Lone Working
We live in a 24-7 world. Care workers, shopworkers, maintenance workers, most jobs, can require people to be left alone and isolated. It can be dangerous. Workers have been murdered. Health, postal, emergency and shopworkers are frequently attacked. Injured workers have been undiscovered for hours. The law should protect you … make sure it does.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says lone workers are “those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision.” Three broad groups of workers are at risk, those: Working alone on site; working away from base; and homeworkers.
There are no specific legal duties on employers in relation to lone working, however the general duty of employers to maintain safe working arrangements under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act applies.
HSE advises employers that they have a legal duty to notify and consult with safety representatives about the jobs of employees who work alone.
Links
The links below open in new windows.
Hazards lone working factsheet
London Hazards Centre Factsheet
HSE Leaflet Working alone in safety: controlling the risks of solitary work
About
Is the main union that represents the shop workers in Stores & Supermarkets in Dundee and the rest of the UK
This Blog-site is for members of USDAW. And workers who would like to join USDAW.
About your trade union, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. It looks at the union at work, taking up members’ problems and negotiating with employers, in order to improve members’ wages and conditions.
