Hey all I'm trying to be pragmatic, but so could do with some lessons learned or feedback on what you do in your industry/company We have lone workers in different situations: Lone working with groups of public (anything from 2 to 30) in a location which we have little control over e.g. village hall: This concerns me as this is one of our guys with no one from our organisation or the venue present, it would just be public there (in a variety of locations with associated social issues), I would like there to be a second person there personally. Failing that I would like them to Ring In and Ring Out hourly. Lone working with vulnerable members / service users in their home: I would like them to Ring In and Ring out - when they arrive, and when they leave or after an hour (whichever comes first) Lone working in public places e.g. shopping malls, gyms, supermarkets, bingo halls, county fayres: I might be wrong in this (perhaps it's personal prejudice) but I see it as less risky because of public around to assist (acknowledging the potential for bystander effect) so I think Ring In and Ring Out on arrival, halfway through time there (typically an hour and a half or two hours) and then at end of activity/when leaving Could you share what you do, we're starting from basically nothing, and I'd like to make sure we have better systems in place...without going overboard Thanks in advance!

I lone work in remote locations meeting clients or giving courses to groups. No one knows where I am or when I'll be back except my husband. I'm fine with that. I've also in the past had to go into poepel;s homes on my own to take statements (inspector days). It does depend on what they are doing. Loads of people lone work, including meeting public, going to people's homes etc. Is there a history of aggression towards the staff? Not really practicable to say that there will always be two people. As DaisyMaisy says conflict mangement training can be useful. I hate to say it but you need to assess each situation. For visits to people' homes with potentially aggressive people then two people may be required. Bt for every visit? If it makes you feel better then have a call in and call out system but you need manpower for that so it will depend on how many staff you have and if that is logistically possible. Lone working is fine unless there is a real hazard. But you need to demonstrate that you've assessed it.

Hi Thanks for the feedback so far All our personnel are trained in personal safety, and how to manage conflict - that is strategies to calm the situation through listening and talking. I'm just worried that we have people, very often working outside of office hours, without people knowing where they are and if they are ok. We do have some incidents of violence or aggressive behaviour (including sexual advances or assaults). I'm told by managers that working in pairs is not possible, they don't have the capacity. I'm told that the ring in ring out procedure - even if just start, middle and end of day - would be too burdensome. I would like a system that meant, if for instance, a lone worker were to be hurt there would be a system to know where they are and that something might be wrong. For instance in a previous life I was expected to ring in at regular intervals and if I missed a call, they called me to check I was ok. I guess because it's something I've worked before it seems an "obvious" solution if you really can't work in pairs. I've also worked in the social care sector where carers rang in to the support team between each visit, so I guess I thought that was quite typical. I'm also acutely aware that many of our personnel don't have families at home to notice they didn't make it home from work, so I'd like us to manage the risk until they clock off.

Mrs R Everything in your last post sounds totally reasonable for the service you describe re phone in logs etc. Good luck Jeff

But the 'reasonable' bit is the sticking point. When I worked for the HSE going to people's homes to take statements I was on my own, no one knew where I was or when I would be back and I did not have to check in or out. I chose to have conflict management traning but it wasn't a requirement. Interestingly as a female I was given a personal alarm (one of those things you press that gives off a loud noise), as I visited remote farms......about as much use in the middle of nowhere as a chocolate teapot!!! Intersting this concept of ringing someone when you're out (especailly the idea of a secret code!). I don't think there is much historical evidence of officials being held hostage or murdered. So what does it prevent? Conflict management training would seem much better. If it's high risk a two person job (note that on occasions I did ask for a second person to attend with me due to concerns about the neighbourhood). If someone is known to have 'issues' then fine take a second person but secret telephone codes????

Isn't "Mace" Spray illegal other than use by the Police? Where would you (legally) buy the stuff?!!! The work situations described by the OP don't seem on the face of it to be particularly risky. The question arises with the phone-in/ call-out system: What happens next?

In my opinion ringing in and out is reasonable. We use codewords for our "surgery" work, where a confidential space is required and the worker is on their own in a room with clients. Others pop by and other tea or coffee, or ask the worker if they've seen X or Y etc. In sites where we own or rent the space (so not sharing with others) we install portable doorbells, to raise the alarm. Alarm systems were looked into but we were advised by security that the noise may escalate the situation. Similarly my understanding from working with those in security or ex-police is that personal alarms are only good if you have them in your hand (they're usually in a handbag) and if the assailent takes the "flight" option rather than the "fight" option. I've stopped carrying my one since I was warned it could make the aggressor more aggressive. I think code words could be reassuring to workers who are unsure of their environment and the situation they're in and don't necessarily want to be saying something that might make the situation worse. I hadn't thought of transferring that across. I'm a bit wary of self defence techniques, I prefer conflict management with talking your way out if you can. I'd like to think that physical self defence techniques would be advantageous but I can't help thinking it could worsen the situation by encourgaing a "fight" response. That said when I was grabbed from behind I did resort to stamping on the man's foot, and he released his grip. I got away and got help, but my foot was swollen by the time I got home and I was laid up for weeks having fractured my foot in three separate places. On a more light hearted note, I'm not sure about mace spray, but I hear you're allowed to use anything to hand for self defence, plenty of ladies may carry hairspray or footspray in their handbags.....