Solitary work
Pursuant to the Swedish Work Environment Act (AML, Chapter 3,Section 2) and the Swedish Board of Occupational Safety and Health (AFS 1982:3 Solitary work), the employer must take into account the particular risk of ill health that may result from the employee performing work alone. In this respect, students are regarded as employees. Solitary work is defined as work carried out in physical or social isolation from other people. Physical isolation refers to a situation in which the person carrying out the work cannot contact other people at the workplace without the use of a technical communication device. Social isolation refers to a situation in which the person carrying out the work is among other people, but where the conditions are such that he/she cannot rely on their help if a critical situation should arise.
Solitary work should be limited and, if possible, avoided completely. However, at Örebro University, some degree of solitary work may occur where conditions in the physical environment could give rise to injury, e.g. work involving flammable products, handling of hazardous chemicals in small enclosed areas, work involving machines with moving parts, repairs to machinery/equipment, or work in confined areas where there is a risk of tripping, catching, etc.
When planning solitary work that can be considered potentially risky or stressful, it is important that the employer and the work environment representative concerned are well informed, assess the risks and plan suitable measures.
When performing this risk assessment, it should also be assessed what level of communication is needed in order to minimise the negative consequences if an injury should occur during the solitary work. Such requirements might include having another person nearby who, in addition to carrying out their own work tasks, has the task of monitoring the solitary worker and intervening if necessary; technical devices such as a phone located next to the work station; and regular visits or notifications at the work station at specified times, e.g. by a security guard.
When assessing solitary work during evenings and weekends, the risk of threats and violence from persons outside the workplace should also be considered.