According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there are around 8 million lone workers in Britain, which works out at around 22 per cent of the total working population.
They carry out a wide variety of roles, covering everything from tenancy support and retail to hospitality and transport – often working unsociable hours in challenging environments.
Lone working can be rewarding and worthwhile but brings with it several serious risks which every employee should be aware of and that every employer is required to mitigate against.
So if you’re considering employing solo staff in your new enterprise, you’ll need to seriously consider the time, effort and investment involved. With that in mind, here are three hacks to help lone workers stay safe.
Take HSE advice
There’s a lot of information on lone worker health and safety available off and online, but if you’re running a new company and don’t know where to start in terms of making the appropriate provisions, downloading relevant HSE guidance is a great first move.
You’ll find tips on issues such as your legal obligations as an employer, the various steps you should take to keep employees safe in fixed locations like petrol stations and safety for those who mainly work in vehicles or outdoors.
Conduct a risk assessment
The next step for an employer of lone workers is probably conducting a thorough risk assessment. First, you should identify the mental, physical, chemical and biological hazards which can cause harm. Then you should define who might be endangered and how – for instance, are night workers likely to encounter violence from customers or intruders?
Next, analyse each hazard, decide the overall level of risk and define what actions you recommend in order to make the environment and worker as safe as possible. Finally, implement recommendations immediately and ensure that the assessment is available to everyone who needs access to it.
Protect staff with mobile technology
For lone workers, the potential of mobile phones as safety lifelines can’t be emphasized enough and there are a variety of appropriate safety systems and apps available.
For example, providing Safe Shores monitoring packages for your home workers means that they’ll always have the peace of mind that comes from connection to a network that provides them with personal protection when they need it most.
These types of BS8484 accredited services have the seal of approval from regulators and usually have in-built features like SOS buttons for summoning immediate assistance, welfare check alarms that remind staff to check in with HQ, and comfort messages that regularly reassure workers they’re being monitored.
These three hacks to keep home workers safe are merely the tip of the health and safety iceberg – but nevertheless, they provide a solid start in keeping your valued staff protected at all times.