Risk assessment, competence, and when lone working is not suitable

Lone working is not automatically unlawful. The legal and practical question is whether the risks have been properly assessed and controlled. HSE and HSENI require employers to assess lone-working risks and implement suitable controls. Some higher-risk tasks will need another person present.

What a pharmacy lone-working risk assessment should consider

• The task: what the worker must do, which equipment or medicines are involved, and whether the task could become unsafe without assistance.
• The worker: experience, training, confidence, language, health conditions, and whether they are new to the role or facing a new situation.
• The place: pharmacy layout, consultation room design, rear exits, lighting, parking, mobile signal, public access, and any known local security concerns.
• The time: early morning, evening, weekends, dark deliveries, or periods when abuse or attempted theft is more likely.
• The emergency arrangements: first aid, alarms, check-ins, emergency contacts, and the plan if the worker does not return or call in.
• The history: previous incidents, near misses, complaints, or patterns linked to people, places, or times.

Competence, supervision, and limits

HSE notes lone workers may need additional training because help is less available. Risk assessment should inform the level of supervision. New staff, trainees, agency workers, locums, or anyone doing a task with specific risks may need closer supervision initially.

• Set clear limits: define what workers can do alone and what tasks require another person.
• Do not equate familiarity with competence: "they have always done it" is not a risk assessment.
• Review after change: new services, staff, hours, increased public contact, or recent incidents may affect whether lone working remains appropriate.
• Ask workers what really happens: staff experience and reports of near misses are essential to a realistic assessment.

Stress, isolation, and medical suitability

HSE's lone-working guidance highlights mental health and wellbeing as well as physical safety. Being isolated can increase work-related stress and reduce access to support, particularly when workers face repeated uncertainty or difficult incidents alone.

• Poor contact increases stress: if workers cannot reach a manager easily or do not know when someone will check on them, they may feel disconnected or abandoned.
• Isolation affects judgement and confidence: this is more likely after aggression, difficult deliveries, missed check-ins, or repeated late shifts alone.
• Support must be part of the system: regular contact, clear escalation routes, and realistic supervision are integral to safer lone working.
• Medical suitability may need assessment: if there is genuine doubt about a worker's health affecting lone working safety, seek medical advice and consider both routine duties and possible emergencies.

This is not about excluding people from lone working without reason. It is about ensuring arrangements are safe, proportionate, and supported for the individual and the task.

Some pharmacy situations should not normally be done alone if adequate controls cannot protect the worker.

• First-time or poorly supervised high-risk openings: especially where rear access, early public contact, cash, or delivery handling are involved.
• Deliveries or visits to known-aggression addresses: where previous behaviour, local intelligence, or recent incidents indicate higher risk.
• Unsafe deliveries after dark: where lighting, access, parking, or the surrounding environment make withdrawal or escape difficult.
• Consultations in poorly designed rooms: where the worker has no practical route to summon help or leave safely if behaviour changes.
• Any task where the worker is new, the setting is unfamiliar, or emergency arrangements are weak: do not allow lone working until risks have been reviewed and controlled.

What managers and supervisors should review

The main test is not "can this task be done by one person?" but "can it be done safely by one person, with this worker, in this place, at this time, with realistic help if needed?"