Personal alarms provide safety for lone workers and high-risk work environments

What is a personal alarm?

A personal alarm is a wearable safety device or service that enables a user to call for help quickly in an emergency. Personal alarms are used primarily in workplaces where there is a risk of threats, violence, or accidents, or where employees work alone without colleagues immediately present.

Modern personal alarms can include features such as:

• Direct alarm to a staffed monitoring centre
• Positioning via GPS, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth-based iBeacons
• Live audio monitoring that allows the alarm centre to assess the situation in real time

Unlike simpler alarms that only emit an audible signal, a personal alarm is typically connected to an alarm centre or other systems that can ensure rapid assistance. This is especially important for lone working and in higher-risk workplace scenarios.

Why are personal alarms needed in the workplace?

Under the Work Environment Act, employers have an overarching responsibility to ensure a safe working environment for their employees, which includes:

• Identifying workplace health and safety risks
• Taking measures to prevent injuries and accidents
• Ensuring that employees can get help quickly in a threatening or emergency situation

This responsibility applies in particular to employees who:

• Work alone
• Face a risk of threats, violence, or serious accidents

Personal alarms are therefore not just a practical tool for greater safety, they are an integral part of a workplace health and safety programme that meets current legal requirements.

Employer obligations under AFS 2023:2

AFS 2023:2, covering the planning and organisation of work environment management, is a foundational regulation that replaces parts of the previous framework and came into force on 1 January 2025. It addresses how employers must plan, organise, and follow up on health and safety work in order to prevent ill health and workplace accidents.

Risk assessments and lone working

The regulations state that the employer must:

• Map the risks associated with the work, including risks of threats, violence, or other dangerous situations
• Assess whether these risks are acceptable or require action
• Work together with safety representatives to plan how the risks will be managed

When job tasks involve a significant risk of threats or violence, it may be necessary to take measures such as providing personal alarms to ensure that the employee can quickly call for assistance.

Systematic work environment management

AFS 2023:2 works hand in hand with systematic work environment management (SAM) under AFS 2023:1, where the employer must

• Define work environment objectives
• Carry out regular risk assessments
• Address identified risks
• Ensure that employees have the competence and resources to carry out their work

A personal alarm is a practical risk management measure, particularly in roles where lone working is an identified risk factor.

How does a personal alarm work?

A personal alarm is a lifeline to help when every second counts. When a user activates an alarm, the following happens:

1. The alarm is sent directly to the recipients in the alarm chain. This may be colleagues within the organisation, operations management, or an external alarm centre such as Avarn or SOS Alarm. The alarm chain is tailored to the organisation's needs.
2. The operator or colleague gains full situational awareness. With the user's real-time location, live audio monitoring, and relevant information about the individual, the recipient quickly builds a clear picture of what is happening.
3. The right help can be dispatched immediately. Depending on the severity of the situation, colleagues, security guards, police, or emergency services can be alerted without unnecessary escalation.
4. The alarm is tracked and documented throughout. From activation to resolution, the alarm is managed through a traceable chain, providing reassurance both in the moment and during any subsequent follow-up.

This ensures that employees working alone or in high-risk environments always have rapid access to help and that employers can demonstrate their safety measures are genuinely effective.

What is an app-based alarm?

An app-based alarm is a personal alarm function built into the smartphone the user already carries. The benefits are numerous:

• High real-world usage. The phone is almost always with the employee, reducing the risk of the alarm being forgotten or left in a locker.
• Fast activation with clear feedback. The alarm can be triggered with a single button press and works even when the phone is locked.
• Privacy-friendly. Location and audio monitoring are only activated during an active alarm — the user is never passively tracked in the background.
• Scalable and cost-effective. Suitable for organisations with large workforces, without requiring separate hardware for each employee.
• Proactive safety features. In addition to direct alarms, features such as timed check-ins and safe journey home automatically trigger an alert if something goes wrong, even when the user is unable to press the button themselves.

App-based alarms are often used alongside physical devices, such as an external alarm button, to provide additional reassurance and flexibility in situations where the phone may not always be accessible.