Blog Post

Your Toolkit for Tackling Workplace Violence

  • By Clare Ebison
  • 11 Dec, 2016

Don't let your employees take it on the chin

workplace violence
What is workplace violence
The HSE defines work-related violence as "an incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work".
When talking about workplace violence we are also talking about harassment.

Violence and harassment can take many different forms, some of which you will find easier to identify than others.
Harassment is when someone is deliberately and repeatedly threatened, abused, or humiliated in relation to work.

Violence is when one or more workers or managers are assaulted in relation to work. 

Both harassment and violence can be carried out by one or more worker, manager, service user, or member of the public with the purpose of violating the affected individual's dignity, affecting their health and/ or creating a hostile working environment.
 Harassment and violence can:
  • be physical, psychological, and/ or sexual
  • be one of incidents or more systematic patterns of behaviour
  • be amongst colleagues, between superiors and subordinates or by third parties such as clients, customers, patients, pupils etc
  • range from minor cases of disrespect to more serious acts, including criminal offences, which will require the intervention of public authorities
Why is it important to manage workplace violence?
in 2014/15 in England and Wales:

  • an estimated 1.2%of working adults were the victims of one or more violent incidents at work
  • 285,000 adults of working age in employment experienced work-related violence
  • estimated 569,000 incidents of violence at work, comprising of 308,000 assaults and 261,000 threats
workplace violence and harassment
Workplace violence can take many forms and can affect workers in many ways
How can I deal with workplace violence, some simple tips?
Workplace violence is dealt with using a range of methods. At the bottom end are the desk top assessments using generic templates and sketchy data, and at the top multi-faceted approaches involving a range of stakeholders designed to gain a full picture of what employees face.
The problem with the desk top approach using generic template is that it is very difficult to truly represent what our employees face during their working day. Can you be sure that all incidences of workplace violence are reported, were not only talking physical violence here but verbal assault as well.
A lack of reliable data and a desire to believe that the potential for violence is low can lead to an unrealistic risk assessment and inadequate controls.
When you combine the nature of the work, the state of mind of people involved (are they in a good mood, have they had a bad day, car broken down?) , environmental influences, the complex interactions of people - a generic approach can be a bit like trying to knock a square peg into a round hole.
Getting out and walking and talking through scenarios and potential points of conflict with staff, having regular conversations on the ground and exploring thoughts, ideas and concerns will help you gain a much better picture of the issues that your staff face.
The Law, what do I need to do?
There are many laws that govern violence and harassment depending on the nature of the violence and harassment and in some cases the sector that you work in. 

Here are your key duties and responsibilities:
Employers Must:

  • Ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their workers
  • Assess the risks to their workers including reasonably foreseeable violence, decide the significance of these risks, put in place control measures, and develop a management place to achieve this
  • Establish clear grievance and disciplinary procedures
  • Ensure that everyone is aware of their harassment and violence policy and their responsibilities in relation to it
Employers Should:

  • Provide a clear statement that harassment and violence will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly
  • Be clear what constitutes unacceptable behaviour 
  • Provide a statement of their overall approach to preventing and dealing with the risks of harassment and violence, including training
  • Provide advice to workers on relevant legislation applicable to them and their responsibilities in the workplace
  • Advise the victim to keep a diary of all incidents, possible witnesses and to keep copies of anything that is relevant
  • Provide a statement that all complaints should be backed up with detailed information
  • Make clear that all parties involved will receive an impartial hearing and fair treatment protecting dignity and privacy
  • Make clear that false or malicious accusations will not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action
  • Make clear what support is available to the victim
  • Include information as to how the policy is to be implemented, reviewed and monitored
Employers could:

  • Seek qualified advice from external parties or advisors on their policies and procedures if they feel this will be helpful
  • Include specific procedures where a criminal case may need to be brought
The first step, an informal approach.

There may be some cases where it is possible to rectify matters using an informal approach. Sometimes people are not aware that their behaviour is unwelcome and an informal discussion can lead to greater understanding and an agreement that the behaviour will cease.

It may be that the individual will choose to do this themselves, or they may need support from human resources management, a manager, an employee representative, or a counsellor. However, sometimes informal approaches can blur the issues and cause greater problems later on, so careful judgments need to be made about whether to use formal or informal methods.
Thank you for reading, I hope you have found this blog post useful. Please feel free to leave a comment if you wish.

If you want more information or some advice please click here to get in contact or call on 07765012152
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