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Do you have safe working systems to manage the risks of working alone?
Employers can face significant penalties if they don’t!
Employers have a duty of care to minimise the risks of their employees who work alone by providing a safe working environment.
Ask yourself if you have any employees who:
If so, here’s how to minimise the risks.
Discuss issues and ideas with employees – there may be risks you’re unaware of. Consider if the employee is medically fit and suitable to work alone.
Open discussions allow employers to identify foreseeable issues that could cause a physical and mental burden on their employees.
Assess the risks in each situation and review if there are effective control measures in place.
It is important to record all incidents and near misses to prevent further occurrences.
By conducting a risk assessment at regular intervals, employers can ensure they are providing a safe work environment.
Investigate whether jobs can be reorganised to provide a safer working environment. Schedule higher risk tasks to be done during business hours, or when another worker is capable of helping if an emergency occurs. This can be done by creating a buddy system or implementing better communication procedures.
Employers should also provide appropriate training and education when new risks are identified in the workplace!
Create a communication plan to identify where workers will be during various times of the day.
Personal alarms can be given to employees to carry when visiting a client’s home.
Implement a check-in system such as messaging another worker for when they arrive and leave work.
Ensure there are emergency procedures in place for when the worker doesn’t check-in when expected.
Human Resources for Consulting Small and Medium Businesses in Adelaide and South Australia. Simple, and tailored advice, what you need and not what you don’t.