Abuse, violence and aggression in workplace

1. Overview.
2. What the law says.
3. Identifying the dangers of workplace abuse and violence.
4. Control measures to prevent workplace abuse and violence.
5. Reporting and learning from incidents.
6. Examples of Abuse And Violence Prevention.

1. Overview

This guide outlines what workplace abuse, violence, and aggressiveness are and how businesses may safeguard their employees from them.

It is also intended for safety representatives and those responsible for workplace health and safety.

If you are self-employed, you can find out if health and safety legislation applies to you.

This guideline explains the laws, how to assess and manage risks, and how to put the necessary measures in place to protect workers.

It also discusses what to do if an event occurs, what to report, and how to help any workers who may be physically or emotionally harmed.

Definition of abuse and violence at the workplace

Workplace violence is defined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as:

Any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work.

It’s vital to realise that this might include things like:

verbal abuse or threats, including physical assaults delivered in person, online, or over the phone
This might involve violence directed towards a worker by members of the public, consumers, clients, patients, service users, or students.

Work-related violence must be associated with a work-related activity. For example, the following circumstances are not covered by this definition:

Personal conflicts between employees and others, such as family members
Violence between non-workers, such as clients or service users.