Statutory compliance
Choosing a device or app is only ever part of the picture. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 section 2 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 regulation 3, employers must assess and control lone-working risk so far as is reasonably practicable. No statute requires a particular device, app or supplier. A device alone cannot discharge those duties.
A general duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees working alone. Delegates and managers should understand the controls provided for their role, the limits of their authority, how to obtain help, and when continuing an activity would move outside the agreed safe system.
Employment Rights Act 2025 sections 20 and 21 commence on 30 October 2026 under regulation 3(a) and (b) of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, statutory instrument (SI) 2026/1065. From that date, Equality Act 2010 section 40A requires employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees. From that date, employers may also be liable for harassment of employees by third parties (Equality Act 2010 section 40(1A) to (1C), harassment relating to the listed protected characteristics, not only sexual harassment) unless they took all reasonable steps. Until 30 October 2026 those changes are not current law. Neither provision creates a general "foreseeable harm" duty or a lone-worker device standard. Lone-working risk still sits under Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Reviewing technology and policy can help evidence risk control; it does not by itself meet the Equality Act duties above.
Legal wording last reviewed: 16 October 2026. This page is not legal advice. It does not decide liability, guilt, or the outcome of any particular case.
The law changes. A published or source-check date is not a promise that every later change has been caught. On the day you rely on this page, check the named statute, regulations and official sources. For UK law, start with legislation.gov.uk and the regulator named on this page. For the Republic of Ireland, start with the Irish revised Acts and the named Irish regulator.
Duties on this page apply only in the nations named here. Do not copy England or Wales wording onto Scotland, Northern Ireland or Ireland unless this page says that duty extends there.
Tool category
Dedicated hardware - badges, fobs, wearables or handheld units - issued specifically for personal safety, rather than relying on a personal smartphone. When reviewing a device, consider its connectivity (standard mobile coverage, a roaming SIM, or satellite for genuinely remote sites), its monitoring model, and how well it suits the environment staff actually work in.
Peoplesafe publishes information about lone worker apps, devices and monitored services.
View supplier profileSoloProtect publishes information about lone worker devices, applications and monitoring services.
View supplier profileReliance Protect publishes information about lone worker devices, applications, an alarm receiving centre (ARC) and management portal services.
View supplier profileSafepoint publishes information about lone worker apps, devices, wearable alarms and management portal services.
View supplier profileBlackline Safety publishes connected worker and gas detection information. UK lone worker response arrangements require verification.
View supplier profileTool category
Tools built around a single, quick alert action - a hidden button, a hold-to-activate control, or an automatic trigger - designed to summon help without escalating the immediate situation. Worth reviewing: how discreetly the alert can be raised, and exactly what happens in the seconds after it is triggered.
Little Green Button publishes information about discreet desktop, mobile and wearable panic-button alerting.
View supplier profilePeoplesafe publishes information about lone worker apps, devices and monitored services.
View supplier profileSoloProtect publishes information about lone worker devices, applications and monitoring services.
View supplier profileSafepoint publishes information about lone worker apps, devices, wearable alarms and management portal services.
View supplier profileTool category
Software that lets a member of staff signal concern to a colleague or manager without speaking or being seen to act. This is a narrower category than devices or general apps - it matters most at fixed, public-facing locations such as reception desks, interview rooms or service counters, where a wearable device is not always practical or discreet enough.
Tool category
Smartphone apps, dashboards and management platforms that support check-ins, monitoring, escalation and incident recording. Often layered on top of a device, or used as a standalone lone worker safety solution where issuing separate hardware is not proportionate to the risk.
Peoplesafe publishes information about lone worker apps, devices and monitored services.
View supplier profileSoloProtect publishes information about lone worker devices, applications and monitoring services.
View supplier profileReliance Protect publishes information about lone worker devices, applications, an alarm receiving centre (ARC) and management portal services.
View supplier profileEcoOnline, a health and safety software provider, publishes information about the StaySafe lone worker app, reporting hub and outsourced monitoring.
View supplier profileVatix, a safety, compliance and risk platform, publishes information about its lone worker app, Safe Pro Device and 24/7 alarm receiving centre monitoring.
View supplier profileSafepoint publishes information about lone worker apps, devices, wearable alarms and management portal services.
View supplier profileOK Alone publishes information about lone worker application and safety-monitoring services.
View supplier profileNovus Guard publishes information about an integrated lone worker protection, patrol management, workforce deployment and fleet tracking platform.
View supplier profileTurn tools into a defensible system
A device or app only protects staff to the extent that its use is understood, trusted and integrated into everyday practice. These maintained tools help you test whether your wider arrangements - policy, procedure, staff competence and management review - actually hold up.
Test whether your written lone-working arrangements match current roles, risks, controls and management practice.
Review your policyImplementationPlan staff adoption, testing, alarm response, maintenance and management evidence after procurement.
Open the toolkitManagementMove from risk assessment to ownership, monitoring, escalation, staff preparation and review.
Read the guidancePractical insight and resources built from thirty years at the frontline.
Practical controls for violence, aggression, conflict, reporting and review.
Guidance for staff who work alone, visit, travel, or need check-in and escalation.
Abusive calls, repeated contact, boundary setting, records and escalation.
What non-specialist staff should notice, record in fact, and refer.
Gifts, over-familiarity, unofficial contact and pressure to bend the rules.
What to check before a visit, and what to do if a dog is present.
How scenario practice tests real workplace decisions without theatrical conflict.
Travel, walking and public transport. Written for employers to share with staff.
Tell us about your staff roles, working environment and the situations your staff face. We will recommend the right training approach for your organisation.
Trusted by organisations across the UK for practical, scenario-led staff safety training.
