March 2015

Violence at Work Policy Toolkit

(covering all employees)

March 2015

Contents

1 Scope and Definition

2 Types of workplace violence

3 The Law

4 High Risk Services and risk factors

5 Carrying out a Risk Assessment

5.1 Risk Assessment Form/Employee Survey Form/Violent Incident Report Form

5.2. Examples of Risk Assessment for 3 staff groups

5.4 Action Plan Examples

5.4 Review Form

6 What to do during and after a violent incident

6.1 5 Key Stages Diagram

6.2 Hints and Tips for De-escalation

6.3 Process Chart

7 Supporting the victim of workplace violence

7.1 Guidance for the Manager

8 Training for Managers

9 Associated Policies and Procedures

10 Useful websites/resources/references

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1. Scope and Definition

1.1 This toolkit is designed to be read in conjunction with the Violence at Work Policy,

and provides practical guidance and support for managers in applying the policy

and for employees to understand the process.

1.2 Emerging evidence in recent years has highlighted the harm caused by non-

physical forms of violence, including aggression and verbal abuse. It may be one

unexpected incident or a series of repeated incidents. Over time this kind of

violence has detrimental effects on the health and well-being of the victim and

often precedes physical violence.

1.4 For the purposes of this Policy and toolkit the Council adopts the following

definition of work-related violence:

Definition of Work-related violence

“any incident in which any employee is verbally abused, threatened or assaulted by a

service user, a member of the public, a contractor, another member of staff or any other

person whilst undertaking their duties.”

2. Types of Workplace Violence

2.1 Many people think of violence at work to be solely related to physical attacks on a

member of the workforce by a member of the public. However, in the context of

health and safety issues within the workplace, the term ‘violence at work’ has been

broadened to encompass any kind of abusive or aggressive behaviour that might

inflict physical or psychological harm on the victim. This can include:

Verbal abuse, in person or over the telephone

Unreasonable and/or offensive remarks or behaviour

Written abuse

Rude gestures

Intimidation

Harassment, including sexual and racial abuse

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Threatening behaviour e.g. squaring-up without physical contact/verbally

threatening to injure/kill a person (or their friends and family)

Ganging up, bullying and intimidation

Physically jostling, pinching, scratching, punching or kicking a person

Spitting

Staring at a person in a menacing manner

Sexual/indecent assault

Graffiti about the victim and failure to remove it properly

Subjecting the person to unwanted touching

2.2 The effects of violence in the workplace

Violence can destroy staff morale, motivation and performance and harm

efficiency. It leads those worse affected to become ill and take time off sick and it

can lead to sudden resignations.

3. The Law

There are 5 main pieces of health and safety law which are relevant to violence at work.

These are:-

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW) Act

Employers have a legal duty under this Act to ensure, so far as is reasonably

practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

Employers must assess the risks to employees and make arrangements for their

health and safety by effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and

review.

The risks covered should, where appropriate, include the need to protect their

employees from exposure to reasonably foreseeable violence.

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The Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

(RIDDOR)

Employers must notify their enforcing authority in the event of an accident at

work to any employee resulting in death, major injury or incapacity for normal

work for three or more consecutive days. This includes any act of non-consensual

physical violence done to a person at work.

Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (a) and

The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 (b)

Employers must inform and consult with employees in good time on matters

relating to their health and safety. Employee representatives, either appointed

by recognised trade unions under (a) or elected under (b) may make

representations to their employer on matters affecting the health and safety of

those they represent.

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4. High Risk Services

Below is a list of posts across the Council where the risk of violence may be more prevalent i.e. they may be exposed to personal safety hazards.

Service Employees

Valuation/legal Valuation officers inspectors

Licensing employees

Electoral services officer Environmental Health Enforcement employees, e.g. food, complaints,

trading standards

Pest operatives

Dog wardens

Inspectors (for HMOs)

Inspectors/advisers (for grants)

Health & Safety officers Engineering Contract Managers, including clerk of works

Architects/quantity surveyors

Structural engineers Leisure Information employees

Sports centres – shift managers

Coaches/instructors

Car park inspectors/attendants

Refreshment/bar employees

Public hall caretakers

Museum and library e,ployees/volunteers Planning Building control officers

Planning officers, including enforcement employees

Local plans employees Housing Rent collectors

Caretakers

Wardens

Control centre employees

Contract managers

Visiting employees

Maintenance inspectors

Homeless hostel employees Contract Services All tradespersons

Supervisory employees

Cemetery employees (grief being a common factor)

