Lone working training online in the UK: where to train and what employers look for

What employers look for in an online lone working certificate

Your employer decides what lone working training you need, based on its risk assessment. The Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations expect employers to assess the risks of working alone, put controls in place and train the people affected, and HSE guidance INDG73 sets out what good practice looks like. When an employer checks a certificate, they usually look for:

• Content that follows the law and HSE guidance. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management Regulations 1999 in England, Wales and Scotland, the 2000 Regulations in Northern Ireland, and HSE guidance INDG73 on protecting lone workers.
• A clear, verifiable record. The course name, hours of learning and completion date, with a way to confirm the certificate.
• The essentials every lone worker needs. The particular risks of working alone, dynamic risk assessment, check in and buddy systems, travelling and visiting safely, recognising and defusing conflict, and what to do if you are injured, threatened or taken ill.
• A refresh date. Roles, routes and technology change, so a refresh date matters.

Lift College's certificate does each of these. It records Lone Working Training, 1 hour of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh date 3 years on, with a unique certificate number and a verification link. Your employer will also show you its own lone working procedure, check in arrangements and escalation route, and the course prepares you to follow them.

What the Lift College course covers

There are 4 short modules, each with a knowledge check, then a multiple choice final test with an 80% pass mark and unlimited free retakes.

1. Lone working and its risks. Who counts as a lone worker, the roles it covers, and why accidents, violence, sudden illness and isolation need different handling when nobody else is there.
2. The law and responsibilities. The Health and Safety at Work Act, the Management Regulations and HSE guidance INDG73. Your employer's duty to assess and control the risks, and your duty to follow procedures and report problems.
3. Assessing and controlling risk. Dynamic risk assessment, check in and buddy systems, lone worker devices and apps, agreed escalation when a check in is missed, and when a task should not be done alone.
4. Personal safety and emergencies. Travelling and parking, visiting homes and unfamiliar premises, recognising and defusing conflict, leaving safely, reporting incidents and near misses, and responding to injury or sudden illness.

By the end you can recognise when you are a lone worker and what that changes, assess a situation as it unfolds and decide whether to continue, use check in and escalation arrangements properly, travel and visit more safely, defuse or leave a difficult situation, and report incidents so the risk assessment improves.

The law and guidance it is written around

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2 (England, Wales and Scotland). The general duty on employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees, including information, instruction, training and supervision. It applies to people who work alone exactly as it does to everyone else.
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 3 (England, Wales and Scotland). Extends the duty to people who are not employees, which matters when lone workers visit homes or deal with the public.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3 (England, Wales and Scotland). Employers must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to employees and others, and working alone is a factor that assessment must consider.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 (Northern Ireland). The equivalent regulations for Northern Ireland, with the same duty to assess and control risk.
• HSE guidance INDG73: Protecting lone workers (Great Britain). HSE's guidance on how to manage the risks of working alone, covering risk assessment, training, supervision, monitoring and emergency arrangements. The course is structured around it.

How Lift College compares with other UK providers

Details below are as each provider shows them on its own course page, checked 16 October 2026. "Check provider" means the page did not state it.

With Lift College the £19.99 is the full price for one learner, with nothing added at checkout, and the refresher is free when your recommended refresh date arrives. Retakes of the final test are free and unlimited.

Who it suits

Lone Working Training is for anyone who works alone for some or all of their time in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is for you if:

• you visit people at home as a care worker, nurse, housing officer or social worker
• you work alone in a shop, kiosk, reception, petrol station or security post
• you drive, deliver or work on sites away from colleagues
• you work in a building outside normal hours or in a remote location
• you manage lone workers and want to understand what they need

For general workplace safety, see our health and safety guide. If you work alone on ladders or roofs, see our working at height guide, and for falls on the level our slips, trips and falls guide. See every course on the health and safety courses page or browse all Lift College CPD courses. Buying for a team? Ask about team enrolment.

Enrol on Lone Working Training for £19.99 and start module 1 the minute you pay. Ask within 14 days of paying and we refund you in full.