Lone working risk assessment
Assessing lone-working risk is about one question: can this work be done safely by one person, and if so, how? Here is what to consider, how to control it, and when to look again.
It belongs in your general risk assessment
You do not need a separate lone-worker document. The law does not require one — lone-working risks are assessed within your general risk assessment under the Management Regulations. The point is that the risks of working alone are genuinely thought through and controlled.
What to assess
Access and egress
Can the person get in and out safely and raise help if a route is blocked? Consider remote sites, out-of-hours access, and premises they do not control.
Violence and aggression
Is there a risk of violence from members of the public, clients or others? Lone workers dealing with the public, cash, or people in distress face a higher risk of work-related violence.
Sudden illness and medical fitness
Could the person become unwell or be injured with no one nearby? Consider existing medical conditions and whether the individual is suitable to work alone for the task.
Contact and escalation
How does the person keep in touch, and how is the alarm raised if they do not? Who is responsible for checking in, and what happens if contact is lost?
The task and environment
Some tasks or environments are higher risk alone — work at height, with machinery, or in confined spaces. The assessment may conclude a task should not be done alone at all.
From assessment to controls
An assessment is only useful if it drives controls: training and competence for the task, check-in and escalation arrangements, limits on which tasks may be done alone, and a clear route to help. Turn each finding into an owned, dated action and follow it through — and be prepared to conclude that some work should not be done alone.
Review on change
Lone-working risk changes with the work, the place and the person. Reassess when any of those change, after an incident or near miss, and periodically as good practice — a review triggered by change matters more than a fixed date.
Keep the assessment, controls and evidence together
Complys holds your lone-working risk assessments within the wider picture, turns findings into dated actions, and keeps the check-in arrangements, training and review dates on file. It manages the records — it is not a personal-alarm or monitoring device.
Lone worker software →FAQs
Is a lone-working risk assessment a legal requirement?
The risk assessment is — but not as a separate document. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, employers must assess the risks to which workers are exposed, and lone-working risks can be covered within your general risk assessment. There is no legal requirement for a standalone lone-worker risk assessment.
What should a lone-working assessment cover?
The specific risks of doing the work alone: access and egress, violence, sudden illness or injury with no one to help, how contact and escalation work, and whether the task or environment is suitable for one person at all. Then the controls that reduce those risks, and who is responsible.
When should it be reviewed?
When the work, the location or the person changes, after an incident or near miss, and periodically as good practice. Lone-working risk is sensitive to circumstances, so a review on change matters more than a fixed calendar date.
Related: is lone working legal, check-in & escalation procedures, and lone worker software. General information, not legal advice.