Preventing Workplace Violence: Employer Responsibilities

As a leader or manager, you have a duty to look after your workforce and all aspects of their wellbeing. Part of this responsibility involves preventing and managing workplace violence – as well as recognising exactly what to do in the unfortunate event that it occurs. In this article, we’ll look at how you can prevent and handle violence in the workplace and give you some top tips for preventing workplace violence.

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What is Workplace Violence?

Workplace violence can happen in any workplace of any size and any type of business, whether you have a hundred employees, just a handful of colleagues or if you work alone. It’s a significant concern for both employees and employers, as workplace violence can have a serious impact on wellbeing and safety – of both your staff members and the business as a whole.

Whilst anyone can be subject to workplace violence, certain occupations are more vulnerable than others. At particularly high risk are job roles that involve working with the public, that open after dark or that serve alcohol. This puts workers in the service industry most at risk – including occupations such as healthcare workers, social workers, hospitality staff and taxi drivers.

Workplace violence occurs when an event triggers someone to react and the workplace environment is conducive towards violence happening. As an employer, leader or manager, therefore, your role is to remove this link and prevent the workplace from being a place where violence is allowed – or enabled – to occur.

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Workplace Violence Examples

Generally speaking, there are four main ‘types’ of workplace violence that you may come across:

1. Violence with criminal intent – including theft, criminal damage, cyber attacks or aggravated assault. The violence may be against the business, the premises or the people that work there and is usually carried out by someone outside of the workplace, not an employee.
2. Customer or client violence – including physical assault and verbal attacks, such as threats and intimidation. The violence is instigated by a customer, client or other visitor to the workplace, usually because they are upset or angry with the business, product or service received.
3. Worker-on-worker violence – including physical assaults, verbal abuse or emotional abuse, such as harassment, intimidation and bullying. This is when employees turn on each other and act aggressively or hostile towards each other, whether physically or through their words and behaviours.
4. Interpersonal violence – including domestic violence. This type of violence occurs between two people with a close relationship, whether that’s a romantic relationship, a friendship or a manager-employee relationship.

To learn more about the warning signs of violence in the workplace and how to recognise potential conflict, take a look at our dedicated article: Signs of Conflict in the Workplace.

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7 Tips to Prevent Workplace Violence

Employers, leaders and managers have a duty of care towards their employees and must ensure that workplace violence is prevented and discouraged. Here are seven top tips to prevent workplace violence in your organisation:

1. Always follow safer recruitment practices – safer recruitment is about safeguarding your business and staff from unsuitable employees, right from the start. Preventing workplace violence begins with a thorough hiring process where background checks are carried out on potential employees to see whether they have any history of violence, including any recent convictions. If something comes to the surface, then seek an explanation from the person and, if insufficient, be sure to retract the job offer.
2. Establish zero-tolerance policies – all businesses must have strict violence, harassment and bullying policies in place to ensure employees know what is expected of them, how to report incidents and what the disciplinary measures are. These policies should be regularly reviewed, updated and communicated to all members of staff and customers where relevant.
3. Enable open communication with employees – all employees should have access to a reporting procedure for any concerns and incidents related to workplace violence. As a leader or manager, ensure you have an ‘open door’ attitude and ensure workers have an easy and effective line of communication with senior managers. This will help workers to feel confident that their grievances will be heard and responded to fairly, thus increasing safety, trust and wellbeing.
4. Highlight the importance of respect – respect in the workplace goes a long way towards reducing the chances of workplace violence, as employees will be much more understanding and tolerant of each other’s differences. Businesses should encourage a positive culture where equality and diversity are welcomed, celebrated and respected.
5. Provide regular awareness training – conducting regular training sessions in topics such as conflict management, EDI, resilience and unconscious bias will help workers understand which behaviours are and aren’t acceptable and how to respond to violent incidents appropriately. Training sessions can also empower workers to recognise warning signs, promote a positive workplace culture and effectively manage their mental health.
6. Enhance workplace security – implementing security measures in the workplace, or maintaining those you already have in place, can significantly reduce the chances of violence occurring. This might include CCTV, security guards, keycard entry systems, panic buttons, security lights or visitor check-in procedures. Security features such as these provide additional safety for staff and help to deter violence from happening.
7. Carry out a workplace violence risk assessment – a thorough and regular risk assessment will enable you to identify areas of vulnerability in your workplace and then put measures in place to address these issues. For example, inadequate security measures, problems with the reporting procedure or lack of awareness. Remember to talk to employees and ask for their feedback and observations before implementing control measures, as they are often best-placed to identify areas for improvement.

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How to Handle Violence in the Workplace

Handling violence in the workplace isn’t always easy, especially if you have a close relationship with the person or people who instigated it. As an employer, leader or line manager, however, you have a responsibility to follow any disciplinary procedures your organisation has in place.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that procedures must be in place for responding to incidents of violence in your workplace, and the response must be proportionate to the level of risk. Staff should also be trained in how to cope with foreseeable violence, where necessary, and know how to report incidents.

If a member of staff has acted violently or abusively towards another member of staff or someone else on the premises, such as a customer or contractor, then you will need to carry out disciplinary action. It’s vital that you apply the same disciplinary procedures to everyone, no matter their status, position or relationship to you. Depending on the severity of the violence, you may need to suspend the employee whilst an investigation into the incident is carried out.

If a member of staff has committed an illegal act, then you may need to contact the police before following your organisation’s disciplinary procedure. You can still carry out your own investigations whilst a criminal case is ongoing.

If a member of staff has received an injury due to violence and requires medical treatment or extended time off work as a result, you should allow this. As with any other absence, check your company policy about whether the worker will still be paid in full whilst off work and how much time they’re entitled to. For employees who have been subject to violence or witnessed violence, bear in mind that this can be a traumatic experience for them, so consider what support you’re able to offer in terms of leave or counselling, for example.

In some instances, a worker may want to raise a grievance because of a violence in the workplace. In these cases, ensure the employee is provided with your organisation’s grievance policy and help them to follow the process of reporting a grievance, attending a grievance hearing and dealing with the outcome.

It’s also a good idea to carry out a debriefing after a violent incident in the workplace. This means reviewing your risk assessment and looking carefully at what happened, how and why it happened and what can be done to reduce the likelihood of something similar happening again. Talk to the members of staff who were involved or who witnessed the violence to establish exactly what occurred and learn of any changes they’d recommend or support they need.

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Violence in the workplace is not something that should be taken lightly and employers must have robust procedures in place to handle violent incidents. Violence can be instigated by anyone in any type of workplace, so ensure you’ve carried out a relevant risk assessment to highlight any potential concerns and do what you can to prevent violence in the workplace from occurring. Keeping workers safe from harm is the duty of all employers, leaders and managers.

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Further Resources

• Conflict Management Training Course
• Understanding the Different Types of Group Conflict: A Guide for Managers
• Managing Conflict in the Workplace: A Guide for Line Managers