Security guards frequently work alone, often at night and in isolated locations. While there is no specific legislation prohibiting lone working, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 place clear duties on employers to assess and mitigate the risks.
Your Legal Obligations
Employers must carry out a specific risk assessment for lone working, considering the nature of the work, the location, the time of day, the individual’s experience and training, and any history of incidents at the site. The risk assessment must be documented and reviewed regularly.
Where risks cannot be adequately controlled, you may need to arrange for guards to work in pairs or implement additional safety measures such as regular check-in calls, GPS tracking, or lone worker alarm devices.
Essential Policy Components
A robust lone worker policy should cover communication procedures and check-in schedules, escalation processes when a guard fails to check in, emergency response procedures including nearest hospital and police contacts, site-specific hazard information, limits on tasks that should not be performed alone, and training requirements for lone working.
The policy must be communicated to every guard who works alone, and you should maintain records confirming they have read, understood, and agreed to follow the procedures.
Technology Solutions
Modern guard management platforms offer automated check-in systems that alert supervisors if a scheduled check call is missed. GPS tracking provides real-time visibility of guard locations, while panic button features on mobile apps give guards a discreet way to raise an alarm.
These technologies don’t replace a proper policy and risk assessment, but they significantly strengthen your safety net and provide evidence of due diligence should an incident occur.
Regular Review
Lone worker policies should be reviewed at least annually, and immediately after any incident involving a lone worker. Client feedback, near-miss reports, and changes to site conditions should all trigger a review. Keeping your policy current demonstrates active management of lone worker risks.
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