Frequently Asked Question 

know the risks

work safely

Before answering ‘Do Lone Workers need First Aid Training’, it is good to first understand what lone work is.

What is Lone Work

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) defines a lone worker as ‘someone who works by themselves without close or direct supervision’. This is not exclusive to any industry or job type and can include:

• working alone at a fixed place of work such as – a shop, petrol station, a factory or warehouse, an office or leisure facility
• working separately from other colleagues or people at the same premises – this could be due to the size of the premises vs people there or working outside of normal hours – this could include cleaners, maintenance, security, and repair staff
• work at home;
• work away from a fixed base (mobile workers) such as – social care and medical care, occupational health visiting customers in their home
• workers involved in construction, maintenance, and repair either in a fixed site or variable sites such as – installation and repair engineers, delivery drivers (courier on foot, bike, motorbike, or car), postal staff, service personnel, estate agents, agricultural work
• Volunteers under guidance working alone

Do Lone Workers need First Aid Training?

The answer is maybe! The need for first aid training for lone workers comes down to the risks and hazards they are exposed to as part of their work. If working alone will affect the outcome of an incident because a first aid response is slower than some first aid training for lone workers would be reasonable.

For example – a person that does some sort of installation, maintenance, or servicing work in customer homes or commercial plant rooms. Whilst they could rely on the homeowner helping them, or the workplace providing first aid cover, it would be beneficial to provide the worker with some training in how to administer first aid to themselves.

Another example – a person carrying our forestry work with chainsaws and other power tools. They would also benefit from some first aid training that would help them not only to administer it to themselves but also to their work colleagues.

The key to why first aid training for lone working is right is down to the specific injuries that could occur. In the first example injuries are likely to be with hand tools, drills, and perhaps collisions in tight spaces. In the second one, there is a great chance of catastrophic bleeding due to the type of tools used such as a chainsaw. Any first aid for lone workers should be targeted based on their work activity risks and how they are impacted by lone working.

The answer to the question ‘Do Lone Workers need First Aid Training?’ is – check the work activity risk assessment and if there is sufficient injury risk and it is impacted by lone working then a level of first aid training for lone workers is recommended.