Violence



Over the last year, the TUC and unions have highlighted the horrific levels of violence faced by their members and called for government and employer action to tackle the problem. For example:


• the TUC’s latest (2016) biennial survey of trade union safety reps found that concern over violence and threats had risen sharply among reps since the previous 2014 survey. The proportion of reps reporting violence and threats as a top concern rose from around one in five (19%) in 2014 to around one in four (24%) in 2016. That figure rises to 30% of reps in the public sector and to almost half (47%) of reps in local government;


• in February 2017, shop workers’ union Usdaw reported that the latest British Retail Consortium annual retail crime survey revealed a 40% increase in incidents of violence and abuse against retail staff. The number of offences involving abuse or violence rose from 41 to 51 per 1,000 shop workers during 2016.


• Teachers’ union NUT obtained figures through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request showing that teachers and other school staff in Wales have suffered over 4,500 physical and verbal attacks by pupils over the last three academic years. The union says that an average of eight assaults take place every day.


Meanwhile, transport unions RMT and TSSA went on strike in January 2017 in protest at staff cuts that closed ticket offices and led to a spike in abuse against staff working on the London Underground. A TSSA survey found that there were more than 2,000 separate incidents of passenger abuse in the six months after machine-only ticketing was introduced in April 2016 and 87% of members reported that they felt less safe at work. And at the end of 2016, members of the POA prison officers’ association were forced to “retreat to places of safety when their personal health and safety has been placed at serious risk”. Ministry of Justice figures showed a 43% increase in attacks on staff in the 12 months to June 2016.


In both the above cases , the unions won commitments to increase staffing levels.


The employer’s duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 includes preventing violence at work. The HSE says that the risk assessments required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (Management Regulations) should include violence wherever it is a significant risk.



The Court of Appeal case, Cook v Bradford Community Health NHT Trust, CA, 23 October 2002 [2002], made clear that employers have a duty not to place staff unnecessarily in a position where there is a risk of foreseeable danger – in this case one of violence. In Collins v First Quench Retailing Ltd, 31 January 2003, Court of Session [2003], an employee won a personal injury compensation case after the off-licence she managed was robbed. In finding her employer at fault for failing to provide her with adequate protection from attack, the judge in the case considered the risk and what control measures should have been in place.


Regulation 8 of the Management Regulations requires employers to set up procedures to be followed in the event of “serious and imminent danger to persons at work”. These should enable employees to stop work and immediately proceed to a place of safety in the event of being exposed to “serious, imminent and unavoidable danger”. In Harvest Press Limited v McCaffrey 1999, the tribunal ruled that an employee was entitled to leave the workplace because of a co-worker’s abusive behaviour.


Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) (see Chapter 10), employers must report any incidents at work if they result in death, a specified injury or incapacity for normal work for seven or more days. This includes incidents where injury is caused by physical violence.



The TUC’s message to reps is “report it to sort it”. It says that telling management formally about violence directed at employees – including physical attacks and verbal abuse – is critical in tackling the issue at source. A TUC online briefing adds: “Without a strong and well-used reporting system, employers cannot respond to incidents or identify potential hotspots and trends.”



The TUC also advises that union health and safety reps should make sure they negotiate reporting systems that cover several important components, including an agreed definition of what constitutes workplace violence. It says that a clear and concise reporting form should record the facts, including the incident details, time and location, a description of the assailant and of any injuries suffered and any supporting evidence like CCTV or witnesses. Measures should be taken to make sure the system is accessible to all workers, including those whose first language is not English, and workers should be allowed to fill out reporting forms “as soon as possible after the incident. This ensures that the incident details are fresh in the mind, and allows for the report to be actioned as quickly as possible after the incident has occurred”.



The TUC adds: “The report form should also give details on how feedback will be provided to the affected worker, along with the timescale for action. It is important that staff see action being taken as this will encourage more staff to report similar incidents in the future.”