Grounds maintenance employees

Park rangers

Cleansing employees, refuse collectors, street cleaners

Parking attendants

Finance Housing benefit visiting officers

Housing benefit investigation employees

Council tax avoidance inspectors

Cash handlers

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Education Teachers

Caretakers

Administrative employees at reception

Peripatetic music teachers

Youth and community education employees

Employees present during holiday periods

Grounds maintenance employees

Pupil Support Assistants

Education Welfare officers Social Services Home care employees

Family support employees

Social Work employees

Community resource employees

Placement officers

Occupational therapists

Community care employees

Physical disability enablers

Hot meal delivery Others Residential home employees

Community wardens

Environmental health officers

Cleaners

Housing repair technicians

One-stop shop employees

Employees working overtime

Those who drive for work (road rage)

Receptionists

Customer Help Desk employees

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4.1 Risk Factors

There is no test, instrument or method that can accurately predict violence.

However, some environments can increase the likelihood of physical or verbal

assault from customers or service users. Often the problem involves a

combination of factors rather than a single cause, and can include:-

Certain geographical areas or trouble spots

Carrying hi-tech or expensive equipment

Handling money or valuables, cashing up or closing premises

Visiting unoccupied buildings

Working alone or away from other employees

Working at isolated properties

Working in other people’s homes

Working in a place that is badly lit or has poor security arrangements

Working late in the evening or early in the morning or unsocial hours

Working with people who have feelings of anger, resentment, frustration

or failure

Dealing with complaints

Providing care, advice or information

Working with service users or customers by telephone or email

Working with service users or customers who have taken alcohol or

drugs

Having the power to act against the public such as inspecting premises

and enforcing legislation

Working with crowds

Working in emergency services

Coping with angry and distressed service users or relatives

Working with service users with special needs or with the mentally ill,

confused or potentially violent people.

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5. Carrying out a risk assessment

There are 5 stages (outlined in Information Sheet 1) to the Risk Assessment Process

as provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

5.1 Stage 1 - Find out if you have a problem by identifying the hazard

The first step in Risk Assessment is to identify the hazard. You may think that

violence is not a problem in your work area but your employees’ views may be very

different. Therefore:-

Try to predict what might happen – do not restrict your assessment to incidents that

have already affected your own employees, there may be a known pattern linked to

certain work situations and you should gather further information e.g. from the local

Police, other businesses.

Ask your staff - use the Violence at Work Risk Assessment Form to find out whether

your staff ever feel threatened. Look at the history of occurrences recorded in the

incident/accident books and anecdotal evidence. This process will give your staff the

opportunity to contribute to violence prevention. Without their input and support it

will be difficult to identify the actual risks and successfully implement preventative

measures. An Employee Survey Form is available so that you can gather information

from staff.

The on-line SHE Portal Form should be completed for every violent incident that

occurs in your workplace. This would include taking account of what happened,

details of the victim(s), the assailant(s) and any witnesses, the outcome and working

time lost to both the individual and organisation, and details of the location of the

incident. This information will help you to analyse and classify all incidents e.g. fatal,

major, injury or emotional shock, feeling of being at risk or distressed. Look for

common causes and patterns e.g. common elements such as certain times of the day

or the week/weekend.

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5.2 Stage 2 - Decide what action to take

If you’ve found that violence could be a problem for your staff you need to decide

what needs to be done. Continue the risk assessment by taking the following steps

to help you decide what action you need to take. Examples of a risk assessment

exercise for 3 staff groups are provided in Information Sheet 2.

It is usually a combination of factors that give rise to violence and these are factors

that you can influence. Please see table below that outlines the next steps in the risk

assessment process.

Action How? Decide who might be harmed, and how

Identify which employees are at risk e.g. those who have face to face contact with the public are normally the most vulnerable. Think about whether there are any special groups or staff at different or additional risk e.g. lone workers, trainees, night/shift workers. Which of the identified hazards is most likely to occur? What measure or combination of measures will best address these risks? What are the risks to my staff and others? What are the likely injuries that may result? How severe are the injuries likely to be? How effective are any existing security measures at minimising the risk of violence? What is the level of risk and does it justify the cost of the additional or improved measures?

