Lone working in Switzerland: what employers need to know

Lone working rules in Switzerland explained: VUV, Employment Act and Suva guidance on risk assessment, monitoring, staff consultation and privacy.

Published October 2, 2026

First things first: this article is not legal advice. It summarises the general duties set out in Swiss ordinances and in guidance from Suva. What applies in your business depends on an assessment of the actual tasks. Bring in your safety specialist, Suva or your cantonal labour inspectorate for that.

The caretaker checking the heating alone in the evening. The service engineer at a customer’s site. The forest worker alone on a slope. Lone working is part of everyday life in many sectors. It isn’t banned, but it carries a particular risk: if something happens, nobody is there to notice.

A few Swiss terms first

Suva is the Swiss accident insurance fund. It also oversees workplace safety in large parts of industry and publishes the practical guidance most employers use.
EKAS (Federal Coordination Commission for Occupational Safety) coordinates workplace safety and funds much of Suva’s prevention material.
VUV is the Ordinance on the Prevention of Accidents and Occupational Diseases (SR 832.30).
ArG is the Federal Employment Act (SR 822.11), and ArGV 3 is its Ordinance 3 on health protection (SR 822.113).

What counts as lone working

Suva defines it in its guide “Alleinarbeit kann gefährlich sein” (Lone working can be dangerous, no. 44094): a person counts as working alone if they cannot be helped immediately after an accident or in a critical situation, for example because they are out of sight and earshot of other people.

Suva’s typical examples:

automated production lines and machines in special operation, such as cleaning or setting up
storerooms, basements, outdoor and cold stores
power plants, sewage works, waste incineration plants, landfills
laboratory work
overtime, shift and weekend work
inspection rounds outside normal working hours
installation work at customers’ premises and facility management

A “critical situation” doesn’t have to be an injury. Suva’s example is someone who can no longer get out of a cold store on their own.

The legal basis

Switzerland has no dedicated lone working act. Suva notes that the VUV contains no general rule for people working alone. The duties come from several provisions:

Art. 8 VUV: work with special hazards may only be given to suitably trained employees. And if an employee carries out dangerous work alone, the employer must have them monitored.
Art. 3 VUV: the employer takes all protective measures required by the regulations and by recognised safety rules.
Art. 6 ArG: to protect health, the employer takes all measures that experience shows to be necessary, that are technically feasible and that suit the business.
ArGV 3: covers information, consultation and the ban on monitoring behaviour (more below).

How this works in practice is set out in the EKAS guidance on Art. 8 VUV (in German). Options it lists include acknowledging periodic calls, radios that raise the alarm on a sudden change of position or lack of movement, and devices that let the worker raise the alarm themselves. It stresses that all of these only work if someone is always there to respond.

For some tasks, lone working is ruled out explicitly, for example work on live electrical installations, inside tanks and confined spaces, or rope access work. Chapter 9 of the Suva guide lists these specially regulated tasks.

What employers have to do

1. Assess the risk

Suva guide 44094 (revised edition, May 2025) proposes an assessment matrix. You describe the task, identify the most serious realistic hazard and estimate two things: the possible severity (from “minor injury without time off” to “fatal unless first aid is given at once”) and the likelihood. Where they meet tells you what kind of monitoring you need.

Suva recommends doing the assessment as a team: supervisors, employees and the safety officer, with occupational safety specialists where needed. Under Art. 11a VUV, bringing them in is mandatory when safety and health require it.

2. Choose suitable people

Only people who are physically, mentally and professionally suited should work alone. Young people under 18 may generally not be given dangerous work.

3. Instruct and document

Under Art. 6 VUV, you inform staff about hazards and protective measures when they start and whenever conditions change significantly. For lone working, Suva says this includes at least how the monitoring system works and is tested before each job, which tasks always need a second person, and the emergency plan. The instruction must be documented.

4. Set up an emergency plan

Whatever the matrix shows, Suva requires emergency planning for lone working: alarm organisation, first aid, training, and access for ambulances or a helicopter. For workplaces away from your premises, Suva offers the checklist emergency planning for non-fixed workplaces (67061).

