growing list of people who are on their own for at least part of their working lives. Community nurses, doctors, social workers, planning officers, environmental health inspectors, rent collectors, maintenance staff, surveyors, traffic wardens, home care
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workers, librarians - particularly those who work in mobile libraries - water technicians and grounds maintenance staff can all be categorised as lone workers.
Yet there is no standard definition of a lone worker. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says an employee who “performs an activity that is intended to be carried out in isolation from other workers, without close or direct supervision” can be categorised as a lone worker. The NHS meanwhile states that lone working is: “any situation or location in which someone works without a colleague nearby; or when someone is working out of sight or earshot of another colleague.” Health and safety advisory service Croner prefers the definition: “a worker
whose activities involve a large percentage of their working time operating in situations without the benefit of interaction with other workers or without supervision.” This is also supported by the union, Unison.
According to the British Security Industry Association, more than six million people in the UK work as lone workers for some or all of the time, often in places or circumstances that put them at potential risk. Working alone is not in itself against the law but the law requires employers to think about and deal with any health and safety risks before people should be allowed to work alone. Employers have responsibility for the health, safety and welfare at work of all of their employees under
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974; and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
The threats are stark. Figures from the British Crime Survey 2009/10 reveal that there were 677,000 incidents of violence at work and 310,000 physical assaults by members of the public on British workers – 65% were committed by strangers. In 2010/11, 171 people were killed in the course of their work. This backs up recent NHS figures, showing that there were 57,830 assaults on doctors, nurses, paramedics and ambulance crews in England during 2010/11 – up 1,112 compared with the year before.
And the problem is only going to become more
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