West Lothian
Council
Personal Safety at Work
Framework Procedure
Approved by PP&R Committee 5 November 2002
Business Support
Revised August 2005
Revised January 2011
Revised December 2012
Revised January 2013
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PERSONAL SAFETY AT WORK
FRAMEWORK PROCEDURE
CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION
2
2.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES AND RISK ASSESSMENTS
2
3.
DEFINITION AND EXAMPLES OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR ………………. 3
4.
REPORTING OF VIOLENT INCIDENTS ……………………………………. .
5.
INVESTIGATION AND PREVENTATIVE ACTION …………………………. 4
6.
MEETING CLIENTS IN NORMAL WORKPLACE …………………………... 4
7.
MEETING CLIENTS OUTWITH NORMAL WORKPLACE ………………….
5
8.
HANDLING MONEY/VALUABLES ………………………………………
6
9.
WORKING WITH VULNERABLE CLIENT GROUPS ………………….
7
10.
LONE WORKING …………………………………………………………..
7
11.
POLICY ON SELF-DEFENCE ……………………………………………..
8
12.
POST INCIDENT EVALUATION AND SUPPORT MEASURES ……….
9
13.
RETURN TO WORK ……………………………………………………….
9
14.
REVIEW OF PROCEDURES …………………………………………… …
9
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APPENDIX 1 - incident report ...……………………………………………
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APPENDIX 2 - violent incident report …………………………………
13
APPENDIX 3 - LONE WORKER DATASHEET
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APPENDIX 4 - REVIEW OF VIOLENT INCIDENT
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PERSONAL SAFETY AT WORK
FRAMEWORK PROCEDURE
(Applicable to ALL groups and categories of council employees)
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
This framework covers violence at work and lone working and aims to protect and
safeguard employees whilst at work.
1.2
The council has a statutory duty to safeguard the health, personal safety and welfare
of its employees whilst at work.
The risk of work-related violence is often
foreseeable, eg where previous incidents have occurred. It can therefore be
assessed, minimised or prevented. In short, employers must make an assessment of
the risks, remove those risks, and only where it is not possible to eliminate them,
introduce comprehensive strategies to control them.
1.3
All violence to staff is unacceptable and whatever the reason will not be regarded as
part of the job. The council can only protect employees if the employee reports all
instances of violent behaviour. This information will enable the council to identify if
additional action is required and can also show if a trend is developing.
1.4
The nature of some services the council provides can potentially place the personal
safety of some employees at risk. The council’s policy is to take all reasonable
practicable steps to eliminate or minimise that risk and this procedure provides a
general framework for Services to adopt. Each incident is likely to be different, so
providing detailed actions to take is not always a good idea as specific steps that may
be effective in one situation may be dangerous or ineffective in another. Knowing
when to draw the line is important. Employees need to maintain their own personal
safety as much as possible. Employees should not attempt to protect
money/valuables, property or possessions over their own safety.
1.5
Services can supplement this framework procedure with more specific measures
appropriate to their particular needs. This should be done in consultation with the
trade unions and those employees, who may be exposed as a result of their work to
potentially violent situations when dealing with others.
2.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES AND RISK ASSESSMENTS
Where there is a possibility that employees may be at risk of violence, a risk
assessment must be conducted to determine whether the risk can be eliminated or at
least reduced to a minimal level. The risk of violence may be increased, for example,
where jobs involve lone working, in client’s homes, in physically isolated units or at
hours when few other employees are around.
2.1
Employees who work closely with members of the public are most likely to be at risk
from violent behaviour and should therefore be provided with personal safety training.
2.2
The Health and Safety Unit can provide advice on training courses, external training
providers and on conducting risk assessments. Training must be appropriate for the
situation and Managers will require to assess what that level should be.
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2.3
Managers must ensure that all employees are briefed and trained on safe systems of
work and that in particular new and temporary employees receive this information as
part of their induction process before they engage in any tasks.
2.4
Managers must ensure that their employees are clear about the attitudes and
behaviours expected of them whilst striking the right balance between operational
duties in delivering services and health and safety duties to ensure risk-management
processes are both sensible and proportionate.
