Lone working

The Department opens at 9am and closes at 5.15pm during the working week. PhD students should not be in the Department past 8pm and staff should not be in the Department past 11pm. Neither should enter the building before 6am.

Before lone working you must read this policy and sign the lone working risk assessment, which is available on SharePoint.

If you are required to work alone in the Department you should follow the lone working guidance below:

  • Notify your line-manager/supervisor of your plans.
  • Put the University emergency number in your mobile phone: 01223 767444.
  • Ensure that you have your mobile phone with you at all times (especially when moving away from your landline: going to the toilet/getting a drink, etc).
  • Ensure you know the location of the first-aid boxes – in the Admin Office (next to student pigeonholes), Museum and Library – and that have access to at least one of them.
  • Keep any access doors locked and do not let strangers gain access to the Department.
  • Do not visit places where you do not usually work, such as the Museum stores or Library.
  • If intending to work late or start work very early, do not use concealed entrances and exits. Instead use doors which are well lit and clearly visible to a path or main road.
  • If you regularly work 'out of hours' be aware of other colleagues within the building or nearby buildings who also work late/early. Knowing who has similar patterns to you will be useful if a problem ever occurs.
  • If you are required to work on Saturday/Sunday/Bank Holiday etc, inform the Security Office that you will be in the building alone and call the Security Office when you leave the building. You should do this by calling their 24/7 phone line for routine calls, which is 01223 331818.
  • Notify the Departmental Administrator on administrator@hps.cam.ac.uk if you need to work during night closure hours.

Please contact your supervisor/line-manager or the DA if you have any concerns about working alone or you have any medical conditions that would make working alone potentially dangerous to you.

A reminder that all events held outside of standard Department opening hours must have the approval of the DA.