“It will often be safe to work alone. However, the law requires employers to think about and deal with any health and safety risks before people are allowed to do so.” Health and Safety Executive
Here at TouchRight, we know that employee health and safety is the uppermost priority for your organisation, but …do you have an up-to-date lone working policy and procedure which (a) you understand and (b) are confident to implement if a potentially risky/dangerous situation arose?
A lone working policy is designed to:
- alert staff to the risks presented by lone working
- identify the responsibilities each person has in this situation
- describe procedures which will minimise such risks
- give staff a framework for managing potentially risky situations.
The nature of the lettings industry means that staff will typically take the role of ‘lone worker’, visiting properties (often at remote locations) to solely carry out property inspections. We’ve heard comments from customers that they wouldn’t send someone on their own to certain apartments and PM’s commenting that they feel uneasy being alone with some tenants.
We do appreciate that managing the risks associated with employees working alone can be a challenge and whilst it’s good news that there is often a policy in place, staff frequently can’t remember the procedure or ‘safe word’ to notify colleagues.
With this in mind, and with more users reaching for their smartphones to use TouchRight, we have added ‘Lone Worker Protection’ to the growing number of features in the TouchRight app.
Available for iOS and Android, TouchRight’s Lone Worker Protection feature provides:
- Discreet alerts – users can send alerts quickly, easily and inconspicuously at the touch of a button.
- Bespoke tiered alert system – red and amber alerts are available which can be customised to suit your requirements.
- Custom alert notifications – assigned contacts will receive alerts through a custom-designed email template.
- Real time location tracking – detect lone worker location quickly when alert is received using the latest GPS technology to ensure help/assistance is available promptly if needed.
- Alert log – view your alert notifications in a handy date and time-stamped list.
- Cost saving and convenience – no need to buy a specialist ‘separate’ device or software. Use existing mobiles with WiFi & 3/4G connectivity.
TouchRight’s Lone Worker Protection (alongside you current policies) will ensure that you address your duty of care as an employer and comprehensively safeguard the welfare of your staff, providing total peace of mind for all parties.* For more information, please contact us.
*Devices must have ‘location services’ activated to make use of GPS tracking. To get the best location accuracy we recommend devices that use a GSM sim. More details can be found on our Terms of Service website page.