Working from home or on the road: addresses, safety and travel time

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Your insurer or professional body can tell you what applies. The practical tips below are suggestions, not rules.

You are a lone worker

The Health and Safety Executive describes lone workers as people who "work by yourself without close or direct supervision", and says its guidance applies whether you are an employee, contractor, freelancer or self-employed. Its leaflet on protecting lone workers says they face the same hazards as anyone else, but with a greater risk of those hazards causing harm, because help is not close by. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a registered charity, is careful to say its tips cannot eliminate incidents, only help you assess and mitigate risks.

A practical way to think about risk is to ask whether a visit is in an isolated place, whether it involves handling cash or taking payment, and whether it is late in the evening or early in the morning when fewer people are around. Mobile and home-based appointment work can touch all three.

Tell someone where you are

Choose one person you trust and agree a simple routine: they know your day's bookings, you message when you arrive and when you leave, and you both know what happens if you do not check in. Agree in advance what you will both do if you miss a check-in, and practise it once so it is not new on the day.

Keep client addresses and access notes private

Addresses, door codes and notes such as "key under the pot" are personal data. Official UK data protection guidance says to allow access only to people you have authorised, and to keep backups. Keep them in your booking system or another protected place, not in a group chat or a public calendar, and, as a practical suggestion, delete access notes once they are no longer needed.

If you work from home, think about your own address too. Google's guidance for businesses that do not serve customers at their business address is to remove that address from the Business Profile and use service areas instead. You can share the exact address only once a booking is confirmed.

Allow travel time

Build travel time and parking into your diary between visits, add a buffer for finishing late, and avoid booking back-to-back visits across a wide area. HSE also notes that many lone workers are exposed to work-related road risks.

Charge for travel fairly

State your travel charge or the area it covers before the client books, and make it easy to find. Under section 62 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, an unfair term in a consumer contract is not binding on the consumer, and a term is unfair if, contrary to good faith, it causes a significant imbalance to the consumer's detriment. A clear charge, shown upfront and applied the same way for everyone, is the safest footing.

Cancelling safely

A practical suggestion: cancel a visit that does not feel right. Put it in your terms that you may cancel or end a visit if you feel unsafe, and decide in advance whether you will offer a refund or rebook.

Insurance questions to ask

Ask your insurer, in writing:

• Does my policy cover treatments or sessions at clients' homes and in my own home?
• Does it cover my equipment in the car and at a client's property?
• Is there cover for injury to a client or damage to their property?
• What does the insurer expect me to have in place, such as screening forms or records?

If a visit feels unsafe

Trust your instincts. Decide your exit signals in advance: you can say you need to take a call, collect something from the car, or reschedule. If you are in immediate danger, leave and call 999. Afterwards, tell your trusted person, write down what happened, and consider ending that client's bookings. If you are being followed or harassed by someone, the National Stalking Helpline, run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, offers free advice on 0808 802 0300.

Do this next

1. Pick your check-in person and agree your routine, including what happens if you miss a check-in.
2. Move client addresses and access notes into one private place and out of group chats.
3. Review your diary rules: set a minimum gap between visits and a latest finishing time.
4. Put your travel charge and your right to cancel an unsafe visit in your terms and booking page.
5. Send the insurance questions above to your insurer and keep the replies.

Want a back office that holds addresses privately, adds travel time and sends clients your terms automatically? See how it works for your craft: our page for your craft

Sources

• HSE, lone workers (read 22 Oct 2026)
• HSE, protecting lone workers (INDG73) (read 22 Oct 2026)
• HSE, lone working for employers (read 22 Oct 2026)
• Suzy Lamplugh Trust (read 22 Oct 2026)
• Suzy Lamplugh Trust, personal safety tips (read 22 Oct 2026)
• Google, service areas and hiding your address (read 22 Oct 2026)
• Official UK data protection guidance on data security (read 22 Oct 2026)
• Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 62 (read 22 Oct 2026)

Last checked 22 October 2026. General guidance, not legal or tax advice.

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