2.5
This document should be read in conjunction with other service specific documents
which relate to the personal safety of employees eg Education documents Safe
Environment at School Policy and Managing Behaviour Policy.
3.
DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES
3.1
Violence
Violence is regarded as any behaviour towards an employee in the course of their
work in which an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted and that has an
adverse physical or psychological effect on them. Examples of behaviour that can be
regarded as violent can be described in general terms as where employees feel they
have been insulted, abused, uncomfortable or threatened specific examples could
be:
Non-physical Violence
Physical Violence
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threatening gestures
verbal abuse
harassment in all forms
racial or sexual abuse
swearing/shouting
bullying
abusive telephone calls
road rage
cyberbullying
kicking
use of weapons
spitting
assault
punching
throwing objects
sexual assault
nipping/biting/scratching
slapping
Some forms of violence such as physical violence or explicit threats are easily
identified. Others such as verbal abuse may be less obvious but, nevertheless, can
have an equally damaging or hurtful effect on the recipient. However, it is important
to retain a sense of proportion when judging what constitutes violent behaviour as
certain words or gestures can be inoffensive to some but deeply offensive or
threatening to others.
3.2
Lone Working
Lone working relates to those employees who work by themselves without close or
direct supervision. Examples of lone working are
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Working in derelict buildings.
Visiting remote locations.
Visiting clients either at home or in their workplace.
Late evening/early morning work
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4.
REPORTING OF VIOLENT INCIDENTS
4.1
Incidents of violence must be recorded in accordance with statutory legislation and
reported to the Health and Safety Executive by the Health and Safety Unit as
appropriate.
4.2
Any employee subjected to an act of violence must complete both an Incident Report
and a Violent Incident Report as soon as possible following the incident. An example
copy of both report forms is attached as Appendices 1 and 2.
4.3
Incidents falling within one of the following categories should be reported immediately
to the Health and Safety Unit:
4.4
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A fracture other than fingers thumb or toes;
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Amputation;
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Dislocation of shoulder, hip, knee or spine;
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Loss of sight (temporary or permanent);
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Fatality.
Violent incidents at work resulting in an employee being either detained in hospital for
24 hours or more, or absent from work for over 7 days should be notified to Health
and Safety at the earliest opportunity.
Further advice on reporting incidents is contained within the Incident Report Pad,
Violent Incident Report Pad, or is available from Health and Safety.
4.5
All employees have a legal right to report an incident in which they have been
involved to the police. Managers have a responsibility to report the matter if the
employee requests them to do so.
5.
INVESTIGATION AND PREVENTATIVE ACTION
5.1
As soon as possible after an incident the employee and manager should meet to
review the circumstances of the incident. All violent incidents must be investigated
and the findings recorded on both the Incident and Violent Incident Report forms. If
the investigation is delayed for any reason, the forms should be sent to Health and
Safety and the investigation details forwarded later.
5.2
Immediately following a violent incident, it is essential that the responsible manager
reassess the risk with a view to preventing a recurrence.
5.3
Where there has been a recurrence of an incident despite a previous risk
assessment having been carried out, a re-assessment should be undertaken to
determine if other control measures could be put in place that would prevent a
recurrence, such as changes in working practices, improving the layout of an
interview room etc.
6.
MEETING CLIENTS IN NORMAL WORKPLACE
6.1
Meetings/interviews with visitors should, wherever possible, be held within office
hours and in locations easily accessible to other support staff in the event of an
emergency situation arising.
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6.2
Where deemed necessary by the risk assessment managers should arrange for
alarm systems (e.g. panic buttons) to be installed. The assessment will help
determine which type of alarm is appropriate for the circumstances.
6.3
Managers should also arrange for employees to be briefed on the operation of any
alarms and the safety procedure to be adopted in the event that they are activated.
6.4
Council reception or waiting areas should be made as pleasant and comfortable as
possible for visiting clients.
6.5
The personal safety of employees should be a prime consideration in deciding on the
suitability of rooms for interviewing members of the public. Consideration should be
given to the location and layout of rooms so that should an interviewee become
violent, the employee can leave the room quickly and safely. However, rooms should
also afford a degree of privacy for visitors (e.g. window blinds/screens etc.) without
compromising the personal safety of employees.
6.6
Interview rooms should contain only the essentials required for the purpose.
