Tag Archives: Legal contracts

LONE WORKING: OVERVIEW

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A general overview on lone workers and the legal implications employers face with lone working.

Several jobs can require people to work alone. Lone workers are people who work by themselves without close or direct supervision.

There is no specific law dealing with lone working. However, all health and safety legislation apply equally to lone workers.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states that employers have a duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees; the Act also applies to lone workers.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to make suitable and sufficient assessments of risks to their employees. Employers are also required to make arrangements for the health and safety of employees by effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review. If the risk assessment shows that it is not possible for the work to be done safely by a lone worker, then other arrangements should be put in place.

Unfortunately employers often forget their responsibilities to lone workers, in particular in respect of issues such as risk assessment, welfare provision, recording of injuries, first aid provision and consultation.

Many of the hazards that lone workers face are similar to those faced by other workers. However, the risks involved may be greater because the worker is on their own. Thus, protection of lone workers must start with a full risk assessment of the work that lone workers do. Risk assessment should help employers decide on the right level of supervision.

The HSE, in its guidance on lone working, stresses that the risks must be assessed and controlled and says that employers of lone workers should:

  • involve staff or their representatives when undertaking the required risk assessment process;
  • take steps to check control measures are in place (examples of control measures include instruction, training, supervision and issuing protective equipment);
  • review risk assessments annually or, when there has been a significant change in working practice;
  • when a risk assessment shows it is not possible for the work to be conducted safely by a lone worker, address that risk by, for example, making arrangements to provide help or back-up; and
  • where a lone worker is working at another employer’s workplace, that employer should inform the lone worker’s employer of any risks and the required control measures.

Employers generally think that lone workers are covered by the same policies that apply to other employees. This assumption is wrong because even if many of the risks faced by lone workers are the same as those faced by other workers, lone workers also face increased and additional risk.

It is paramount for employers to have a Lone Working Policy in place in order to comply with their legal obligations. The purpose of a well drafted Lone Working Policy is to ensure that there are adequate systems in place to ensure the health, safety and welfare of lone workers in order to reduce the risks of lone working as far as is reasonably possible and practicable. It should set out the steps employers should take in order to comply with their legal duties to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It should also provide the framework for identifying the possible risks faced by lone workers and outlines the procedure that must be followed to minimize or pre-empt those risks in order to comply with The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

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Deed of Gift Form

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A Deed of Gift is a formal legal document used to give a gift of property or money to another person. It transfers the money or ownership of property (or share in a property) to another person without payment in return.

Generally, most Deed of Gift transfers are carried out between family members as property transferred in this way is usually given out of the love and affection the giver has for the recipient.

The person who creates and executes a Deed of Gift to transfer money or property from himself to another person is called a Donor and the person receiving the gift is called the Donee.

Transferring property or money by way of gift must be executed as a Deed because no consideration is given in return for the gift, thus the document has to be witnessed. Please note that the witnesses have to be disinterested parties. In other words they cannot have a stake in the transfer of the property. If a witness stands to benefit or take a loss because of the transfer of the property, then cannot be considered disinterested and cannot act as a witness.

A Deed of Gift can be used to donate money, land and/or valuable objects to someone else.

An irrevocable Deed of Gift once signed and witnessed, transfers the gift to the Donee who takes immediate legal ownership of the gift. Consequently, the Donor cannot later change his mind and reclaim the objects he has transferred.

Giving a gift to someone can have some Inheritance Tax implications. Generally, any gifts made to any individuals will be exempt from Inheritance Tax payments if the Donor lives for a total of seven years or more after having made the gift. These kinds of gifts are usually known as Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs).

However, if the Donor gives away an asset but keeps an interest in it or continues to benefit from it then the gift will not fall within the category of a potentially exempt transfer.

If the Donor dies within seven years of making a gift and the gift is valued at more than the Inheritance Tax threshold, Inheritance Tax will need to be paid on the value of the gift usually by the Donee or by the representatives of the estate.

However, please note that certain gifts are exempt from Inheritance Tax. If the gift in question falls within the exempt categories then, even if it is valued at more than the Inheritance Tax threshold, the Donor can pass on the asset/gift without paying Inheritance Tax.

Gifts can be made to certain people and organisations without having to pay any Inheritance Tax. These gifts are exempt whether are made during the Donor life or as part of the will.

Generally, there’s usually no Inheritance Tax to pay on gifts left to a spouse or civil partner even if it’s over the threshold, as long as they have a permanent home in the UK.

N.B. Gifts left to an unmarried partner, or a partner that is not in a registered civil partnership, are not exempt.

Furthermore, gifts made to charities, museums, universities, Community Amateur Sports clubs and the National Trust are exempt.

The Legal Stop provides different Deed of Gift templates to be used in specific circumstances: