Hi,
I know an apprentice aged 21 who is undertaking an apprenticeship in a college gym. He has worked for the college for 8 months. Occasionally he is expected to work weekends until 18;00 hrs. He is the only person on the premises and is expected to lock up at the end of his shift, there is no supervision or security on the premises. Please correct me if I am wrong, an apprentice is a trainee/ not fully competent. The fact that he is alone, (lone working) and a trainee I would of thought that adequate supervision must be in place.
There is a generic risk assessment for lone working, however, I believe that a risk assessment for an apprentice should be more robust as they are less likely to spot hazards and perform their tasks without realising their limitations.

Thoughts please

Thanks Ray,
Ray I haven’t seen the risk assessment either, nor has the apprentice/trainee, however, the gym has security from Monday to Friday, so I presume that the risk assessment has identified that there is a risk to staff when they are locking up. The person in question has already had to inform his superiors of an incident where youths refused to leave the premises at closing time. Fortunately it was through the week when security was at work. If this was to happen at the weekend when security are not working he could end up being attacked and nobody would know a thing about it.
I agree at the age of 21 you are an adult, however, the combination of lone working, being an apprentice/trainee and not receiving any type of training on how to cope with unexpected circumstances and potential exposure to violence and aggression he is more vulnerable than others. Surely the college has a legal obligation under section 2 of HSW to ensure adequate supervision.

Thanks Bob