Falkirk Council defines lone working as any activity which requires employees to work:

• by themselves where there is no other person present
• in an occupied building but separately from others, out of close contact with colleagues
• alone with service users or members of the public in the office, at their home or out in the community

Lone working activities can include:

• Driving between work locations or to the homes of service users
• Cleaning offices, schools or other spaces
• Providing care to service users in their homes
• Repairing or maintaining plant, equipment or properties
• Hybrid or homeworking

Lone working can increase the risks associated with any work activity. The risks to personal safety or from illness and work-related accidents can increase for lone workers. Some higher-risk work activities should never be done by an individual working alone, like working in confined spaces or fumigation. Other tasks like operating heavy machinery, working at height or manual handling activities may also be inappropriate for lone workers without additional control measures.

Service Unit Managers and Head Teachers will ensure work activities within their respective work areas are adequately risk assessed in line with How to manage Health and Safety risks.

Employees will ensure they are familiar with the relevant risk assessment before carrying out any work activity. If a risk assessment is not available, the relevant Service Unit Manager or Head Teacher will ensure the work activity is risk assessed before it can be allowed to continue.

Factors that can increase the risks to employees while lone working include:

• working outside of normal office hours where there may be limited access to help or assistance
• working in remote areas where communication may be difficult
• the experience of individual employees and how well they can respond to unpredictable changes in work activities and environmental conditions like the weather
• medical or other conditions that could but the individual at risk if working alone
• higher risk work activities like manual handling, working with tools or equipment, working at height or contact with hazardous materials
• working with or alongside people whose behaviour may pose a risk to workers' safety

A Lone Working Hazard Assessment Tool is available on The Employee Portal. Service Unit Managers and Head Teachers can use this tool to:

• identify the lone working hazards associated with specific work activities
• determine the risk level associated with those hazards
• ensure that suitable management controls are in place to protect employees 

As part of the work activity risk assessment, consideration should be given to what reasonably practicable options are available to either prevent lone working or reduce the risk to employees who need to work alone.

The hierarchy of control should be applied to work activities where lone working is identified as a risk:

Eliminating lone working from work activities can be difficult because of the services we are required to deliver. In some cases, it can be appropriate and reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk by:

• working in teams to remove lone working altogether.  Some higher risk work activities should never be done by an individual working alone, like working in confined spaces or fumigation
• providing services from central locations where other employees are present
• no longer providing face to face services to specific individuals. This will eliminate some specific risks to employees by removing the lone working element of service delivery

In some cases, it is possible to change the way a service is delivered to reduce the risks from lone working. Examples of these options include:

• reorganising tasks or shift to team-based projects to encourage collaboration and reduce isolation
• using online platforms to facilitate team working
• job rotation among employees to reduce an individual's need for lone working
• using technology like vehicle trackers or lone working devices to increase the likelihood that assistance can be provided if required.

Administrative controls include work systems and procedures that support other approaches to reducing the risks from lone working.

These can include:

• rescheduling lower priority work activities to normal working hours increase the likelihood of assistance being available if required
• keeping in touch with lone workers and having processes in place to give help if required
• periodic, routine supervision visits of lone working activities
• training workers in how to deal with difficult customers, conflict resolution, when and how to escalate issues to senior workers, and procedures to report incidents.

Lone worker safety systems are process or technology-based solutions that provide a means for:

• employees to raise and alarm
• managers to locate employees in an emergency

For lower risk work activities, these systems could require that employees to:

• "check-in" with colleagues on their departure to and arrival at their work location
• maintain regular contact throughout the day
• "check-in" again on their departure and arrival back at their home or regular workplace

Higher risk work activities may require employees to use a lone working device. Typically, a lone working device will be issued to employees involved in work activities where they need to visit either non-Council locations or service user homes and may be at risk of exposure to harm due to either work-related violence or distressed or dysregulated behaviour.

The Lone Working Hazard Assessment Tool will provide an indication of the risk level of the hazards faced by lone workers which should be recorded in the activity risk assessment. Using this information, Service Unit Managers and Head Teachers will ensure.

• the most appropriate type of lone worker safety system is in place to manage the risks to employees
• employees receive appropriate training in the operation of the relevant lone worker safety system.

Service Directors, Heads of Service and Chief Officers are responsible for ensuring the health and safety of all employees and others in their respective service areas Service Directors, Heads of Service and Chief Officers will:

• ensure all employees are aware of this document
• ensure that adequate resources are made available within their Services to enable the implementation of this document

All Head Teachers and managers who have operational responsibility for other employees or for systems and procedures of work will be responsible for ensuring that:

• lone working activities within their respective work areas are adequately risk assessed and the most appropriate lone worker safety system is in place to manage the risks to employees
• employees within their respective work areas have access to and understand the required safety controls and procedures they are expected to follow. This includes the provision of appropriate work equipment, PPE and adequate training in their correct use
• ensure that this document is implemented within their respective work areas
• ensure employees and Trade Unions are consulted and engaged with during the risk assessment process 

These employees will have responsibility for implementing and monitoring lone worker safety systems to achieve good safety management with the Council.

These individuals will lead by example and be champions for health and safety within their work environment and are responsible for:

• ensuring the requirements of risk assessments for managing lone working are implemented within their respective work areas and shared with new and existing employees 

To create a positive and effective health and safety culture it is vital that all employees of Falkirk Council contribute positively to the successful management of health and safety. Employees will:

• Contribute to and follow the safe systems of work established within their work areas related to lone working