Lone working risk assessment: how to protect employees working alone

Reviewed by Phil Pinnington, Head of Audit and Consultancy, British Safety Council · Last reviewed 4 August 2026

Lone working doesn't always look like a person on a remote site with no one else around. It can be the cleaner locking up after everyone else has left, the engineer working in a separate part of a building, the community nurse visiting someone's home, or the delivery driver moving between appointments all day. Some of these workers are miles from a colleague. Others are simply out of sight or earshot of one.

Working alone is not automatically unsafe. But when something goes wrong and there's no one nearby to help, respond or raise the alarm, even a minor incident can become serious. That's why employers need to identify where lone working takes place, assess the associated risks and put proportionate controls in place.

This guide explains who may be classed as a lone worker, how to assess the risks and what employers can do to keep people safe and supported.

Lone-working risk assessment at a glance

A lone-working risk assessment identifies who works without close or direct supervision, the hazards they may encounter and whether those risks can be controlled without another person present. Employers should consider the task, location, timing, individual worker, communication arrangements and foreseeable emergencies. The findings should determine whether the work can be carried out alone and what supervision, training, monitoring and emergency procedures are required.

What is lone working?

A lone worker is someone who works by themselves without close or direct supervision. They may be physically isolated, working away from colleagues or simply unable to obtain immediate assistance if something goes wrong. This can include people who:

• Work at a fixed location on their own, such as a shopkeeper, security guard or receptionist
• Work in the field or travel between sites, such as engineers, sales representatives or delivery drivers
• Work separately from colleagues on a shared site, such as maintenance staff or cleaners working outside normal hours
• Work from home or another remote location
• Carry out home visits, such as care workers or housing officers

It's worth remembering that lone workers aren't always physically distant. Someone can be surrounded by members of the public, or working in a building with other people nearby, and still be a lone worker in practice if they can't quickly get help. These are sometimes described as "hidden" lone workers, and they're easy to overlook in a risk assessment that focuses only on obviously remote roles.

Is lone working legal?

Yes. There is no general law preventing employees from working alone. However, under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must assess the risks to anyone affected by their work, including lone workers, and take reasonable steps to control those risks. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 also places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees.

In practice, employers should not assume that a task is safe to carry out alone. They must consider what could go wrong, who could be harmed and whether the risks can be adequately controlled without another person present. Employers with five or more employees must also record the significant findings of their risk assessment.

Who might be a lone worker?

Rather than trying to list every job title, it's more useful to think in terms of categories:

• Fixed-location workers: people working alone in one place, such as a kiosk, warehouse or reception desk
  
  
• Mobile and field workers: people who travel as part of their role, such as engineers, drivers, surveyors or sales staff
  
  
• Workers separated from colleagues on shared premises: people working out of sight or earshot of others on the same site, including night or early-shift staff
  
  
• Home and remote workers: where working without direct supervision creates additional health, safety or wellbeing risks
  
  
• Out-of-hours workers: people opening up, locking up, or working before or after the rest of the team

A useful exercise for any organisation is to map out roles against these categories rather than assuming lone working only applies to obviously remote jobs. In practice, a lone worker risk assessment should consider the worker, task, environment, timing and available support together, rather than treating any one factor in isolation.

What are the main lone-working risks?

The specific risks will depend on the role, but common categories include:

Accidents and medical emergencies

Without someone nearby, an injury, fall or sudden illness can go unnoticed for longer, delaying help.

Violence, aggression and harassment

Lone working does not necessarily make violence more likely, but the absence of nearby support can make workers more vulnerable and make it harder to prevent or respond to an incident. This is particularly relevant for people carrying out home visits or dealing directly with the public. According to a 2026 supplier survey reported by Safety Management, half of participating lone workers had avoided particular tasks or locations because they felt unsafe, while more than a third said they had not reported every incident. The research was an industry survey rather than an official national dataset, but it indicates how safety concerns can affect workers’ confidence, incident reporting and willingness to carry out certain tasks.

Driving and travelling

Field and mobile workers spend a significant part of their working day travelling, often alone, which brings its own set of risks around fatigue, road conditions and vehicle breakdowns. The British Safety Council podcast episode Stay Switched On to Safety, featuring the RAC, looks at this in practice, covering roadside work near moving traffic and the pressures facing remote, van-based workers.

Isolated or changing environments

Poor lighting, uneven terrain, extreme weather and unfamiliar locations all increase risk for people working without support.

Work equipment and hazardous tasks

Some tasks may be unsuitable for one person, including particular handling activities, work involving hazardous equipment, or processes whose instructions or safe system of work require supervision or assistance.

Stress, fatigue and poor mental wellbeing

Isolation, unpredictable environments and lack of regular contact with colleagues can affect a lone worker's mental health as much as their physical safety.

Delayed emergency response

In all of the above, the underlying risk is the same: if something happens, how quickly can help reach the person, and how will anyone know they need it?

Example: an employee locking up alone

An employee who locks a workplace after colleagues leave may face risks from slips, intruders, malfunctioning equipment or a medical emergency. Controls could include a closing procedure, agreed check-out time, well-lit access routes, secure doors, a charged communication device and an escalation process if the employee does not confirm they have left safely. This shows how task, timing, environment and response arrangements come together in a single, ordinary scenario.

How to carry out a lone-working risk assessment

The assessment should answer two questions: can the work be carried out safely by one person, and what controls are needed if it can?

1. Identify who works alone, and when. This should include occasional lone working (an employee finishing up after colleagues have left) as well as roles that are lone working by design.
   
   
2. Consult the employees involved. People doing the work are usually best placed to identify risks and appropriate effective controls. Employers should also consult relevant worker representatives where applicable.
   
