Who the policy covers?

Making it clear is crucial to its success

The philosophy

It is essential that your lone worker policy is clear about the fact that it does apply to permanent staff, temporary staff, consultants or others who may be working in the organisation for a short time.

A statement that violence and aggression towards staff will not be tolerated in any circumstances.

A statement acknowledging that this type of behaviour can cause stress and illness and detail of the commitment to the reduction of opportunity for exposure to lone worker risks.

A statement acknowledging that lone workers will take precedence over expediency.

Examples of how to clearly show who the policy covers.

All violence to staff is unacceptable, whatever form it takes and whatever reasons are cited for.
We recognise the risks to staff from violence at work and the obligations of the organisation to minimise risk.
Dealing with or being subject to, violent behaviour is not considered to be a failure on the part of the employee.
Violence is not considered to be an acceptable part of any job, nor is it part of the duties of any employee to accept violent behaviour.
We recognise the potentially damaging effects of violence on individuals, work performance and the organisation as a whole, and are committed to combating it
We are aware certain environments pose higher risk, such as using heavy plant machinery.