Working Alone or in Isolation

Build your health and safety program Risk Assessment and Control Working Alone or in Isolation

Risk Assessment and Control

To develop your health and safety program:

Complete a Risk Assessment
Develop Working Alone or in Isolation Policy and Procedure

If staff work alone or in isolation, the employer must establish a working alone health and safety plan. Regular check-ins and a robust plan help employees feel safer, more valued, and reduce anxiety. It’s important to provide staff with clear check-in and check-out procedures.

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Biological, Chemical, and Radiation Hazards

Violence Prevention

DEFINITIONS

Working Alone or in Isolation

Working alone or in isolation is when no one is readily available to help staff in case of an emergency, injury, or illness.

Know Your Responsibilities

If you have staff assigned to work alone or in isolation, you must take the following steps. Review your plan every year to ensure it is effective.

Identify hazards and assess risks to staff who work alone or in isolation.

Eliminate or minimize the assessed risks as much as possible, for example, by using physical barriers or locked doors to separate workers from the public.

Develop and implement written procedures for checking on the wellbeing of the staff assigned to work alone.

Provide staff training for the working alone check-in procedure.

Exceptions include workers who are alone for short or occasional periods by choice, for example, coming in early, staying late, or working on a day off are not considered to be working alone. Also, if workers from different employers are working together or nearby (for example, when a clinic shares its workspace with a pharmacy), and they are both willing and able to provide timely help if needed, they are not considered to be working alone.

Complete a Risk Assessment

The employer is responsible for identifying potential hazards and assessing the risks of staff working alone. This template can help you assess the risk to staff working alone in your clinic.