WORKING ALONE BULLETIN FOR ALL UFCW 1518 HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Occupational Health and Safety Regulation Working Alone or in Isolation, Late Night Retail Premises

We are reissuing this bulletin, specifically for our Safeway cashiers. Due to relentless cutbacks of hours, many of our cashier members report that they are scheduled to work alone late at night. This is unacceptable and places them at risk of violence. We recommend that all cashiers report this occurrence immediately to their Union representative. If any cashier is left to work alone with no other immediate (in the vicinity) workers available, they have a right and duty to refuse this hazardous work. WorkSafeBC should be called in for assistance and to make a ruling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Working alone or in isolation

Q: What is the definition of "to work alone or in isolation?"

A: "To work alone or in isolation" is defined as working in circumstances where assistance would not be readily available to the worker (a) in case of an emergency, or (b) in case the worker is injured or in ill health.

Q: What is assistance that is readily available?

A: For assistance to be readily available, four conditions should be considered:

• Presence of others -- are there other people in the vicinity?
• Awareness -- will other persons be capable of providing assistance and be aware of the worker's needs?
• Willingness -- is it reasonable to expect that those other persons will provide assistance?
• Timeliness -- will assistance be provided within a reasonable period of time?

Q: Do customers meet the requirements of assistance that is readily available?

A: NO. Employers should not rely on the presence of customers to meet the conditions of assistance that is readily available.

Q: Can workers from different employers provide each other with assistance?

A: Yes. ONLY if two or more workers of different employers are working together and each worker is capable of and willing to provide helpful assistance in a timely manner, then this qualifies as assistance that is readily available. For example, this may be the case where a coffee/doughnut retailer is in same premises as a fuel vendor. Employers must ensure that the workers are capable of and willing to provide assistance and that the workers are aware of this arrangement.

Q: If a worker is supplied with an electronic means of communication, such as a phone, radio, or personal alarm, does this qualify as assistance that is readily available to the worker?

A: NO. If the worker cannot be seen or heard by persons capable of offering and willing to offer assistance in a timely manner, then he or she is working alone or in isolation. Electronic means of communication may be one way to control hazards identified for a worker working alone or in isolation but they do not remove the employer's obligation to meet the other working alone or in isolation requirements. For example, a home care or social worker who is working alone and is dispatched to situations where there is risk of violence may be provided a communication device as part of the hazard identification and control process. A communication device may be one way to reduce hazards of working alone or in isolation, however, the worker is still considered to be working alone or in isolation.

Q: What are some examples of workers who may be working alone or in isolation?

A: Common situations and occupations where a worker may be working alone or in isolation include:

• A worker at a retail outlet
• A worker who meets clients out of the office such as a home care worker or a social service worker
• A worker who does hazardous work with no regular interaction with other people such as a worker in the freezer area of a cold storage facility, a night cleaner in a plant, or a late night cashier
• A worker who is isolated from other workers or public view such as a security guard, custodian, night shift worker in a community care or out patient department

Q: Provisions say that identified hazards that cannot be eliminated should be reduced using engineering controls. What is an engineering control?

A: "Engineering controls" are defined in the Regulation as the physical arrangement, design or alteration of workstations, equipment, materials, production facilities or other aspects of the physical work environment, for the purpose of controlling risk. Examples of engineering controls include installing physical arrangements in the workplace to separate a worker from customers and the public by locked doors, pay windows, protective barriers that are substantial enough to prevent access to the worker.

Q: The provisions say that identified hazards that cannot be eliminated or reduced using engineering controls should be reduced using administrative controls. What is an administrative control?

A: "Administrative controls" are defined in the Regulation as the provision, use and scheduling of work activities and resources in the workplace, including staffing, for the purpose of controlling risk. Examples of administrative controls include rearranging the work so that more than one person is always present in the workplace or prohibiting high risk work activities during times when a worker is working alone.

Late Night Retail Premises

Measures that an employer could use include:

• Adjusting work shifts to ensure at least two workers are working during the late night hours
• Restricting business operating hours from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. or
• Hiring a temporary security guard to physically monitor the site.

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