Definition and legal obligations for employers

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines work-related violence as:

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

Health and safety law applies to risks from violence, just as it does to other risks from work. The main pieces of relevant legislation are:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act)
  Employers have a legal duty under this Act to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees and others who may be affected by their undertaking.

• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
  Employers must consider the risks to employees and others (including the risk of reasonably foreseeable violence); identify hazards, assess risks posed and; decide what to do to prevent or control the risks; and develop a clear management plan to achieve this.

• The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)
  Employers must notify their enforcing authority in the event of an accident at work to any employee resulting in death, major injury, on incapacity for normal work for three or more days. This includes any act of non-consensual physical violence done to a person at work.

• Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (a) and The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 (b)
  Employers must inform, and consult with, employees in good time on matters relating to their health and safety. Employee representatives, either appointed by recognised trade unions under (a) or elected under (b) may make representations to their employer on matters affecting the health and safety of those they represent.

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