Lone Working Policy
Parish of St Thomas with St Stephen Policy for Lone Working.
To download a printable copy, please click here.
St Thomas with St Stephen is committed to providing a safe working environment as far as reasonably practical that meets the needs of its staff and conforms to Health & Safety legislation.
Definition of lone working
Individuals are alone at work when they are on their own, they cannot be seen or heard by another worker, and/or where assistance is not readily available.
Aims of the policy
The aims of the policy are to:
Increase awareness of safety issues relating to lone working
Ensure that the risks of lone working are assessed regularly and that
systems are put in place to minimise the risk as far as is practical.
Office based staff
Ensure that the parish office holds up to date mobile phone numbers
for all staff.
If there is a change to a member of staff’s day, they must inform the office so that if a member of staff does not arrive a phone call will be made to contact that person.
When leaving the office to meet clients always record in diary or tell office team the estimated time of return.
When working out of their regular hours staff member should text a named person to let them know they have left the building.
All individuals are to take relevant and sensible precautionary measures whilst lone working. If a member of staff feels they are putting themselves at risk through lone working they should discuss the situation with their line manager.
Working at height will not be undertaken when working alone and must comply with health & safety provisions for the use of ladders & scaffold towers.
Staff must make sure that external doors are closed when lone working.
Do not let into the building unauthorised or unannounced persons when lone working.
Members of staff are encouraged not to handle cash when lone working.
This policy will be reviewed every 5 years from Jan 2017.
Keep yourself safe
Do not give out personal details where possible
Do not seek to communicate/make contact or respond to with children/young people or adults at risk outside of the purposes of the work.
We are committed to reviewing our policy and procedures annually.
Last Updated: July 2021
For our main Safeguarding page, click here.
For further safeguarding information from the Southwark Diocese, please visit:
Diocese of Southwark - 'A Safe Church'