No Local Lone Working Laws? You’ve Still Got a Problem
Table on Contents
Who is a lone worker?
The importance of lone worker safety
The dangers lone workers face
Exploring local lone-working laws
OSHA’s General Duty Clause
Serious reputational and operational damage
How to protect lone and remote workers
Be lone worker safety advocate
Lone worker safety still needs to be a top priority for North American lawmakers. Despite more and more people working alone and in isolation or remotely, consistent, widespread lone worker safety legislation does not exist to protect these vulnerable people. In North America, lone workers are expected to grow from 320,000 to 605,000 users by the end of 2025.
However, the definition of a lone worker is new; in some cases, legislators and employers are learning who their lone workers are now, requiring new work safety strategies and steps to protect them. Even if there currently is no safety legislation or regulations in place to protect your lone and remote workers, you still have a moral responsibility and, as you’ll read further, possibly an obligation to OSHA’s general duty clause, as well as many other reasons to take steps that will increase that safety for lone employees.
Who is a lone worker?
This answer might look a little differently depending on your sector. Still, by definition, a lone worker is the same across industries: an employee who performs their job in circumstances where they are not in the presence of coworkers or help is not easily accessible should they quickly need it in an emergency or accident.
The importance of lone worker safety
There are an estimated 53 million lone workers in a range of industries across Canada, the United States and Europe. With communication technologies and devices becoming increasingly compact and advanced as well as new-found benefits discovered during the mass remote work of the pandemic, the number of lone workers may increase and with it, the safety challenges these people face.
Due to the singular fact that they are alone in their circumstances, this automatically puts these employees at risk of a number of occupational hazards and risks that people who are working in teams or in an office do not need to worry about.
The dangers lone workers face:
Once by themselves and away from coworkers, employees must be prepared for several safety hazards that are all very different but part of the same package that must be addressed.
Communication challenges
One of the primary factors that make lone workers “alone” is communication challenges and rapid access to emergency help in accidents. Lone workers may also face difficulties communicating other important information essential to a successful emergency response, such as details about their injury.
Workplace violence
In the United States alone, it is approximated that roughly 2 million employees experience workplace violence. That’s a lot. When working alone and around members of the public or with clients, patients, and customers, you’re unfortunately at risk of different forms of violence and harassment. Factors for workplace violence include services and care provision, use of cash transactions, and alcohol consumption.
Slips and falls
The most common occupational injury in almost every industry, slips and falls are also some of the most dangerous for lone workers because nobody can help if you do fall. This includes slipping, spraining an ankle, and requiring a helping hand – or falling on some ice, knocking your head unconscious, and demanding your coworker to call an ambulance.
Medical emergencies
Medical emergencies are unpredictable, and lone workers are very vulnerable to these types of crises, which can include cardiac arrest or heart attacks, strokes, seizures, burns, cuts, allergic reactions, chemical reactions, as well as complications with medical conditions such as diabetes.
Exploring local lone-working laws
In Canada, the Criminal Code has been amended so that organizations - and even people - may be criminally liable for failure to take reasonable measures to protect employee safety (effective March 2004) - The Westray Law or former Bill C-45. In the United States, while there’s no overarching federal legislation, specific industries are recognizing and, therefore, focusing on the safety of their lone workers, like in nine US cities for the hotel and hospitality industry.
Despite the lack of overall lone worker legislation and regulations in the US, there are serious consequences to not taking every step to protect these employees from their workplace hazards. There are consequences beyond the most obvious of harming your most important asset: your people. Even without the threat of safety fines or violations correcting you, the number one priority of an organization should be the safety and well-being of the people who keep it going – the employees, including the lone workers who are themselves at greater risk, in isolation.
OSHA’s General Duty Clause
Under the OSHA’s General Duty Clause in the United States, employers are required to “furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.” In the following interpretation letter, they list the following elements necessary to prove a violation of the General Duty Clause:
“The employer failed to keep the workplace free of a hazard to which employees of that employer were exposed;
The hazard was recognized;
The hazard was causing or was likely to cause death orserious physical harm; and
There was a feasible and useful method to correct the hazard.”
Violation of the General Duty Clause could result in steep OSHA fines and even imprisonment.
Serious reputational and operational damage
In addition, failure to take all reasonable steps to protect your lone-worker team will result in serious reputational damage as well as a ripple effect of losing valuable skilled people and high employee turnover. If your safety is impacted negatively, so will your operations and work, quite possibly resulting in low work productivity and quality.
How to protect lone and remote workers
With so much at stake and so much to protect, what can employers prepare proactively to make sure lone workers stay safe while in isolation? Whether or not safety legislation currently exists in your jurisdiction, employers – both big and small – have a moral obligation to take every step in their capacity to keep their lone workers from harm while performing job-related tasks.
Automate your safety systems
The first step is to automate the safety systems for your lone worker team using available technologies and mobile safety apps. One of the biggest enemies of occupational safety is human error. Automated technology eliminates that risk, such as safety check-ins, which easily confirm the safety of lone workers without much work required from the employer.
Monitor their location
Location monitoring is sometimes controversial, but we assure you that if you want the fastest emergency response possible, the lone worker’s location must be determined and therefore, monitored. Lone worker safety apps like SafetyLine only monitor employees when working and using the app.
Know what they’re facing
You probably have a good idea already; however, perform an exhaustive hazard assessment of your lone worker’s environment to develop an up-to-date list of occupational dangers they are presently facing. Perform these assessments with the lone workers, spending as much time and in as many different work conditions as required.
Provide safety training and OHS education
One of the most effective strategies for long-term safety efficacy is regular, in-person safety training that prepares them for possible dangerous situations. The training must be ongoing and evolving as your safety needs may change and develop. While not as engaging as safety training, OHS education classes are also important, keeping your lone workers informed and on their toes about work safety.
Establish strong safety policies and protocols
A major component of your safety training and education may include a new lone worker safety policy if that still needs to be developed for these employees. Within the lone worker policy will be your safety protocols and steps developed in response to any identified safety hazards in the workplace.
Be lone worker safety advocate
Regardless if it is mandatory for employers and companies to adopt safety measures in your city or industry, everyone has a moral duty to voluntarily do so, putting every proactive step in place to protect their lone workers. For best practices to be developed, industry associations and organizations must collaborate with the employees themselves, helping increase awareness around the unique hazards and circumstances of working alone.
While lone worker legislation and regulation is slow, it is up to businesses and industry to prioritize the well-being of employees working alone in vulnerable conditions – who protect those putting themselves at risk for their jobs. They deserve it, regardless of the local safety laws.