Lone Working Risk Assessment Template (Free)

A lone working risk assessment records what could harm a person working alone, how likely and how serious that harm is, and the measures you take to reduce it. The template below is a Word document with the structure HSE recommends and the ten hazards that come up in almost every lone working assessment already entered, so you start from a half full page rather than a blank one.

It follows the five steps HSE uses for every risk assessment, with one addition that is specific to lone working: a section on how the worker summons help and how long it would take to arrive. That question, not the hazard list, is what makes lone working different.

Step 1: describe the work

Write down what is done alone, by whom, where, when and for how long, and how the worker travels there. Be specific about time of day, because the same task carries a different risk at 14:00 and at 02:00, and about the people likely to be met: customers, members of the public, service users, nobody at all. HSE’s driving for work guidance treats the journey as part of the work, so include it.

Step 2: list the hazards and who might be harmed

The template lists ten hazards that apply to most lone working; delete the ones that do not apply and add any that are specific to your work. HSE’s lone working pages single out two that are easy to underrate.

Violence and aggression from the public, customers or service users, including verbal abuse and threats. HSE’s violence at work guidance is the reference.
Accident or sudden illness with nobody present, where the harm is the delay in getting help rather than the event itself. Consider the worker’s health and whether any condition makes lone working unsuitable; HSE suggests medical advice where you are not sure.
Slips, trips, falls and work at height, where a lone worker who falls may not be found for hours.
Poor or no mobile signal, which turns every other hazard into a worse one because the alarm cannot be raised.
Driving between jobs, long hours and late finishes.
Confined spaces, plant rooms, electrical and gas work, which usually need a two person rule rather than a lone working control.
Fire, where there is no second person to raise the alarm or help.
Isolation, stress and fatigue. HSE says lone working can cause stress, especially when contact with managers is poor.
Manual handling with nobody to help.
Dogs and other animals at premises, a common cause of injury on home visits.

Step 3: record the controls and rate the risk

For each hazard write the controls that already exist, then rate the risk with those controls as Low, Medium or High. Be honest: a control that exists on paper but is not used does not count. Then record any further action needed, who will do it and by when, and tick it off when it is done. The further action column is the one a court or an inspector reads, because it shows whether you acted on what you found.

Typical controls for lone working are information before a visit, training in personal safety, an agreed rule that the worker may withdraw, a safety app with an SOS and a duress PIN, check-in timers for higher risk tasks, welfare checks, monitoring of whether the phone is still reporting, limits on hours, and two person rules for the tasks that need them.

Step 4: how is help summoned, and how fast does it arrive?

This is the lone working question. Write down how the worker raises the alarm (app SOS, personal alarm, phone, calling 999), who receives it and in what order, how long before escalation moves to the next person, and what the responder actually does: phones the worker, sends a colleague, calls the emergency services with the location, contacts the site. State the check-in interval for the task and what happens when a check-in is missed or the phone goes quiet.

Then be realistic about the time it would take for someone to reach the worker and ask whether that is acceptable for the hazards you listed. If a worker could be unconscious for two hours before anyone noticed, the assessment has found a problem, and the answer is a shorter check-in interval, a different control, or a decision that the task is not suitable for lone working.

Step 5: decide, communicate and review

Record the decision: lone working is acceptable with these controls, acceptable except for the tasks marked two person, or not acceptable. Give the assessment to the workers it covers, train them in the controls, note who was trained and when, and set a review date no more than a year away. Review sooner after any incident or near miss, or when the work, the people or the place changes.

Worked example: evening cleaning at client offices

The work: one cleaner, alone in a client’s office from 18:00 to 21:00, three evenings a week, driving between two sites. Hazards: slips on wet floors, an intruder or an aggressive member of the public at the door, sudden illness, a plant room with no signal, and driving home late. Controls already in place: training, the client’s site induction, a phone with the safety app and a shift started at 18:00, a check-in timer of 30 minutes while in the plant room, a rule not to open the door to anyone, and a text to the supervisor when leaving. Risk with controls: Low for slips, Medium for aggression, Low for illness, Low for signal (the app sends the SOS when signal returns and the timer runs on the server). Further action: the supervisor to confirm the escalation ladder has two names outside office hours, by the end of the month. Decision: acceptable with these controls.

How to use the template

Open it in Word or any office suite that reads .docx, and replace every item in square brackets.
Delete the hazards that do not apply and add your own rows.
Fill the "how help is summoned" section with real names and real times, then test it with a drill.
Have a manager approve it, give it to the workers, and diarise the review.
If you want the thinking behind each step, read our guide on how to write a lone working risk assessment.

Download the template

A landscape Word document: the activity, a hazard table with ten common lone working hazards already entered, a section on how help is summoned, the decision, and sign off. No form to fill in.

Download the risk assessment template (Word)

Frequently asked questions

Is a lone working risk assessment a legal requirement?

Yes. Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires every employer to assess the risks to employees and others, and lone working is a risk like any other. If you have five or more employees the significant findings must be written down.

Can one assessment cover all my lone workers?

Only if they do the same work in the same kind of place. A cleaner alone in an office at 7pm and an engineer alone in a plant room face different hazards. Assess by activity or role, not by job title, and keep each one short.

What risk rating should I use?

HSE does not require a scoring system. Low, Medium and High, judged from how likely harm is and how serious it would be, is enough for most organisations and is what the template uses. Use numbers only if your organisation already does.

How often must it be reviewed?

When anything changes (the work, the people, the place, an incident or near miss) and in any case regularly; once a year is the common choice. Put the review date on the form.

Should the lone worker be involved?

Yes. HSE expects employers to consult workers, and the person who does the job alone is the one who knows where the risks are. The template has a line for the people consulted.

What is the difference between this and a dynamic risk assessment?

This is the written assessment done in advance. A dynamic risk assessment is the judgement the worker makes on the spot, such as leaving a property because the situation feels wrong. The written assessment should tell workers they are expected to make that call and will be backed when they do.

How this guide was written

Written by the SafetyEvo team, who build lone worker safety software and use it in their own field business. Every legal point is checked against the primary source listed below, the guide carries the date it was published and the date it was last reviewed, and it is corrected when the law or the guidance changes. It is general guidance, not legal advice for your situation.

Sources

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. For your own situation, speak to a health and safety or legal adviser.

Lone working risk assessment template: free download and how to fill it in