Lone working risk assessment template: decide when one person can work safely

A lone working risk assessment should decide whether a specific task, place and worker can be managed safely without close or direct supervision, then record the controls and emergency response. The copyable Great Britain form below helps an employer document that decision. It can be included within a general task risk assessment; HSE says there is no legal requirement for a separate, standalone lone-worker assessment. What matters is that the risks of being alone are genuinely assessed, controlled and reviewed.

Use the form for a named task and working arrangement, not as a company-wide tick sheet that declares all lone work safe. A cleaner in an empty office, a housing officer visiting a tenant, a technician at a remote plant room and a driver on the road need different controls. A visit can also change character during the day if it runs late, access fails or communication coverage disappears. If a task requires another person or a dedicated rescue role, the correct conclusion is do not work alone, even if a phone or app is available.

This is the fillable task document. The existing Complys lone-working guide owns the explanatory intent; the generic risk assessment template owns the cross-hazard form. This page adds a practical solo-work go/no-go decision, contact schedule and failed-contact escalation table. It should not duplicate the separate check-in procedure guide.

What to decide before allowing the task

HSE's lone-worker guidance says employers should provide suitable training, supervision, monitoring and support. Review the ordinary task risks plus what changes when help is not immediately present: sudden illness or injury, violence, inability to escape, delayed discovery after an incident, travel or vehicle breakdown, and difficulty communicating. Consult the people who will actually do the work; a control that looks good in an office may fail in a basement, rural site or hostile visit.

Some work should not be planned as solo work. HSE identifies examples where another person may need to be present, including some confined-space work with rescue arrangements, work near exposed live conductors and other high-risk operations. This template does not authorise those tasks or replace their specialist safe system. If the assessment cannot show how a lone worker will obtain timely help, change the method, location, timing or staffing before work starts.

Copyable lone working risk assessment

Complete every relevant field. Where a question does not apply, explain why. Delete example text from the approved copy and attach the underlying task assessment if this is a supplementary form.

A. Job, person and authority

The assessment should describe what “alone” means here. A worker may be with members of the public but still lack a colleague or supervisor able to help. A contractor at another employer's premises needs to coordinate with that site about hazards and emergency arrangements; HSE flags this in its lone-work assessment guidance.

B. Suitability and prohibition screen

If the decision is conditional, list the conditions and who verifies them. Do not approve solo work on the assumption that a personal mobile can always connect or that an employee who becomes unconscious will operate an alarm. Do not collect or circulate sensitive medical information unnecessarily; consult occupational health or another competent person where fitness requires an individual decision, and record the operational control rather than private detail.

C. Hazard and control table

Describe effective controls. “Call manager if worried” is weak if the worker is not allowed to leave, cannot get a signal or does not know which manager is available. For public-facing visits, obtain relevant visit information lawfully, agree an exit phrase or withdrawal rule and ensure the worker can decline or end a visit. HSE's leaflet covers violence, mental health and keeping in touch. The controls must match the actual situation; not every lone worker needs a device, and a device does not eliminate risk by itself.

D. Contact, missed-check and rescue plan

Choose a check-in interval from risk, journey and response capability; HSE does not prescribe one universal interval. A low-risk home-working shift may need a different pattern from a remote plant inspection or an evening visit. The monitoring person must know that they are on duty and what to do after a missed check. Test the system: send a check-in from the actual work area, simulate a missed check and verify that the escalation owner can act. A GPS dot or automated alert is only useful if someone receives, interprets and responds to it.

E. Before-start release, briefing and stop triggers

Stop and reassess if the task expands, a second person becomes required, the worker feels threatened, a device fails, coverage is lost, the site cannot be accessed safely, the shift exceeds the approved window or the worker reports a health or fatigue concern. Name who can authorise a changed arrangement. Do not continue a prohibited task while waiting for a manager to call back.

F. Review and action close-out

Review after a change in worker, task, location, equipment, contact system or known threat, and after an incident or near miss. HSE says lone-working risk should be revisited as circumstances change. Do not let a scheduled annual review become a reason to ignore a failed check-in tomorrow. Record what was learned and whether the worker needs extra training, supervision or a different staffing level.

Worked example: a facilities technician at a remote store

A technician is scheduled to inspect a plant room in a lightly occupied outbuilding. The task assessment shows no live electrical work or confined-space entry is permitted. The technician can enter the building by key, but a mobile signal is poor inside the room. The supervisor first considers moving the inspection to staffed hours. If the work still proceeds alone, the team confirms an alternative radio or tested contact point, sets a check-in before entry and after exit, and assigns a monitor with a documented missed-contact response and access instructions. The worker is briefed to stop if a fault requires intrusive work or if the route becomes unsafe. When the radio test fails, the visit is postponed or staffed differently; the form is not signed as “adequate” merely because the device is listed. This example illustrates decision-making, not approval for every plant room.

Common template failures

• Using one assessment for every lone worker without naming task, site and hours.
• Assuming two people are never necessary because a mobile phone exists.
• Writing “regular contact” without times, a monitor or failed-contact escalation.
• Treating GPS, an alarm or software as a rescue team.
• Ignoring violence risk for public-facing staff or access risk for remote workers.
• Sending a worker into an area where the chosen device has not been tested.
• Collecting sensitive health or location data without a clear operational need.
• Marking an action complete when it has only been assigned or a device purchased.

The Complys lone-worker software page is a relevant commercial destination for recording assessments and arrangements. Verify actual implementation and terms before claiming a live monitoring, personal-alarm, GPS or emergency-response capability. HSE's risk assessment guidance makes clear that identifying hazards is only a step; controls must be implemented and maintained. Complete the form, communicate the arrangement and test the response before allowing the task.

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