A lone working risk assessment looks at one question: if something goes wrong while this person is on their own, how quickly will anyone know, and how quickly can help reach them? Lone workers include the cleaner locking up at night, the home health aide, the field technician at a rural pump station, the real estate agent showing an empty house and the security guard on a weekend round. This template records who works alone, where and when, the risks that being alone makes worse, and the arrangements that cover them — above all the check-in schedule and what happens when a check-in is missed. A missing check-in or a missing escalation procedure is flagged at the top of the report. Fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Being alone changes the risk
Working alone is not a hazard in itself. What it does is take away the person who would notice a fall, call for help after a collapse, or step in when a visitor turns aggressive. So the same slip that means a sprained ankle in a busy warehouse can mean hours on a cold floor for someone alone in a plant room with no signal.
That is why this form asks about the place and the timing as much as the task: where they will be, at what hours, how long at a stretch, and whether a phone will work there. It also asks which tasks should never be done alone — entering a confined space or working on live electrical equipment are the usual examples.
The check-in is the control
Every lone working arrangement rests on someone expecting to hear from the worker at a set time. Record how they check in (a call, an app with a timer, a monitored alarm device, a named buddy), how often, and who is watching for it. Match the interval to the risk: a desk worker staying late might check in at the end of the evening; someone working at height on a remote site may need a call every half hour.
A lone worker device only helps if it is charged, worn and answered. The form asks about each of those, not just whether a device was issued.
When a check-in is missed
The escalation procedure is the part most often left unwritten. Spell it out step by step: how long the monitor waits, who tries to call, who is sent to look, and when emergency services are called. Write down the address and expected finish time of every lone job so the person escalating knows where to send help. Test the procedure now and then with a planned missed check-in — that is the only way to find out it works.
Ask the people who do it
Lone workers know where the signal drops out, which sites feel unsafe after dark and which clients have been difficult before. Talk to them while filling this in, record any health circumstance they choose to share that affects working alone, and have each of them sign that they have read the result.
On the phone, speak while you walk, and the document writes itself: walk the route a lone worker takes, describe what you see, and the assessment fills in.
Common questions
Is working alone legal in the US?
Yes. There is no general federal ban on working alone, and OSHA has no standard just for lone workers, though specific rules require a second person for some tasks, such as an attendant outside a permit-required confined space. Employers are still expected to protect lone workers from recognized hazards. Several Canadian provinces have explicit working-alone rules, and in the UK the HSE publishes guidance on it.
Who counts as a lone worker?
Anyone who works without close or direct supervision and out of sight or earshot of colleagues, even for part of a shift. That includes people working in the community, mobile workers, those on early, late or weekend shifts, and someone alone in one part of an otherwise busy building.
How often should a lone worker check in?
Often enough that, if they were hurt, help would reach them in time. Higher-risk work, remote places and poor signal all call for shorter intervals. Agree the interval with the worker and write it down here.
Do we need a lone worker device?
Not always. A scheduled call may be enough for low-risk work in a place with good signal. A device with a panic button, fall detection or a satellite link makes sense where violence is a risk, where the worker might be unable to call, or where there is no cell coverage.
How often should the assessment be reviewed?
At least once a year, and whenever the work, the location, the hours or the people change, after any incident involving a lone worker, and whenever a missed check-in exposes a gap.