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Staying Safe While Working Alone

Staying Safe While Working Alone

It is estimated that there are up to eight million people in the UK who work alone, making up approximately 20% of the entire UK working population. Under the UK’s Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, employers must ensure they mitigate risks to lone workers. This can be done by properly preparing staff for the potential dangers associated with working alone and teaching them the appropriate skills to protect themselves with online maritime training from VIRSEC.  

What Is a Lone Worker

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines lone workers as ‘those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision’. This includes those who work:  

  • Outside of normal work hours, such as security staff and cleaners 
  • With patients outside of the hospital, like healthcare, counselling and social care workers
  • In transport and logistics, such as bus, delivery and taxi drivers
  • Alone in fixed places like shops and petrol stations
  • Digitally and from remote places as of recent years
  • Away from a fixed base, such as maintenance workers, engineers, field workers, sales reps and housing inspectors

In fact, lone workers operate in a variety of organisations across nearly every industry. Due to the nature of working alone, lone workers can often find themselves targeted in attacks on them or their work, as they could be seen as an easy target or even risk suffering an accident while working with nobody around to help.  

For these reasons, lone working is considered a higher risk activity than other lines of work but with the correct training, lone workers can go about their work safely without worrying about being potentially ambushed or taking unnecessary risks at their workplace. 

How to Protect Lone Workers

Due to the lack of support, it is critical that someone who is working on their own can look after their own health and safety. At VIRSEC there are many courses available to teach individuals all they need to know for taking care of themselves, including body language security training for assessing threats and decoding non-verbal communication

Aside from knowing how to physically protect yourself, there are several other ways you can ensure you remain safe, including:

  • Let somebody know ahead of time when you expect to be back and where you are going. 
  • Have a channel for communication, should you need it.
  • Conduct your own risk assessment, especially if you are working in an environment that is dangerous or invites danger.
  • Take necessary breaks to recharge and remain on guard at all times.
  • Follow all safety procedures you were taught and treat them as laws that cannot be bent or interpreted; they are in place for your safety.  

How Many Lone Workers Are Attacked Every Day?

According to British crime surveys, as many as 150 lone workers are verbally or physically attacked in the UK every day with the yearly sum averaging at 54,570 lone workers being attacked at work. In 2023, acts of violence accounted for 8% of non fatal workplace injuries. The number is already high and is likely under-reported showcasing just how important it is for lone workers to be able to defend themselves

Stay Safe at Work Thanks to VIRSEC

To support organisations in keeping their staff safe and increase awareness and confidence among employees, VIRSEC have developed a fully online course called Lone Worker Awareness – Dealing with Conflict. The training course addresses the potential dangers of working alone as well as practical steps that can be taken to mitigate and control associated risks. In the course, you can find topics covering areas such as:  

  • The Threat Pyramid
  • Psychology of Conflict Situations
  • Experiencing Aggression and Relevant Theories
  • Typical Response Mechanisms
  • Conflict Management and De-Escalation
  • Threat and Risk Assessments
  • Improvised Self-Defence Tools and Measures
  • Conducting Due Diligence and Emergency Procedures

The course can be taken by lone workers in any industry worldwide and is especially useful for anyone whose role frequently involves working alone in environments where the potential for harm from a third party is a reality. This training is fully approved by the UK CPD Accreditation Group, which is an internationally recognised certification. 

Be sure to book yourself onto our lone worker awareness course and why not explore our other courses, including maritime training courses and mental health first aid course, because its not just physical attacks that lone workers should face; knowing how to aid your mental health can help you just as much as knowing how to defend your physical self. 

If you have any questions about our lone worker course or any of our services, then be sure to contact us. We will happily answer any questions you may have.