Lone Working Policy Template
A comprehensive framework enabling management teams to develop, document, and review safety arrangements and risk mitigation strategies for employees working independently or in isolation.
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How to Use This Checklist
- Complete the Lone Working Policy Assessment section: record when it was conducted, who prepared it, and the location it covers. Quote the opening fields below to keep your record traceable. > Conducted on | Prepared by | Location
- Draft the Lone Working Policy Framework: write the policy statement and define its scope of application, then list related policies and procedures so the policy connects to your existing arrangements. Describe the operational context and work environment to show where the policy applies. > Policy Statement | Scope of Application | Related Policies and Procedures | Operational Context and Work Environment
- Assess the risk: identify the potential hazards of working alone, then record the pre-control risk assessment level. Record the pre-control level before you decide on the controls. > Potential Hazards of Working Alone | Pre-Control Risk Assessment Level
- Choose and record controls: apply risk control measures, describe their detailed implementation, then record the post-control residual risk level. Use the control categories this checklist offers. > Risk Control Measures Applied | Detailed Implementation of Control Measures | Post-Control Residual Risk Level
- Set the operational limits: record the maximum continuous lone working duration in hours, define the supervision and monitoring arrangements, and write the emergency response protocols. > Maximum Continuous Lone Working Duration (Hours) | Supervision and Monitoring Arrangements | Emergency Response Protocols
- Close out the assessment: write recommendations and conclusion, sign, and record when it was finished and the real inspection start and end dates. > Recommendations and Conclusion | Signature | Finished At | Inspection real start date | Inspection real end date
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What this checklist is for
A lone working policy is the written framework that sets out how you manage the risks faced by employees who work independently or in isolation. The purpose is to state what you will do, define where and to whom it applies, and describe the controls and response arrangements that keep lone workers safe. This template is organised into a Lone Working Policy Assessment and a Lone Working Policy Framework. It captures the policy statement, its scope of application, related policies and procedures, the operational context and work environment, the potential hazards of working alone, the risk controls you apply, the supervision and monitoring arrangements, and the emergency response protocols. It also records the people, location, dates, and times involved.
Why lone worker safety is different
When someone works alone, there may be no one nearby to notice an incident or to raise the alarm. The same task carries different risks when there is no immediate help available. The checklist reflects this by asking you to identify the potential hazards of working alone and to assess the level of risk both before and after controls are applied, rather than treating risk as a single, fixed number.
How a good policy is structured
The framework section anchors the policy in your organisation's existing arrangements. It prompts you to: - Write a policy statement that says what the organisation intends to do about lone working. - Define the scope of application so it is clear who and what the policy covers. - List the related policies and procedures it connects to. - Describe the operational context and work environment in which lone working happens. The assessment section then captures who conducted the assessment, who prepared it, and the location it covers, together with the dates and times of the inspection.
Assessing the hazards and applying controls
The checklist asks you to identify the potential hazards of working alone, then to record a pre-control risk assessment level. You then choose and apply risk control measures, describe their detailed implementation, and record the post-control residual risk level. The checklist offers a set of control categories you can use to classify what you have put in place. In order of preference as applied to the risk, these are: 1. Elimination 2. Substitution 3. Engineering Controls 4. Administrative Controls 5. PPE The categories help you show how far up the hierarchy of control you have gone and make the chosen controls easier to justify and review.
Supervision, monitoring, and emergency response
Because a lone worker cannot rely on a colleague nearby, supervision and response arrangements are part of the control set rather than an afterthought. The checklist captures: - The maximum continuous lone working duration, in hours. - The supervision and monitoring arrangements. - The emergency response protocols. Use these fields to set clear expectations about how the lone worker will be monitored, how often contact will happen, and what should occur when contact is missed or an emergency arises.
Recording and reviewing the policy
The checklist closes with recommendations and conclusion, a signature, and the time the assessment was finished. It also records the inspection real start and end dates. Keeping these details makes the policy auditable and gives you a clear base for reviewing it later or when the work environment, the task, or the people involved change.
Common pitfalls to watch for
A few failures recur when lone working is managed on paper alone: - Concentrating on the finished document instead of the underlying risk assessment. - Listing controls without describing how they are implemented in practice. - Setting risk controls at one level and then changing the task without re-assessing. - Treating monitoring and emergency response as separate from the risk controls, rather than part of them. - Failing to record when the assessment was done, who did it, and what it covered.
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