The case for managing violence

Bill Fox, of workplace conflict specialists Maybo, told us that violence and aggression was increasing across all sectors of business and that employers could not afford to turn their back on the problem.

"There are strong moral and business cases for developing effective policy, strategy and training," he said. "If that is not enough there is also a non-negotiable legal case."

Many employers are familiar with the concept of 'duty of care' and of the specific requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Yet many fail to recognise that violence must be managed with the same rigour as other hazards, said Mr Fox.

"Although the requirement has been in place for many years we now have a better understanding of the problem and how it can be managed. This has resulted in the courts taking a tougher line on this issue."

A £179,000 award

Bill Fox described a recent case which highlight this toughening approach.

"In a Scottish ruling this year a former off-licence manager, who was the victim of an armed robbery in which she feared she was going to die, was awarded £179,000. The judge accused the employer of putting profits before the safety of staff.

"The judge said: 'The employment of two members of staff in premises where physical attacks might be anticipated, is a step which materially reduces the risk of such an attack. It is an obvious and apparently practical step and ought to have been carried out.'

"The employer's insistence that the manager work alone in the shop was a breach of its duty to take reasonable care for her safety."

Training is key

Maybo firmly believes that training is a key risk reduction measure and that a failure to provide adequate training has been a feature in recent negligence cases.

Bill Fox explained: "An effective risk assessment will directly inform the training need. Where physical assault is foreseeable in certain areas of work, training may need to include physical skills to protect against assault and in some cases restrain.

"This was highlighted in a recent case where a local authority was found negligent as a result of failing to provide adequate training in these skills to a residential social worker who was likely to need to restrain service users in his care."

Read on to uncover Maybo's principles of risk assessment…

Feature article by Jonathan Thomson