Measures by risk level

The Suva matrix leads to four fields. Simplified:

Field	Meaning	Typical measures
1	Lone working banned	An additional person monitors constantly, e.g. when entering shafts. Technology never replaces that person.
2	Continuous monitoring, independent of the worker’s will	A second person within sight and earshot, or a system that raises the alarm automatically, such as a personal emergency signalling system (PNA)
3	Periodic monitoring	Inspection rounds, phone or radio calls, an expected check-in from the worker, or a system with a pre-alarm that must be acknowledged
4	Lone working allowed	The person stays mobile and can call for help themselves. The normal emergency plan is enough.

Periodic monitoring: how often?

For field 3, Suva sets a maximum rescue time of 8 hours for minor injuries without lasting harm (3a), otherwise 4 hours (3b). Subtract the time until first aid arrives, until the ambulance arrives and for the rescue itself. What’s left is the longest acceptable contact interval. If the numbers don’t work, you need automatic alarms as in field 2.

Suva explicitly lists an expected check-in from the person working alone, for example at midday and when leaving in the evening.

When you need a PNA

According to Suva, which refers to the German DGUV Rule 112-139, a personal emergency signalling system consists of a wearable device and a receiving centre. It raises alarms both manually and automatically and passes them to a point that organises help. Suva requires checking before each job that the link to the alarm point is guaranteed at all times.

Even then, Suva says rescuers may take 15 minutes or more, longer in rough terrain. If a site is too remote for a timely rescue, lone working must be banned there, even if the matrix would allow it.

For hazardous forestry work, Suva refers to the EKAS forestry guideline (2134): such work may only be done if help is assured by sight, voice or radio contact.

Consultation and privacy

Employees have a say. Art. 6a VUV and Art. 6 ArGV 3 require that they or their representatives are consulted early and fully. They may make proposals, and if you decide otherwise, you explain why.

At the same time, Art. 26 ArGV 3 draws a clear line: monitoring and control systems intended to monitor employees’ behaviour at work must not be used. Where such systems are needed for other reasons, such as safety, they must be designed so that employees’ health and freedom of movement are not affected. Suva stresses that safety, not behaviour monitoring, must come first.

In practice: collect as little data as you need. A system that only records whether a check-in arrived is less intrusive than one with live tracking. Agree with staff what data is collected, who sees it and how long it is kept.

Where a check-in app fits, and where it doesn’t

A check-in app such as Ondira works like the “expected check-in”: one tap to check in; if it doesn’t arrive, the person is reminded first, then their supervisor gets an email. The catch is the interval. Ondira checks in every 8 hours at most often, plus a grace window, so on its own it cannot meet the four- or eight-hour rescue times of field 3. It fits field 4, as an extra safety net in case someone can’t call for help after all, or field 3 as a complement to shorter check-in calls. See How it works and Privacy and security.

To be clear: Ondira is not a personal emergency signalling system. It has no man-down or no-motion sensors, no monitoring centre and no certification, and it doesn’t call for help. It is no solution for fields 1 and 2, and not on its own for field 3 either.

Checklist for your business

Suva’s checklist “Allein arbeitende Personen” (People working alone, 67023) covers these points. All sources as of October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is lone working allowed in Switzerland?

Yes, in principle. But Suva states that lone working is not permitted where it could lead to an injury that needs immediate help from a second person. For dangerous work, Art. 8 VUV requires monitoring.

Which law governs lone working in Switzerland?

There is no dedicated law. The key provisions are Art. 8 VUV (monitoring of dangerous lone work), Art. 6 of the Employment Act (health protection) and ArGV 3.

How often should a lone worker check in?

That follows from the risk assessment. For periodic monitoring, Suva works with a maximum rescue time of 8 or 4 hours, minus the time for first aid, the ambulance and the rescue.

Is a lone worker alarm system mandatory?

Not in general. It is one way to provide the continuous, automatic monitoring Suva requires at higher risk levels. A second person within sight and earshot is the other.

Can I track lone workers by GPS?

Art. 26 ArGV 3 bans systems intended to monitor behaviour. A location system used for safety is not automatically banned, but it has to be proportionate, and staff must be consulted.

What does protecting lone workers cost?

It depends on the solution, from check-in calls to a PNA with a receiving centre. Ondira is free with a daily check-in; Ondira Plus, with 8- and 12-hour rhythms, costs CHF 3 per person a month or CHF 30 a year. Details are on Pricing.

This article is not legal advice. It describes general duties and does not replace your own risk assessment or advice from a safety specialist, Suva or your cantonal labour inspectorate. In an emergency in Switzerland: 144 (ambulance), 112 (European emergency number), 1414 (Rega air rescue).