Furniture and other equipment should be fixed wherever possible to eliminate their
use by clients to injure interviewers.
6.7
Every effort should be made to observe appointment times. However, where delays
are unavoidable, clients should be advised of the reason for the delay and kept
informed of progress. Reception staff should inform interviewers if any visitors in the
waiting area who are becoming impatient and/or showing signs of obstructive/violent
behaviour.
7.
MEETING CLIENTS OUTWITH NORMAL WORKPLACE
7.1
General
7.1.1
Where it is necessary to travel out with the workplace to meet clients, systems must
be put in place to monitor visits e.g. shared electronic diaries with the employee’s
name, the locations being visited and the expected time of return.
7.1.2
System(s) put in place must be routinely monitored/updated so that an alert is raised
should an employee fail to return at the expected time or fail to make contact with the
workplace.
7.1.3
Managers should ensure that a written record of cars used by employees is
maintained in the event of emergency e.g. registration, type and colour (see
Appendix 3)
7.1.4
New employees and temporary workers must be provided with information specific to
the localities that they will be visiting (e.g. geographical directions and any other
relevant advice regarding their personal safety).
7.2
Visiting Clients in Their Own Home
7.2.1
Where possible, prior to arranging home visits, clients should be invited to the office
in order that the employee can assess any potential risk that the client might pose to
the personal safety of employees undertaking home visits.
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7.2.2
It is the responsibility of the line manager to ensure that risk assessments are
conducted based on a number of factors, including an assessment of the client(s)
social background. Where a history of violence exists, information gathering and
sharing about these clients is advantageous.
7.2.3
Employees who conduct home visits should be advised of clients who are known to
have a history of violence and be alerted to any known traits that might trigger such
behaviour e.g. drink/drugs problem, dislike of/history of violence to specific genders.
Managers should ensure that employees are fully briefed on the precautions/controls
they should adopt to avoid potential confrontation with clients in these circumstances.
Employees must be advised of the emergency procedures to follow should things go
wrong.
7.2.4
Where it is judged that a home visit could potentially provoke a violent reaction,
arrangements should be made for back-up support, which may involve a two person
visit eg other council officer or Police assistance. Mental health assessments, the
removal of children, child abuse investigations and house evictions are examples
where this may be required.
7.2.5
While work is being undertaken with a known aggressive client/family, the information
must be shared with other colleagues and council services that may also have
contact with them (e.g. Social Work, Building Services and Housing are services that
potentially may provide assistance to the same clients/families).
7.2.6
Employees must never enter premises if they do not feel it is safe to do so e.g. if the
person appears to be intoxicated with drink or drugs, or is aggressive/abusive.
7.2.7
Heads of Service or Unit Managers may, exceptionally, decide to withdraw a council
service if, having exhausted all possible solutions, a member of the public continues
to pose a threat to the personal safety of their employees. Have a procedure in place
that clearly states when withdrawal of a service is appropriate and what process is to
be followed.
8.
HANDLING MONEY/ VALUABLES
Managers should ensure that there are clear procedures in place to safeguard the
personal safety of employees who have particular responsibilities for handling cash
or valuables in the course of their work. The over-riding rule must be that employees
should never put themselves at personal risk if threatened with violence in situations
of attempted theft. Employees should not attempt to protect money/valuables,
property or possessions over their own safety.
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9.
WORKING WITH VULNERABLE CLIENT GROUPS
9.1
Certain vulnerable clients in receipt of council services (i.e. people in residential care,
day care, special schools pupils, or special needs pupils in mainstream schools) may
be prone to react violently due to their particular personal circumstances. Employees
working with such groups must be fully briefed of any potential risk of violence from
an individual client and/or their family/carers. Employees required to work with such
clients should be involved with the risk assessment to identify controls to be put in
place to eliminate or reduce the risk of violence.
9.2
Any employee, who is required to work with a client with a known history of violence,
should be actively involved/consulted when a risk assessment is being conducted.
Any controls put in place to minimise risk to employees or other service users should
be communicated to all those who have a direct role in the care of the client.
9.3
Assessments should be reviewed regularly, particularly if the client’s behaviour or
circumstances change.
10.
