Lone Working Safety Course (UK) 2026
This course is for security officers and other staff who work alone in the UK. It covers what lone working is, the law in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, risk assessment, keeping in touch, violence, RIDDOR reporting and wellbeing, based on HSE guidance. It is background knowledge only: your employer must still give you health and safety training for your own job and site, as the law requires.
En bref
Ce cours gratuit comprend environ 30 minutes de leçons et un test de 25 questions. Obtenez 80 % ou plus pour télécharger une attestation de réussite (privée, non accréditée). Vérifié à partir des sources officielles le 13 octobre 2026.
Ce que vous allez apprendre
- Explain who counts as a lone worker
- Name the main UK laws that protect lone workers
- Describe what a lone working risk assessment should consider
- Use check-ins and alarm systems to stay in touch
- Respond to violence and report incidents correctly
- Look after your first aid needs and wellbeing when working alone
Obtenez 80 % ou plus pour télécharger votre certificat.
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Question 1 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: C. Someone who works alone without close or direct supervision
HSE says lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision.
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Question 2 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: D. As lone working, since there is no close supervision
Working by yourself without close or direct supervision is lone working under HSE's definition, whatever the shift length.
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Question 3 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: A. Often yes, but the employer must deal with the risks first
HSE says it will often be safe to work alone, but the law requires the employer to think about and deal with the risks first.
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Question 4 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: C. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
HSE says that under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, employers must manage the risk to lone workers.
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Question 5 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: C. No, these responsibilities cannot be transferred
HSE's lone working guidance says the employer's responsibilities cannot be transferred to any other person, including the people who work alone.
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Question 6 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. Yes, the duties cover people contracted to work for them
HSE says the employer's duty to manage lone working risks applies to anyone contracted to work for them, including self-employed people.
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Question 7 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: A. No, but the general risk assessment must cover it
HSE says there is no legal requirement for a separate lone worker risk assessment, but lone working risks must be included in the general one.
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Question 8 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: A. Write down the significant findings
Regulation 3(6) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 says an employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings.
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Question 9 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. Working in a confined space
HSE lists confined spaces, work near exposed live electricity conductors, diving, vehicles carrying explosives and fumigation as work needing at least one other person.
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Question 10 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: D. Whether the worker is medically fit to work alone
HSE says employers should consider the medical suitability of the worker to work alone, along with violence, stress and the workplace itself.
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Question 11 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: D. The higher the risk, the more supervision is needed
HSE says supervision should be based on the risk assessment: the higher the risk, the more supervision lone workers need.
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Question 12 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. They cannot easily ask more experienced colleagues for help
HSE says lone workers are usually unable to ask more experienced colleagues for help, so extra training may be appropriate.
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Question 13 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: C. Check-ins at pre-agreed intervals by phone, radio or email
HSE suggests pre-agreed intervals of regular contact between the lone worker and the employer, using phones, radios, email and similar.
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Question 14 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. A system confirms they are safely back at base or home
HSE says employers should have a robust system to make sure a lone worker has returned to their base or home once the work is finished.
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Question 15 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. Regularly
HSE says employers should regularly test these systems and all emergency procedures so lone workers can be reached if there is a problem.
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Question 16 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: C. Ask that company about the risks and how they are controlled
HSE says that when a lone worker is at another employer's site, their employer must ask that employer about the risks and control measures.
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Question 17 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. A customer threatens a lone shop worker with harm
HSE defines work-related violence as any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work, including verbal threats.
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Question 18 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. It does not always raise the risk, but makes workers more vulnerable
HSE says lone working does not automatically imply a higher risk of violence, but it does make workers more vulnerable.
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Question 19 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: A. The injury must be reported within 15 days of the incident
Injuries to workers from non-consensual physical violence at work are reportable, and an over-7-day injury must be reported within 15 days.
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Question 20 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: C. No, RIDDOR covers physical injuries, but tell your employer
HSE says RIDDOR only requires reports of deaths and physical injuries, so verbal abuse alone is not reportable. It should still be reported to the employer.
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Question 21 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. They are protected if they leave serious and imminent danger
Section 44 protects a worker from detriment for leaving, or refusing to return to, a place because of danger they reasonably believe is serious and imminent.
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Question 22 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: C. Stop work and go to a place of safety
Regulation 8 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 says procedures must let people stop work and go to a place of safety.
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Question 23 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: B. How to give first aid to themselves
HSE says some lone workers may need first aid training, including how to give first aid to themselves, and may need to carry first aid equipment.
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Question 24 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: D. Take reasonable care and co-operate with their employer
Section 7 says employees must take reasonable care for their own and others' health and safety, and co-operate with their employer.
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Question 25 sur 25
Voir la réponse
Réponse: D. The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) covers lone working under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
Clavier : 1–4 pour répondre, Entrée pour la question suivante.
À savoir avant l’examen
- HSE defines a lone worker as someone who works by themselves without close or direct supervision.
- Employers must manage the risks to lone workers under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
- An employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings of its risk assessment.
- Some high-risk work needs at least one other person, such as work in confined spaces or near exposed live electricity conductors.
- An injury to a worker from a non-consensual act of physical violence at work can be reportable under RIDDOR.
Questions fréquentes
Is it legal to work alone in the UK?
Yes, and it will often be safe. But the employer must think about and deal with the risks before anyone works alone, and some high-risk work needs at least one other person present.
Does my employer need a separate lone working risk assessment?
No. HSE says there is no legal requirement for a separate one, but the risks of lone working must be included in the employer's general risk assessment.
Does this course replace the training my employer must give me?
No. The law says employers must give adequate health and safety training when you start and when your risks change, during working hours. That training covers your own job and site. This course is background knowledge only.
What if I feel unsafe working alone?
Talk to your employer, a manager or supervisor, or a health and safety representative. If you face serious and imminent danger, you may leave and go to a place of safety.
L’attestation est-elle accréditée ou reconnue officiellement ?
Non. C’est une attestation de réussite privée, uniquement pour vos connaissances. Elle n’est reconnue, accréditée ni approuvée par aucun gouvernement, organisme de délivrance des permis, autorité de réglementation ou établissement d’enseignement, et elle ne remplace aucun permis, aucune certification ni aucune formation exigés par la loi.
Sources
- HSE: Protecting lone workers (INDG73)
- HSE: Lone working, guidance for employers
- HSE: Lone workers, your health and safety
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (legislation.gov.uk)
- HSE: RIDDOR, examples of reportable incidents
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 44
- HSENI: Lone working