How do you define a lone worker? What risks is he exposed to? What is the employer's responsibility towards its employees? How to reduce the risk of accidents and provide emergency assistance as soon as possible? Here's everything you need to know about lone worker protection regulations!
The Canadian Labour Code does not provide a specific definition of lone worker. A lone worker is generally understood as an employee who can’t be seen or heard by another person while he is working and cannot be promptly rescued in the event of an accident or aggression. It can also refer to a group of individuals isolated from their organizational structure due to geographical distance, or lack of communication means.
The law does not set a minimum duration to consider an employee in a lone work situation. This means that even a few minutes of lone work during an entire workday is sufficient to classify the employee as a lone worker. Some provinces have implemented specific regulations for the protection of lone workers and have defined lone work, as is the case in the province of Alberta.
In practice, lone work exists in various sectors, including construction, maintenance, industry, security, hospitality, restaurants, healthcare, services, agriculture, logistics, transportation, estate agents, and more.
In all these situations, employers must ensure the safety of employees to protect their physical and mental health. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of teleworking poses new safety challenges.
The situation of lone work can expose employees to falls and external violence (verbal or physical aggression) without anyone being able to assist them.
Certain individuals may have medical conditions that cause sudden symptoms requiring special assistance, such as fainting, dizziness, panic attacks, or epileptic seizures. In such cases, lone work should be avoided.
Lone work exposes employees to an insecure situation, becoming a significant risk factor for stress, anxiety, burnout, or illness.
From these various regulations, a certain number of principles can be applied in order to ensure the safety of people working alone.
The NEOVIGIE solution helps businesses implement these recommendations.
The VigieApp application is the most complete solution to offer total protection that is very easy to use. VigieWatch is the VigieApp application adapted for watches Android. The watch is an ideal device that allows the user to never part with it. Bivy Stick® Is the ACR satellite device. Coupled with the Neovigie platform, it allows you to protect your isolated workers even in white areas without telephone networks or WiFi.Neovigie offers alert systems adapted to each situation:
All businesses that operate in Canada and that handle personal information that goes across provincial or national borders as part of their commercial activities are subject to PIPEDA.
P outlines the basic rules for collecting, using, and disclosing personal information. Private sector organizations across Canada must comply as part of their for-profit business activities. PIPEDA also applies to personal information about employees of federally regulated businesses.
In order to protect personal information, businesses must respect 10 principles listed in Schedule 1 of the Act.
Respecting the privacy of our users is at the heart of our concerns. We communicate our privacy policy transparently to our customers. We explain what information we collect, why we collect it, what it is used for, what it is used for, how it is stored, how it is secured, who has access to it, who we share it with, and how long we keep it. To avoid any risk of an attack on the confidentiality, availability and integrity of this data, NEOVIGIE carried out an impact study.
NEOVIGIE solution ensures the protection of your employees, in full compliance with LPRDE law and equivalent laws in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.
The sole purpose of this information on the regulation of lone workers in Canada is to provide general information on this subject. Under no circumstances is this information, and should not be interpreted, construed, considered, or used as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that you seek legal advice if you have any questions about your obligations with respect to the regulation of lone workers in Canada.
