Establishing a healthy and safe working environment for lone workers can be different from organising the health and safety of other employees. They should not be put at more risk than other people working for you.
It will often be safe to work alone. However, the law requires employers to think about and deal with any health and safety risks before people are allowed to do so.
Things you could consider to help ensure lone workers are not put at risk include:
assessing areas of risk including violence, manual handling, the medical suitability of the individual to work alone and whether the workplace itself presents a risk to them
requirements for training, levels of experience and how best to monitor and supervise them
making sure you know what is happening, including having systems in place to keep in touch with them
The HSE has created a Health and Safety guidance on the risk of lone working, which is aimed at anyone who employs or engages lone workers and also at self-employed people who work alone.
Following the guidance in the leaflet is not compulsory, but it should help employers to understand what they need to do to comply with their legal duties towards lone workers under:
Find out more
Working alone: Health and safety guidance on the risks of lone working (Leaflet INDG73)
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg73.htm
