Violence



Over the past year, unions have continued to highlight horrific levels of violence faced by their members and called on the government and employers to take action. For example: 


• public services union UNISON reports that some of its members working in the community now see “being attacked at work” as a normal part of the job, while reported attacks in hospitals with an A&E department increased by 21% last year;


• the general union GMB pointed to HSE figures showing the number of serious injuries caused by violent assaults on education workers has shot up by 24% over the last five years; and


• the prison officers’ union POA blamed austerity for rising levels of prison violence and drew attention to official statistics showing that assaults on staff had increased by nearly a quarter over the last year (23%) and are up a staggering 196% since 2010.


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.”