   
3. Identify the hazards and evaluate the risks associated with the task, location, timing and individual worker. The same task can carry different levels of risk depending on where and when it's carried out, and who is doing it (for example, a new starter unfamiliar with a site).
   
   
4. Consider both normal working conditions and foreseeable emergencies. What happens if the person falls ill, has an accident, or is confronted by an aggressive member of the public?
   
   
5. Decide whether the work can be done safely alone. In some cases, the answer will be no (see below).
   
   
6. Put controls in place that match the level of risk identified and reflect what the worker themselves says will actually work for them, rather than applying a blanket policy regardless of task.
   
   
7. Record the significant findings, communicate the controls and review the assessment. Review it when the work, location, equipment or workforce changes, after an incident or near miss, or when there is reason to believe the existing assessment is no longer valid.

Control measures for lone workers

Once risks are identified, controls typically fall into a few categories. For a specialist perspective, Safety Management has also explored how organisations can build a structured approach to protecting lone workers around people, tasks, locations and suitable monitoring arrangements. Controls should be agreed with the lone worker themselves wherever possible, not decided for them. What works for one person (a check-in call versus a text, a specific app, a particular buddy arrangement) may not suit another, and controls are more likely to actually get used if the worker had a say in choosing them.

• Supervision and contact arrangements: regular check-ins at agreed intervals, with a clear process if a check-in is missed
  
  
• Training and competency: making sure lone workers understand the risks of their role and how to respond to them
  
  
• First aid and medical emergencies: consider whether workers need first aid equipment or training, how they would summon assistance, and what information responders would need
  
  
• Individual suitability: consider whether any health condition, disability, pregnancy, inexperience or other personal circumstance changes the risk or the support required
  
  
• Dynamic risk assessment: training workers to recognise changing conditions, reassess risk and withdraw when necessary. This should support, not replace, the organisation's formal risk assessment and planned controls
  
  
• Buddy or staffing arrangements for higher-risk tasks: some jobs shouldn't be done alone regardless of other controls
  
  
• Alarm and communication systems: such as personal safety devices, monitored alarms, suitable apps or radios. The chosen system should work in the environments where it will be used and must be supported by a reliable response procedure
  
  
• Travel and journey planning: sharing routes and expected arrival/departure times for field-based work
  
  
• Escalation and emergency procedures: a clear, well-communicated process for what happens if a worker doesn't check in or raises an alert
  
  
• Incident and near-miss reporting: encouraging lone workers to report incidents, including verbal abuse, rather than treating them as "part of the job"
  
  
• Wellbeing support: regular, meaningful contact with a manager, not just operational check-ins

Do lone workers need to be monitored?

Employers need an effective way to supervise and maintain contact with lone workers, but this does not necessarily require constant location tracking. The arrangement should reflect the level and type of risk. A few principles are worth keeping in mind:

• Workers need to understand what any monitoring system does and why it's in place
• Check-in frequency should reflect risk, not be applied as a blanket rule regardless of task
• Any alert or missed check-in must lead to a reliable, understood response, not just a recorded log
• Privacy should be considered alongside safety. Monitoring introduced without explanation can be perceived as surveillance or performance management rather than protection, which can undermine trust and reduce how honestly workers report concerns. Safety Management has explored this tension in more depth

When should an employee not work alone?

A risk assessment may conclude that a task should not be carried out by one person, particularly where the risks cannot be adequately controlled through training, equipment, communication or emergency arrangements. Examples may include situations where:

• The load, environment or handling method means the task cannot be completed safely by one person
• The equipment, process, manufacturer's instructions or safe system of work requires supervision or more than one person
• There's a foreseeable risk of violence that can't be adequately controlled through other means
• Rescue or emergency assistance couldn't reasonably be provided in time
• The worker doesn't yet have the training or experience to manage the risks involved

What should a lone-working policy include?

A lone-working policy sets out the organisation's overall rules and responsibilities, but it does not replace task- and role-specific risk assessments. The controls must reflect the actual hazards faced by different workers and working environments.

A clear, written lone-working policy typically covers:

• Scope: which roles and situations it applies to
• Responsibilities: for managers, lone workers and anyone monitoring check-ins
• The risk assessment process and how often it's reviewed
• Any activities that are not permitted to be carried out alone
• Communication and check-in frequency
• Alarm, device or monitoring arrangements, where used
• Emergency response procedures
• Incident and near-miss reporting routes
• Training requirements
• How lone workers are consulted about risks and controls
• Arrangements for workers who may be at greater risk because of health, disability, pregnancy, experience or other relevant circumstances
• Data and privacy arrangements where monitoring technology is used
• How and when the policy itself is reviewed

Supporting lone workers' wellbeing

Lone working can affect more than physical safety. Isolation, reduced day-to-day contact with colleagues, exposure to aggression, and the pressure of managing unpredictable situations alone can all take a toll over time. Regular, genuine contact from a manager (not only operational check-ins) and a workplace culture where reporting concerns is encouraged rather than seen as a weakness both make a meaningful difference.

Managers should agree how often meaningful contact will take place and ensure lone workers have access to supervision, team communication and opportunities to raise concerns. Warning signs such as repeated missed check-ins, changes in behaviour, reluctance to attend certain locations or reports of fatigue should be taken seriously and explored rather than treated only as performance issues.

Our Safe and Sound – Keep Thriving case study shows this in practice: staff feedback led to improved lone-worker contact arrangements, equipment and a stronger sense of connection among dispersed workers.

Sources and further guidance

• Health and Safety Executive: Protecting lone workers
  
  
• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 explained