Legal Penalties for Failing to Protect Lone Workers in the UK

Understanding UK Lone Worker Legislation and Penalties for Non-Compliance

Aside from the obvious human cost of tragedy, there can be significant financial implications if a team member is injured or killed at work.

Any organisation or individual found to be negligent can face substantial fines and, in the worst cases, custodial sentences can also be imposed.

Therefore, as an employer or manager, it’s important to understand UK health and safety laws, who is responsible for enforcing those laws, the fines that can be incurred for not protecting lone workers from risk, and how financial penalties are decided.

Key UK Legislation for Lone Worker Safety Compliance

The following legislation applies to lone worker safety in the UK:

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974,
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999,
• The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, and
• The Health & Safety Offences Act 2008.

Compliance with these laws is essential for any organisation employing lone or remote workers. Using a monitored lone worker alarm, personal safety device, or lone worker app can help demonstrate proactive risk management and reduce legal exposure. Employers in high-risk sectors such as construction, healthcare, utilities, and logistics may also be subject to industry-specific guidance or union safety protocols in addition to core HSE regulations.

Who Enforces Lone Worker Safety Laws in the UK?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcing health and safety legislation in the UK and in the most serious cases:

• The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales,
• The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in Scotland, and
• The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland.

These enforcement bodies consider whether an employer has taken reasonable steps to protect their employees — including the deployment of a suitable lone worker safety technology or risk mitigation system.

How UK Health and Safety Fines Are Calculated

The most recent guidelines for Health and Safety and Corporate Manslaughter offences, issued by the Sentencing Council, introduced strict penalties to serve as a serious deterrent for poor practice. There is an emphasis on:

1. Culpability (i.e. was it a deliberate breach of the law or minor failings)
2. Level of harm (i.e. how many people were exposed to the risk of harm, whether the offence caused likely or actual harm, and the seriousness of the harm)
3. Financial information (of an organisation or individual).

The guidelines also state: "a fine must be sufficiently substantial to have a real economic impact, which will bring home to both management and shareholders the need to comply".

Recent Lone Worker Safety Prosecutions and Fines

Enforcement data for Great Britain is published by the Health and Safety Executive.

In 2022-23, 185 cases were prosecuted or referred to COPFS to be prosecuted in Scotland, and 2,929 health and safety notices were issued during this time.

Fines of £26.9 million were issued to those found guilty of a health and safety offence, with the average fine being £145,000.

Employers who fail to implement effective lone worker safety measures, such as discreet panic alarms or location-enabled devices, may be seen as more culpable by the courts.

Fines for Organisational Lone Worker Safety Breaches

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(a) for breaches of sections 2 and 3), Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(c)).

Breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by failing to protect employees — particularly lone or remote workers — can lead to substantial fines. Employers must show evidence of robust safety processes, including lone worker compliance tools such as risk assessments and lone worker devices. Fines for organisations can range from £50 up to £10 million.

When deciding on an appropriate penalty, the courts will consider the offenders’ level of culpability (very high, high, medium or low); the level of likely or actual harm caused (where 1 is the highest level of harm and 4 is the lowest), and the organisation’s financial information for the previous three years.

You can find more comprehensive descriptions on the Sentencing Council website.

To explain how fines can increase based on company turnover, we’ve outlined some examples below. All these examples demonstrate the most serious offences where the organisation is found to be highly culpable, and the incident has caused the highest level of harm:

Large Organisation (Turnover £50 million and over):
Fine range: £2.6 million - £10 million

Medium Organisation (Turnover £10 to £50 million):
Fine range: £1 million - £4 million

Small Organisation (Turnover £2 to £10 million):
Fine range: £300,000 - £1.6 million

Micro Organisation (Turnover less than £2 million):
Fine range: £150,000 - £450,000

Several factors are deemed to increase culpability, including:

• Cost-cutting at the expense of safety
• Poor health and safety record

Breaches of Health and Safety Legislation by Individuals

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(a) for breaches of sections 2, 3 and 7, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(c)), Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (sections 36 and 37(1) for breaches of sections 2 and 3 and section 33(1)(c).

As with organisations, when looking at breaches by an individual, the same metrics for culpability and level of harm are applied to the case. Similar aggravating, or indeed mitigating factors, can also be considered.

Penalties can range from the imprisonment of an individual to a fine based directly on a person's earnings. For a situation involving very high culpability and a harm category 1, the custodial range is of 1 - 2 years.

Fine bands can start at 50% of relevant weekly income (Band A) and go up to 600% of relevant weekly income (Band F). For context, Band F is considered an alternative to a community order or custody in the context of the guideline.

This represents not only a risk of imprisonment but a serious financial penalty on anyone deemed responsible for failings leading to a breach. This does not solely affect company directors or a board, this can impact managers within an organisation and upwards.

Fines Under the Corporate Manslaughter Act for Lone Worker Failures

If an incident occurs which leads to the death of an employee, fines can be issued under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

Fines for corporate manslaughter can range from £180,000 up to £20 million.

You can read more about this on the Sentencing Council website.

How to Protect Lone Workers and Avoid Health and Safety Fines

To avoid costly penalties and ensure lone worker compliance, employers must carry out a formal Lone Worker Risk Assessment and take steps to control identified risks. This includes training, communication protocols, and — increasingly — the use of lone worker safety solutions like SoloProtect monitored alarms and wearable safety devices.

In 2024, the HSE highlighted the importance of using digital tools and real-time safety technology to manage risks more effectively — particularly for remote, isolated, or community-based roles. Deploying monitored lone worker devices, safety apps, and automated risk alerts can help demonstrate proactive compliance.

A lone worker device or safety app allows the worker to quickly call for help, enabling faster response and reducing the severity of an incident. In doing so, the employer can often demonstrate their commitment to duty of care for lone workers, which may reduce their legal liability and financial penalties.

In the event of an accident at work or other health and safety incident, a lone worker solution could help to:

• Reduce culpability as organisations can prove their efforts to protect their employees from lone working risks, and
• Reduce the level of harm as workers have a means to quickly call for help in an emergency.

Both of these points can help to minimise any fines imposed.

You can find more information about why you should protect lone workers here: Why Protect Lone Workers.

Learn More About Lone Worker Compliance and Protection

For more guidance on how to protect lone workers and reduce the risk of fines, speak to our team about implementing a SoloProtect lone worker solution. Our range of best lone worker devices is designed to meet the needs of high-risk industries, mobile teams, and compliance-conscious employers.