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Arena Magazine 2008 Issue 1 Spring Arena |
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Working alone
Your question answered.
My student daughter often ends up working alone in the evenings at a local convenience store where she works part-time. Is this legal?
The short answer to that is yes it is usually legal to work alone at night in a shop, or most other places come to that.
However the employer has a legal duty to make sure that you are safe at work so far as is reasonably practicable. They should do a risk assessment to make sure that any problems are identified and the risk is minimised. For example, what would happen if the lone worker slips and is injured? What precautions are there against the risk of violence - especially if the shop sells age-restricted products such as alcohol or cigarettes?
Usdaw provides a useful checklist for the risks in our 'Guide to Lone Working' at: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/healthandsafety/hazards/files/hazards/Loneworking.doc
If your daughter is a young person under 18 years old then there will be tighter restrictions, which should be included in the employer's risk assessment.
While this advice is accurate it is not a definitive guide to the law or your contract. If you have any concerns you should contact your local rep/official or ring the helpline 0845 6060640.
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