6.7 Workplace Harassment and Violence to Staff

1. Introduction

Harassment and violence towards staff can have a direct impact on their wellbeing and health and safety. It can also have an damaging effect on standards of work, performance, confidence and morale.

Staff in roles most at risk from harassment and violence are those who:

• provide a service;
• are carers;
• work in education;
• are involved in cash transactions;
• make deliveries / collections;
• represent authority.

Act of harassment and / or violence to staff can be committed by adults with care and support needs, their family or friends or other members of the public. A person be behaves in this way may be reported to the police or face organisational sanctions, such as loss of service.

Managers and staff have a responsibility to:

• adopt policies and processes which limit incidents of harassment and violence;
• respond appropriately and promptly to reports of harassment and violence;
• protect themselves and their colleagues;
• report the incident to the police with a view to prosecution where appropriate.

2. What is Violence and Harassment?

2.1 Violence

Violence to staff is defined as abuse, threats or assaults in circumstances relating to their work. This includes:

• verbal abuse;
• offensive language;
• discriminatory or derogatory remarks, for example those which are racist, sexist or homophobic in nature;
• obscene gestures;
• threatening behaviour;
• stalking;
• physical attacks;
• spitting; and
• throwing objects.

2.2 Harassment

Harassment is when a person causes alarm or distress to a member of staff; this can result in the victim being put in fear of violence. It can include repeated attempts to communicate with the member of staff, which are clearly unwanted and contact them in a way that the perpetrator expects to cause them distress or fear.

3. Assessing Risks from Violence and Aggression

The main issues which can increase risks towards staff include:

• mental health disorders;
• impatience;
• frustration;
• anxiety;
• resentment;
• drink and / or drugs;
• previous history of aggression.

3.1 Risk assessments: staff responsibilities

Every adult who has a history of aggression / violence towards staff must have a risk assessment. This should identify the risks and outline the actions to be taken to minimise these risks. This should include family or friends who have such a known history, even if the adult themselves does not present a risk.

Information on risks should be flagged in case files and on recording systems. It should also be shared with other concerned organisations, as appropriate.

Risk assessments should be regularly reviewed, care and support plans updated and actions taken to minimise risks.

3.2 Risk assessments: manager responsibilities

When carrying out risk assessment, the following factors should be considered.

In the workplace:

• work activities;
• working conditions;
• design of the work activities and surrounding environment;
• frequency of situations that present a risk of workplace violence;
• severity of the potential consequences to the member of staff who may be exposed to a risk;
• information on workplace violence based on historical evidence and accurate information;
• measures already in place to prevent workplace violence.

The wider working environment:

• description of the department or area the manager or supervisor is in charge of;
• history of violence in the department / service area;
• activities in the department / service area that could expose workers to violence;
• circumstances that might increase the risk of violence in the department / service area;
• measures in place to address violence and the resources needed to implement them.

3.3 Recording

See Case Recording chapter

It is crucial for the safety and wellbeing of staff, adults and the protection of the organisation and wider community that risk assessments are fully documented.

4. Management Responsibilities

Managers must assess the risk of both physical and non-physical assault to staff and take appropriate action in response.

These steps may include:

• providing training and information on keeping safe;
• improving the design of the working environment (such as physical security measures);
• implementing processes which can help keep staff safe (such as joint visits, reporting in before and after a visit or appointment, body cameras, personal alarms etc);
• making changes to aspects of staff roles.

Mechanisms should be in place to share learning with staff and across the service.

4.1 Staff support

Depending on the nature of the incident, staff who have been the victim of harassment and / or violence should be supported by managers and human resources.

This may include:

• debriefing by the line manager, as soon as possible following the incident;
• supervision with the line manager for a more in-depth examination of the incident and any learning points that arise or further discussion with other colleagues including senior managers;
• team discussion regarding the incident where appropriate to share learning and any change in practice required;
• referral for counselling for the member of staff, where required;
• support for the member of staff and the line manager, as required, in the case of any ongoing police investigation and subsequent prosecution or other internal organisational sanctions taken against the person perpetrating the harassment or violence.

Managers should also ensure that where the perpetrator is an adult who still uses the service, that steps are taken to discuss the situation with them, their behaviour, how they could have responded differently and referral to other agencies for support / interventions regarding behaviour management as appropriate.