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5.3 Stage 3 – Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

The aim of this stage is to think about how you can manage the risks of harm from

work related violence. That can mean avoiding a particular hazard altogether,

reducing the likelihood of it happening or finding ways to make any harm that does

occur less serious. You need to make sure that you have reduced risks ‘so far as is

reasonably practicable’.

Action How? Control the risks – take action Think about:-

The workplace – access and exit, general layout, public areas, waiting and interview rooms, reception areas, the street (if the activity is carried out in the community) Work activities – reception, cash handling, service provision, time of day or night Staffing levels and competence/experience

Level of training - train your staff in safety procedures, the operation of security equipment and in what is unacceptable behaviour. Security, alarm systems, communication systems, regular testing and drills Response procedures – how employees are helped after an incident Lone working Remote working, including working from home

Eliminating the hazard – change the system of work to reduce the chance of workplace violence Replacing the hazardous procedure with a less hazardous one Designing safety and security into the premises and procedures Integrating violence prevention activities into daily procedures

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Establishing systems of communication in the event of emergencies Being prepared – managing the event during and after is just as important. Employees must know what to do and how to handle the types of situations that are likely to occur. Is the action reasonably practical?

5.4 Stage 4 – Record your findings and implement them

At this stage you should have identified measures you are already taking to keep your

staff safe, as well as actions that you could take to improve things further. You need

to decide how you are going to put these actions in place. You will need to prioritise

and may want to think about the following to help you work out your priorities:-

Can I use more than one measure? A combination of measures may be more

effective than relying on just one. Can I use a mixture of both short and long-term

measures that will get me both ‘quick wins’ and longer-term effectiveness?

How will staff react to these measures? How do I demonstrate the value of the

measures?

What are the potential negative aspects of the measures?

How much will these interventions cost in comparison to their effectiveness?

Control measures do not have to be expensive to be effective.

5.5 Your Action Plan

Once you’ve considered what measures you need to do to keep your staff safe, you

need to put them into action. Remember, it is action that protects people; risk

assessment is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Only when you have taken

actions will you be protecting people. You should therefore:-

Appoint a responsible person to make sure the actions are carried out

Make sure the measures are realistic and agreed with specific timescales

Decide how you will effectively and consistently inform, instruct and train staff

in your measures

In most cases, your decisions should be written down.

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There is a legal requirement for you to share the details of your findings with

your employees and they should be fit for purpose. It is the quality of the

findings and not the quantity that matters.

5.6 Stage 5– Review your risk assessment and update if necessary

Action How?

Review and revise your assessment

It is important to know whether or not your actions are providing effective and efficient safeguards for your employees. Two basic questions need to be asked at this stage:-

1. How effective are your preventative measures at reducing the frequency and severity of violent incidents?

2. How effective are your reactive measures at

minimising the negative outcomes associated with incidents of violence?

You could measure this by asking staff and monitoring incident rates. This will make sure that the measures are being used properly and are effective. Your risk assessment should be reviewed regularly enough to make sure that the risk of staff being harmed by work-related violence has not changed and that no further control measures are needed. There is no legal time frame for when you should review your risk assessment, it is at your discretion to decide when a review is deemed necessary. As a guide, it is recommended that risk assessments are reviewed on at least an annual basis or when any major change or incident impacts on the service.

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6. What to do during and after a violent incident

6.1 During a violent incident

Prevention is the best method of dealing with violence at work, however, despite

preventative measures, incidents of workplace violence may occur. An essential part

of your plan is to be prepared.

Violent situations often follow a pattern of escalating aggression:-

Annoyance

Raised voice

Verbal threats, physical gestures

Actual physical violence.

Avoid physical violence by recognising this and try to de-escalate the aggressive

behaviour (Information Sheet 3 provides hints and tips on de-escalation).

6.2 After a violent incident

Information Sheet 4 contains a flowchart outlining the process when a violent

incident occurs and steps to take afterwards.

The 5 key stages following a violent incident are shown in the diagram below and

explained further.

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The 5 key stages after a violent incident

The employee should immediately:-

REPORT

an incident to their manager where they are being abused, threatened or attacked.

