Protecting those who work alone
October 1st 2010

With many employers now allowing or asking staff to be mobile workers, organisations must remember that they still need a relevant duty of care policy and approach. Jim Irving,CEO, Guardian24, explains

Atrend for more flexible working combined with a new army of mobile workers created as a result of businesses forced to close office premises during the recession has led to a rapid rise in a new style of working – 'lone worker' employees. Recent improvements in technology and communication channels have allowed engineering and manufacturing organisations to embrace and benefit from this new breed of flexible mobile workers.

With traditional 9-to-5 working days a thing of the past for many, employees are looking for more flexible ways of working in return for longer working hours.

Employers understand that the benefits of offering flexible working are mutually beneficial and seem equally keen – research by Hays last year reported that over half of employers (55%) welcome plans by the Government to introduce legislation requiring them to offer flexible working to all employees.

'Lone workers' have advantages for businesses and employees alike – reduced overheads, more efficient use of time, ability to cover a larger area as well as having a more flexible work force.

However, the rapid rise in this new style of working is highlighting vulnerabilities in businesses. In many cases, organisations simply don't understand the potential requirements that their newly created 'lone worker' workforce have. At the most basic level, the obligation for all employers is to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees.

This obligation has become increasingly important since the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

An alarmingly large number of employees feel their bosses are not doing enough to protect mobile workers. The Health and Safety Executive defines a Lone Worker as someone who works by themselves without close or direct supervision.While lone working itself does not automatically imply a higher risk, it is generally understood that working alone can increase the vulnerability of workers.

Worryingly, a recent survey by Orange found that only 53% of workers currently believe their employers do all they can to keep them safe while working out of the office.

Out of sight, out of mind is a dangerous but all too common attitude when it comes to legal obligations regarding lone workers.

This is the opinion of Guardian24, a company which works with a wide range of large public and private sector, helping them provide technology to safeguard their lone working employees.With many employers now allowing or asking staff to be mobile workers, organisations must remember they still have a relevant duty of care policy and approach. It's essential that businesses invest time and resources to ensure the safety of lone workers.

Guardian24 is a lone worker personal security service that can be used via a BlackBerry smartphone,Windows PDA, mobile phone or specialist lone worker device. It allows users to log their whereabouts and daily tasks, send GPS locations and raise an alert in a time of need. Should a worker's safety be compromised, they can discretely summon emergency help with the press of a dedicated panic button on their chosen device. At this point Guardian24 provides the user's personal details, activity details and live audio to the respondent receiving the call. The respondent may then call the incident helpline and connect to a live feed through the user's handset for further emergency audio. This information is invaluable if you need to notify the emergency services.

With a few simple steps, organisations can find relatively simple and costeffective solutions that help them fulfil their obligations and keep their workforce safe.

Almost 30,000 lone workers use Guardian24 in the UK, and clients include companies such as Group 4 Securicor, Fife Council and a number of major financial institutions.

Guardian24 works with companies, guiding them through the process of risk assessment, policy review and development, lone worker monitoring, devices and SIMS, alarm response services, policy implementation and bespoke lone worker training, lone worker legal services and procurement. Guardian24 is a hosted service maintained in the head office in Belfast.

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