Working Alone Policy Template for Canadian Employers

Most Canadian provinces and territories expect employers to have a clear procedure for people who work alone: who checks on them, how often, and what happens when someone does not answer. In some jurisdictions, such as British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, that procedure must be written down. This free template gives you a ready-to-edit working alone policy and check-in procedure, so you can adapt it to your organization in an afternoon rather than start from a blank page.

What the template contains

The template is a 9-page Word document (also available as a PDF). It is organized in 13 sections and 3 appendices:

1. Purpose and scope: who the policy covers, including night work, field visits, driving alone and remote work.
2. Definitions: working alone, check-in, designated contact, missed check-in.
3. Roles and responsibilities of the employer, supervisors, designated contacts, workers and the health and safety committee or representative.
4. Hazard assessment, with worked examples (night security patrol, meter reading in rural areas, office work after hours).
5. Tasks that must never be done alone, such as confined space entry or work on energized equipment.
6. Communication and check-in procedure: start of shift, check-ins during the shift, end-of-shift check and automatic alarms.
7. Missed check-in and emergency procedure: a step-by-step escalation with times to adapt to your risks.
8. Travel and remote locations: trip plans and satellite communication where there is no cell signal.
9. Training, records, review and approval.

The appendices include notes on the rules in every province and territory, a printable check-in log and a blank lone worker hazard assessment form.

How often should lone workers check in?

No Canadian law sets a single interval for everyone. The interval must match the risk of the work, and some jurisdictions, such as Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, require it to be written into the procedure. The template proposes the following starting points, to adjust with your workers and your committee:

• Low risk (for example office work after hours): at the start and end of the shift.
• Moderate risk (for example field visits): every 2 to 4 hours.
• High risk (for example night security, hazardous or remote work): every 30 to 60 minutes, or continuous monitoring with automatic alarms.

In every case, an end-of-shift check is required: it is the moment most often forgotten, and the one that tells you a worker has not come back.

What to do when a check-in is missed

A check-in procedure is only as good as the response to a missed check-in. The template sets out a clear escalation: try to reach the worker immediately, involve the supervisor and nearby colleagues after a few minutes, then send someone to the last known location or call 911. You decide the exact times based on your hazard assessment.

Adapting the policy to your province or territory

Working alone rules differ across Canada. Federally regulated businesses follow Part II of the Canada Labour Code; all other employers follow the law of the province or territory where the work is done. Before adopting the policy, check the rules that apply to you:

• Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec
• New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, federally regulated businesses

For an overview, see our guide to working alone rules by province.

How to use the template

1. Replace every item in square brackets with your own information.
2. Complete the hazard assessment for each role or task done alone.
3. Set the check-in interval and the escalation times for each situation.
4. Review the draft with your joint health and safety committee or representative.
5. Train workers, supervisors and designated contacts, then review the policy at least once a year.

Running the procedure with a lone worker app

A written policy is the starting point; the hard part is making sure check-ins actually happen, every shift. With VigieApp, Neovigie's lone worker safety app, timed check-ins raise an alarm automatically when a worker does not respond, missed check-ins escalate to your supervisors, and fall and no-movement detection raise the alarm when the worker cannot. Every alarm is time-stamped, which gives you the records the policy asks for.

Download the template

Get the Working Alone Policy and Check-In Procedure template (Word and PDF) by email, free of charge.

👉 Download the working alone policy template

Disclaimer: this template and this page are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Neovigie is not a law firm and does not provide legal or regulatory compliance advice. Regulations change over time: always refer to the current legislation in your jurisdiction, and consult a qualified legal or occupational health and safety professional before adopting a policy for your organization.