A guard notices a broken stair light on a patrol route. What should they do?

Report it promptly to a supervisor or the employer

Wait until someone falls to report it

Mention it only at the yearly review

Fix the wiring personally during the shift to save the client money

What must workers at risk of violence be told about people they may meet?

Information on people with a history of violence

Each customer's income and credit rating

The home addresses and phone numbers of all regular customers of the site

Nothing, to protect customers' privacy

Who must be consulted when setting check-in intervals for lone work?

The joint committee or worker rep, and the worker

The client's insurance company and its loss-prevention adviser only

BC Security Guard (BST) overview

BC Security Guard (BST): Personal safety and working alone

WorkSafeBC rules a guard works under: working alone check-in procedures, late night retail requirements, violence risk assessments and instruction, reporting unsafe conditions and the three-step right to refuse unsafe work.

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21 questions
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Personal safety and working alone · Question 1Score 0/0

Besides regular check-ins, when must a lone guard's well-being be checked?

Tip: press 1–4 to answer and Enter for the next question.

Study reference: B.C. security legislation and gov.bc.ca guidance (Oct 2026), Ch. 9 Personal safety and working alone — WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation ss. 3.10–3.13, 4.20.1–4.23, 4.27–4.31

All 21 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

Besides regular check-ins, when must a lone guard's well-being be checked?
1. Only during meal breaks
2. At the end of the shift
3. Only when the client asks for it
4. Only at the start of the week
A guard notices a broken stair light on a patrol route. What should they do?
1. Wait until someone falls to report it
2. Mention it only at the yearly review
3. Report it promptly to a supervisor or the employer
4. Fix the wiring personally during the shift to save the client money
How often must a working-alone procedure be reviewed at minimum?
1. Every five years
2. At least once a year
3. Never, once written
4. Only after an injury
What must workers at risk of violence be told about people they may meet?
1. Each customer's income and credit rating
2. The home addresses and phone numbers of all regular customers of the site
3. Nothing, to protect customers' privacy
4. Information on people with a history of violence
Who must be consulted when setting check-in intervals for lone work?
1. The building's landlord only
2. The local police department
3. The joint committee or worker rep, and the worker
4. The client's insurance company and its loss-prevention adviser only
How does WorkSafeBC define violence in the workplace?
1. Actual or attempted force, or threats, by a non-worker that could injure a worker
2. Only incidents that the police later investigate and charge as an assault
3. Only physical attacks that cause a lost-time injury requiring medical treatment
4. Any argument between two co-workers
What are 'late night hours' under WorkSafeBC's late night retail rules?
1. 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
2. 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
3. 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
4. Midnight to 7 a.m.
How should check-in intervals change for higher-risk lone work?
1. They should be random
2. They should be skipped
3. They should be shorter
4. They should be longer
A guard refuses unsafe work. What is the first step?
1. Leave the site without telling anyone
2. Report it immediately to the supervisor or employer
3. Post about it online for advice
4. Call a WorkSafeBC officer straight away, before speaking to anyone at work
The employer says the work is safe but the guard still refuses. What happens next?
1. The guard must do the work right away or be dismissed for insubordination
2. The guard's licence is suspended
3. A second investigation with a worker representative present
4. The client decides the matter
Can an employer discipline a guard for a proper refusal of unsafe work?
1. No, though temporary alternative work at equal pay is allowed
2. Yes, if the officer later finds no hazard
3. Yes, if the refusal delays the client's work or costs the client money
4. Yes, by cutting pay for the hours refused
Who carries out the well-being checks for a lone worker?
1. Any passer-by the guard happens to meet
2. The guard's family members by text
3. No one, if the guard feels safe
4. A designated person who records the results
What must a violence risk assessment consider?
1. Only the guard's own height and weight
2. Only incidents reported in the last month
3. Only the opinions of the client's customers collected in a short survey
4. Past incidents there, similar workplaces, and location and circumstances
A guard reports an injury from a violent incident. What must the employer advise?
1. See only the company's chosen doctor
2. Consult a physician of the guard's choice
3. Return to the same post at once
4. Wait two weeks before seeing anyone
Which check-in method does WorkSafeBC prefer for a lone guard?
1. A text message sent once a week
2. A note left on the guard's desk
3. Visual or two-way voice contact
4. An email sent at the end of the night
What must an employer have for a guard who works alone?
1. A daily drug test for the guard
2. A second guard on every single shift, without any exception at all
3. A written procedure for checking the guard's well-being
4. A camera on the guard at all times
May an employer give refused work to another guard before the refusal is resolved?
1. Yes, if the second guard is more senior
2. Only after telling that guard in writing about the refusal and their rights
3. Yes, at any time, without saying anything to the second guard about it
4. No, all work at the site must stop for a full week while the officer decides
Under WorkSafeBC rules, when is a guard 'working alone or in isolation'?
1. Only when the guard has no phone or radio at all
2. Only when no other person is within one kilometre
3. When help would not be readily available if they were hurt or ill
4. Only when the guard works alone between midnight and 6 a.m. in a building
A store keeps one worker alone after 11 p.m. Which measure is one of the required options?
1. Keeping all cash in the till so that change can be made quickly
2. Turning off the lights to look closed
3. Asking customers to pay only in cash
4. A locked barrier between the worker and the public
What must an employer do before assigning a guard to work alone?
1. Identify the hazards and eliminate or minimize them
2. Get the guard to sign a waiver of liability
3. Notify the local police of the guard's name
4. Give the guard a pay increase for the risk
When may a B.C. worker refuse to do a task under WorkSafeBC rules?
1. With reasonable cause to believe it creates an undue hazard
2. Whenever they find the task boring, unpleasant or outside their usual routine
3. Only after the task has caused an injury
4. Only if a co-worker agrees with them

