A new app that can turn smartphones into personal safety devices has launched, providing round-the-clock assistance for employees travelling to and from their place of work.

The app provides round-the-clock assistance for employees travelling to and from their place of work

The app has been developed by tech firm Peoplesafe alongside its lone worker solutions, enabling businesses to offer personal safety support for a wider group of employees.

It launches in response to growing demand from businesses seeking ways to protect their employees outside of working hours, and includes an SOS alarm. This immediately connects users to a team of trained specialists to offer 24/7 support and even bypass 999 to contact emergency services, where necessary, at no extra cost.

The app, available on iOS and Android, also enables users to share their live location with chosen contacts via SMS, Whatsapp or Facebook messenger, helping to provide peace of mind on their journey.

As more firms look to continue a hybrid approach to home and office working, the app also offers a wellbeing check feature for companies to increase communication with those working remotely, including a mood assessment scale and a comments box to check in on team members during the working day.

Peoplesafe CEO Naz Dossa said: “The Peoplesafe app enables businesses to extend their duty of care to all employees beyond the working day. The mental health and wellbeing of staff has risen to the fore over the last 18 months and this kind of measure can make a huge difference to the level of support available to employees.”