Violence


New research commissioned by the TUC and released to coincide with the start of Heartunions week in February 2016 suggests that nearly four million people have experienced violence at work at some point in their career. The YouGov poll found that one in eight (12%) people have experienced work-related violence such as being spat on, punched or even stabbed. Among medical and health workers, the figure rose to over one in five (22%).


These findings came after education and retail unions warned of alarming levels of violence. A recent survey by the teachers’ ATL union found that 43% of education staff have had to deal with physical violence from a pupil in the last year. Over half of these (52%) had been kicked, 50% had an object such as furniture thrown at them, and 37% had been punched.


And retail union USDAW called for action to prevent violence, threats and abuse against shopworkers as the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed a 28% increase in incidents last year. Interim results from the union’s annual survey of shopworkers showed that over half were verbally abused in the last year: more than 10% on a weekly or daily basis, three in 10 were threatened with violence; and over 2% were assaulted.


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 risk assessments should include violence wherever it is a significant risk.


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 is urging union reps to “report it to sort it” to ensure violence at work is reported and says that telling management formally how violence directed at employees – including physical attacks and verbal abuse – is critical in tackling the issue at source. A new 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 says 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. And 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 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,” the briefing adds.