Personal safety and working alone: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Working alone or in isolation

A worker works alone or in isolation when assistance would not be readily available in an emergency, or if the worker is injured or becomes ill.
Many guard posts (night patrols, single-guard sites) fit this definition.

Hazards first

Before a worker is assigned to work alone, the employer must identify the hazards and eliminate them or, if not practicable, minimize the risk with engineering or administrative controls.

Check-in procedure

The employer must have a written procedure for checking the well-being of a worker who works alone.
The procedure sets the time interval between checks and what to do if the worker cannot be contacted, including emergency rescue.
A designated person contacts the worker at the set intervals and records the results.
There must also be a check at the end of the shift.
Intervals are set in consultation with the joint committee or health and safety representative and with the worker.
Higher-risk work needs shorter intervals; visual or two-way voice contact is preferred; a one-way device that calls for help if not reset is acceptable where two-way contact is not practicable.

Training and review

The lone worker and the person doing the checks must be trained in the procedure.
The procedure is reviewed at least once a year, and sooner if conditions change or a report shows it is not working.

Late night retail

Late night hours are 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.; late night retail premises are gas stations and retail stores open to the public in those hours.
A lone worker at risk of violence needs a written cash-handling procedure.
During late night hours the employer must use a locked barrier between the worker and the public, assign a second worker, or run a violence prevention program.
A violence prevention program includes a time-lock safe, good visibility, limited access, video surveillance and signs; the lone worker must be at least 19 and wear a monitored personal emergency transmitter.

Violence in the workplace

Violence: the attempted or actual use of physical force by a person other than a worker that could injure a worker, including threatening statements or behaviour that give the worker reasonable cause to believe they are at risk.
A risk assessment is required where workers may be at risk of injury from violence; it considers past experience at the workplace, similar workplaces, and the location and circumstances of the work.
If a risk exists, the employer sets procedures, policies and work arrangements to eliminate it, or minimize it if elimination is not possible.
Workers are told the nature and extent of the risk, including information about people with a history of violence they are likely to meet.
Instruction covers recognizing the potential for violence, the procedures in place, how to respond and get help, and how to report, investigate and document incidents.
A worker who reports an injury or adverse symptom from violence is told to consult a physician of their choice.

Unsafe conditions and refusing work

Anyone who sees an unsafe or harmful condition or act reports it as soon as possible to a supervisor or the employer, who must investigate and correct it without delay.
A person must not carry out work they have reasonable cause to believe would create an undue hazard to anyone's health and safety.
Step 1: the worker reports immediately to the supervisor or employer, who investigates and fixes the problem or explains why the report is not valid.
Step 2: if the worker still refuses, the investigation is repeated with the worker and a worker member of the joint committee, a union-chosen worker or another worker the refusing worker picks.
Step 3: if still unresolved, the employer and worker notify a WorkSafeBC officer, who investigates and issues orders.
Refused work cannot be given to another worker until resolved unless that worker is told in writing about the refusal and their own right to refuse.
A worker may not be punished (prohibited action) for refusing under this procedure; temporary alternative work at no loss of pay is allowed.

Equipment and fitness

Guards may not carry weapons, batons, pepper spray or restraints without authorization, so personal safety depends on awareness, distance, communication and calling for help.
A guard must never be unfit for duty because of alcohol or drugs.

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