Most companies have people who work alone for part of the day without ever calling them “lone workers”: the auditor visiting a plant, the engineer on a rooftop, the sales executive in a client’s town, the guard on the night shift. When something goes wrong for them, there is nobody next to them to call for help.
A lone worker policy decides in advance how you will know, and who will act. Below is a template you can copy into your own document and adapt. It is written for Indian companies, and it is general information, not legal advice.
Why have one
India has no law written only about lone working, unlike the UK. But the OSH Code, 2020 places a general duty on employers to keep the workplace free from hazards and to provide safe systems of work. A written policy, a risk assessment and records of what you did are how you show that duty was taken seriously, to an auditor, a client, an insurer or a court.
It also works better than goodwill. “Call me when you reach” depends on someone remembering. A policy does not.
The template
Copy the sections below and replace the parts in brackets.
1. Purpose
[Company name] is responsible for the health and safety of employees who work alone. This policy sets out how we assess the risks of lone working, how lone workers stay in contact, and what we do when they cannot be reached or need help.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all employees, interns and contractors who work alone for any part of their working day, including:
- visits to client sites, plants, farms or homes,
- work in remote or isolated locations,
- work outside normal hours, including night shifts,
- travel alone for work, by road, rail or air.
3. Definitions
- Lone worker: a person who works without a colleague in sight or earshot.
- Back-by time: the time a lone worker expects to finish a visit or a journey.
- Missed check-in: the back-by time has passed and the worker has not confirmed they are safe.
- Safety Desk: the named person or team who responds to alerts during working hours and at night.
4. Responsibilities
- Managers identify lone working in their teams, carry out the risk assessment, and are the first contact when a check-in is missed.
- The Safety Desk responds to every SOS at once, and to missed check-ins that reach it, takes ownership and records the outcome.
- Employees follow the check-in rules, keep their phone charged and with them, and raise an alert when they feel unsafe, even if they are not sure.
- HR keeps the policy, the escalation contacts and the records up to date.
5. Risk assessment
Every lone working role is assessed before the work starts, and again when something changes. Use this table:
| Hazard | Who is at risk | Existing controls | Extra controls needed | Risk (low, medium, high) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road travel to remote sites | Field auditors | Company car, driver | Back-by time, no driving after dark where avoidable | High |
| Working alone at heights | Service engineers | Harness, training | Check-in every 60 minutes, buddy for roof work | High |
| Aggressive member of the public | Sales staff | Training | SOS that works without unlocking the phone | Medium |
| Sudden illness while alone | All lone workers | First-aid kit | Missed check-in escalates, health info shared only with responders | Medium |
| Night work in an empty building | Security, warehouse | Guard room, CCTV | Regular check-ins, a night desk that answers | Medium |
High-risk work is not done alone unless the extra controls are in place.
6. Before the work
- The lone worker records where they are going, with whom, and their back-by time.
- High-risk visits are marked as high-risk, which shortens the check-in gaps.
- The worker has the site contact’s number, and the site knows they are coming.
- The phone is charged, and the worker knows how to raise an SOS.
7. During the work
- The worker checks in on arrival and when they leave each site.
- For high-risk work, they check in every [60] minutes.
- If plans change, they update their back-by time before it passes.
8. When a check-in is missed
| Level | Who | When, after the back-by time | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reporting manager | At once | Call the worker |
| 2 | Head of department | After [5] minutes | Call the worker and the manager |
| 3 | Safety Desk | After [10] minutes | Take ownership, check the last known location |
| 4 | [Senior admin] | After [20] minutes | Decide on outside help |
The escalation stops when one named person takes ownership. Everyone else is told who has it.
9. Emergencies
- An SOS goes straight to the Safety Desk, not through the ladder.
- The Safety Desk calls the worker, then emergency services on 112 if needed, and sends the nearest colleague or site contact.
- Every alert is closed with an outcome: safe, false alarm, helped, police, hospital.
10. Privacy
Location is shared only during a work trip or an emergency, never after hours or on leave. Only [the Safety Desk and the account owner] can see it, and every look is recorded. Detailed location data is deleted after [7] days. Health information is never shared with the employer. This follows the DPDP Act’s principles of purpose, minimum data and erasure. Read more in our guide to employee location tracking and the DPDP Act.
11. Training
Every lone worker is shown how to check in and raise an SOS on their first day. Each team runs one drill a year, timing how long each level takes to respond.
12. Review
This policy is reviewed every year and after any incident or near miss. Escalation contacts are checked every month.
Policy owner: [name, role]. Last reviewed: [date].
Making it run by itself
A policy on paper still depends on someone noticing that a worker is late. The point of the template above is that every step can be automatic: the back-by time, the missed check-in, each escalation level, the record of who responded.
How ORBII Teams runs this policy
ORBII Teams turns sections 6 to 10 into something that runs on its own.
- Before: the employee starts a trip in the ORBII app with a destination and a back-by time, and marks it high-risk if needed.
- During: HR adds regular sites once in the console. ORBII checks people in when they arrive and out when they leave, only during a trip.
- Missed check-in: ORBII walks your escalation, up to five levels, each with its own minutes, until someone presses Take ownership.
- Emergency: SOS by button, by voice or with a silent shake, and by text message when there is no data. The Safety Desk gets a phone alert, a browser alert and the last location.
- Privacy: location only during a trip or an SOS, seen only by the owner and the Safety Desk, with every look recorded. Detailed routes are deleted after seven days.
- Records: every trip, alert and outcome is kept in the travel history and the audit log.
Read the HR guide to lone worker safety for the reasoning behind each step.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Adapt the template to your company and your state’s rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is a lone worker policy?
A written policy that says how a company keeps people safe when they work without a colleague nearby: who counts as a lone worker, how the risk is assessed, how they check in, what happens when a check-in is missed, and how emergencies are handled.
Is a lone worker policy a legal requirement in India?
India has no law written only about lone working. But the OSH Code, 2020 puts a general duty on employers to keep the workplace free from hazards that cause injury or disease, and to provide safe systems of work. For people who work alone, a written lone worker policy is the clearest way to show you thought about the risk and acted on it. This is general information, not legal advice.
Who counts as a lone worker?
Anyone who works without a colleague in sight or earshot for part of the day: field sales and auditors visiting sites alone, service engineers, surveyors, drivers, night security, warehouse staff on late shifts, people working alone in a branch or lab, and anyone travelling alone for work.
How often should a lone worker check in?
It depends on the risk. For a routine daytime visit, a check-in at arrival and a back-by time is often enough. For high-risk work, such as a remote site, night work or a first visit, agree shorter gaps, for example every 60 minutes, and a faster escalation when one is missed.
How often should the policy be reviewed?
At least once a year, and after any incident or near miss. Check the contact names and phone numbers in the escalation every month, because they go out of date fastest.