
Local authorities should be wary of reserving contracts for local suppliers, as recommended by Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 11/20. Other contracting authorities may want to maximise their use of this
Employers have an obligation under section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure the health and safety of their employees so far as is reasonably practicable. This extends to all employees and contractors, regardless of whether they are based in an office or a lone worker.
A lone worker is typically considered to be an individual that is either not directly supervised or works independently. Some roles have always involved at least an element of lone working, such as maintenance workers, security guards and care workers. As technology improves and attitudes change, increasing numbers of typically office-based workers are choosing to work from home – a type of lone worker employers should not neglect to consider. Importantly, the Health and Safety Executive (‘HSE’) also consider volunteers carrying out work on their own for charities or voluntary organisations (for example, by fundraising or litter picking) to be lone workers.
The HSE makes clear in its guidance that it expects employers to consider and put measures in place to mitigate the health and safety risks to lone workers before such work begins. This does not necessitate that employers must carry out a separate risk assessment for lone working; however, lone working should be considered in an organisation’s general risk assessment and measures to control, remove or mitigate the risks should be put in place. If a number of its employees work alone, an organisation may also wish to put in place a lone working policy.
The HSE’s guidance “Protecting Lone Workers – How to Manage the Risks of Working Alone”, which can be found here, covers the key points to consider in relation to lone working. This guidance has recently been updated to account for, amongst other things, the increasing focus of employees' mental health.
Summary of the Key Updates
Further action
Organisations should review their risk assessments, policies and procedures in light of the updated guidance from the HSE. Clear lines of communication must be established both for day-to-day situations and emergencies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a dramatic increase in home working and in turn, many organisations have had to quickly undertake a review of the operational measures they can take to protect home and lone workers. Throughout the coming months, organisations should review how the risks change and the effectiveness of the control measures in place, looking at how these can be improved and consolidated in the longer term.
Please contact Tim Coolican and Lorna Kenyon.
Local authorities should be wary of reserving contracts for local suppliers, as recommended by Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 11/20. Other contracting authorities may want to maximise their use of this
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