The manager should record every incident reported and ensure that it is investigated.

It is recognised that staff may not feel it is worthwhile reporting an incident and

Information Sheet 5 provides reasons why you should.

The Line Manager should:

RECORD and INVESTIGATE

incidents of work-related violence that their staff experience for the following

reasons:-

(i) It helps you build up a true picture of the risks and triggers for work-

related violence in your premises and therefore helps you to put

relevant control measures in place.

(ii) It helps to assess whether your control measures are working.

(iii) It can contribute towards the evidence needed for legal options.

Support the victim

Report

Record

Investigate

Review

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To record instances of violence:-

You should complete the on-line SHE Portal Form with input from the

employee(s) affected, if possible, and forward this to the Corporate Health and

Safety Team. If you are unable to access the on-line system, please contact the

Corporate Health and Safety Team.

Investigate:-

the incident and inform the appropriate parties such as a Senior Manager

and/or the Corporate Health and Safety Team

this should happen as soon as possible after the incident. If necessary, further

assistance is available through the Corporate Health and Safety Team,

Occupational Health, Employee Assistance Programme, Trade Union

Representatives

the investigation must collate factual evidence to establish what happened using

the on-line SHE Portal Form.

Incidents resulting in major injury

Where a member of staff experiences a violent incident resulting in death, major

injury or illness or absence from work for 3 days or more, the employer has a legal

duty under RIDDOR regulations 1995 to also make a formal report to the HSE

Incident Contact Centre. Incidences of violence and crime should also be reported to

the Police. Police use this data to identify hotspots and their interventions.

You should contact a member of the Corporate Health and Safety Team for further

advice.

REVIEW

Following an incident the line manager should take the opportunity to review their

risk assessment and make changes where necessary as a result. An example Past

Events Review Form is available for you to look at.

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7. Supporting the victim of workplace violence

The manager must respond quickly to incidents involving their staff to avoid any long-

term distress. It is essential to plan how you are going to provide them with support

before any incidents. You may wish to consider the following:-

De-briefing victims will need to talk through their experience as soon as

possible after the event.

Time off work individuals will react differently and may need differing amounts

of time to recover. In some circumstances they might need

specialist counselling.

Counselling access the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which provides

counselling 24 hours a day, 356 days a year

Legal help in serious cases legal help may be appropriate

Other employees may need guidance and/or training to help them to react

appropriately

Guidance for the Manager in providing support is contained in Information Sheet 6.

8. Training for Managers

As well as procedural and toolkit information on the Orb, the following training and

self development is available for managers:-

o Briefing Sessions on Violence at Work arranged by People and Organisation.

Please arrange to book through Leadership and Development

o E-Learning Training – available through CECIL

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9. Associated Policies and Procedures

Stress Management Policy

Fair Treatment at Work Policy

Disciplinary Code and Policy

Flexible Work Options Policy

Managing Attendance Procedure and Toolkit

Dealing with an Accident/Incident at Work Toolkit

Managing Work Performance Procedure and Toolkit

Policy on Domestic Abuse

10. Information Sheets and Forms

Information Sheet 1 5 Stages of the Risk Assessment Process

Information Sheet 2 Risk Assessment Case Study Examples

Information Sheet 3 Hints and tips on de-escalation

Information Sheet 4 Violent Incident Reporting Flowchart

Information Sheet 5 Reasons why you should report a violent incident

Information Sheet 6 Line Manager role in supporting recovery

11. Forms

Violence at Work Risk Assessment Form

Employee Survey Form

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On-line SHE Portal Form

Past Events Review Form

12. Useful Support/Websites/Resources and References

CEC Information - for the Manager

CEC Orb – www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Policy/Procedures/Toolkit

Information sheets

Forms

For the Employee

Line Manager Support

Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 Counselling/Coaching

Occupational Health

External Websites/References

HSE:-

HSE for Case Studies – other public services/local authorities:-

www.hse.gov.uk/violence/hslcasestudies

HSE – www.hse.gov.uk/violence (work related violent topic)

Information and Guidelines: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse31.pdf

RIDDOR – www.riddor.gov.uk (reporting)

Victim Support In Scotland: www.victimsupportsco.demon.co.uk

Samaritans: www.samaritans.org