Personal safety at work

Your personal safety in the workplace could be breached in a number of ways, from threats and verbal abuse to intimidation, bribery and physical assault.

You could also be subject to racial or sexual harassment.

It could be your colleagues, customers or suppliers who threaten your safety in your place of work.

• Your employer has a legal duty to protect you from violence and abuse while you are at work and should have a company policy for dealing with it.
• Read this policy and make sure you know which procedures to follow if an incident happens.
• Be aware of the possible risks in your work and possible causes of violence.
• If you work alone or away from your company's office, make sure someone knows where you are going and when you expect to come back.
• Carry a mobile phone, personal alarm or pager.

If you find yourself in a situation that could turn violent:

• Try to stay calm.
• Be aware of your body language and the other person's.
• Try to keep a safe distance and avoid physical contact if possible.
• If you cannot calm the situation down, call for help or look for opportunities to move away.
• Report all incidents to your employer.

Keeping staff safe:

• Make sure all staff understand safety procedures and routinely follow them.
• Train your staff so they can spot the early signs of aggression and know how to deal with it.
• Consider whether you need alarms, coded locks or video surveillance, or could you use alternatives to cash?

Resources:

For information on protecting staff from violence, visit the following websites:
Health and Safety Executive website
Lone worker safety case studies

You can also download the pdf file by the HSE 'Violence at work: Violence at Work – A guide for employers'