Employees must understand that safety and security are shared responsibilities.
Employers should do whatever they reasonably can to reduce the risk of incidents such as hijackings or potential workplace violence, but employees have responsibilities regarding personal safety as well.
Employees should be informed that they are responsible for following the employer’s policies and procedures for safety and violence prevention, and for taking reasonable care of their own safety.
They must maintain an awareness of their surroundings and the possible threats to their personal safety when working alone and be an active participant in assessing risk and identifying safety measures.
Employers should make it clear using their own judgement, employees are empowered to leave the working environment if there is an imminent danger to their safety and not necessarily seek or wait for approval to do so.
Employees should take part in and follow guidance provided in training to ensure their safety. Additionally, employees should inform their employers when safety or violence prevention measures are not adequate or effective; ultimately, they are the “experts” since they are hands on doing the job each day.
Employees should also inform the employer when they have encountered a “near miss” or have identified additional violence risks that were previously unidentified, and report to the employer any actual accidents or incidents that occur. P.S – It is important to follow your Company’s Incident reporting system. Report all incidents.
The Goal: Everyone Goes Home Safely
Ultimately each of us sets out for work each day with the same goal in mind: Do a good job and get home safely at the end of our workday to the people and places we love.
Lone workers must be afforded the same opportunities to do their jobs safely and well each day regardless of the nature of their work or where they do it. Lone workers should not be at more risk than other employees in an organisation.
This becomes a shared responsibility. Ultimately, Lone workers must understand that while they may work alone, they are not left alone in addressing this concern.
Regardless of where they work or how they work, everyone goes home safely at the end of the day.
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