LONE WORKING
10.1
Given that they work without close or direct supervision, lone workers are exposed to
additional risks that might not otherwise be encountered by other workers. Risk
assessments should therefore identify any additional control measures necessary to
reduce the risk for lone workers who may, for example, carry out electrical work, use
machinery or portable ladders, or who can work in confined spaces etc
10.2
Risk reduction measures may include periodic visits by supervisors, regular contact
between employee and supervisor either by telephone/radio, electronic management
systems or devices to raise an alarm in the event of an emergency. To ensure that
the system chosen functions effectively staff must be trained in its use. Personal
alarms, panic buttons, mobile phones and self-defence training can be useful but
they are not a replacement for a well-planned systematic approach and can only be
part of it. They do not in themselves prevent incidents.
10.3
When the risk assessment identifies that it is not possible for the work to be done
safely by a lone worker, arrangements for providing help or back up should be put in
place. The Lone Worker Data Sheet (Appendix 3) is an appropriate control measure
to put in place as part of the risk assessment.
10.4
When considering the suitability of employee as well as the activity bear in mind the
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Employee’s medical fitness.
What level of experience/training of the employee.
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Other considerations
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What information employees will need eg about the client.
Emergency procedures.
First aid training or first aid facilities.
The use of name badges.
Type and suitability of equipment (especially hi-tech and expensive equipment).
Geographical location of the task.
Working with customers by telephone.
Angry and distressed customers.
Customers who are confused, potentially violent or have particular learning
disabilities or mental health issues.
Managers will require to communicate the controls agreed in their risk assessment to
their employees.
11.
POLICY ON SELF-DEFENCE
11.1
Employees threatened with violence should take all reasonable measures to defuse
the situation (e.g. withdraw from the situation).
11.2
Where employees have not been able to remove themselves from a situation, any
force required to defend themselves must be reasonable and proportionate to the
violence which they are being faced with. The employee must escape from the
aggressive situation as soon as possible. The law only sanctions “reasonable force”.
There is a fine line between self-defence and physical assault. Consequently,
employees must be aware that excessive force could constitute physical assault and
have legal repercussions.
11.3
Employees who work with certain types of client groups should receive rigorous
training in restraint techniques such as ‘Crisis and Aggression Limitation and
Management’ (CALM).
11.4
Service areas should implement their own policies and procedures in regard to
restraint and only those employees who are deemed competent following training
should be permitted to apply the techniques in the course of their duties.
11.5
Further guidance on self-defence is contained in the ‘Personal Safety at Work
Guidance Notes for Employees’, which is available on the Intranet under Mytoolkit/
Health & Safety, or a copy can be obtained from line managers.
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12.
POST INCIDENT EVALUATION AND SUPPORT MEASURES
12.1
As soon as is practicable following an incident, the manager should meet with the
employee concerned to review the circumstances of the incident. Appendix 4 –
Review of Incident is provided as a guide for this purpose. The information should be
used to review and improve the risk assessment. If the employee is off work as a
result of the incident you may not wish to wait for their return before gathering
information.
In the event that the employee is experiencing an adverse
psychological or emotional reaction to the incident, appropriate support should be
offered such as access to professional confidential counselling. The return to work
interview may identify this need.
Managers should arrange any necessary
counselling through Occupational Health. Employees will be granted time off work
with pay to attend counselling sessions.
12.2
Lessons learned from a review of the circumstances that gave rise to the incident
should be shared with other members of the immediate team with a view to
preventing a recurrence and informing the reviewing of the risk assessment.
13.
RETURN TO WORK
Where an employee has been absent from work due to a violent incident, it is
important that the return to work is carefully planned and managed in accordance
with the council’s Sickness Absence Management Procedure.
14.
REVIEW OF PROCEDURES
These procedures will be reviewed as appropriate in consultation with the trade
unions and in light of health and safety or other specialist advice.
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APPENDIX 1
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APPENDIX 2
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APPENDIX 3
Lone Worker Data Sheet
The following information will be held in confidence and only shared with the necessary
authorities in an emergency situation
Employer
Workplace Address:
Attach
Photograph
Manager’s Name:
Employee Details
First Name:
Second Name:
Home Address:
Home Phone No:
Mobile Phone No:
Maiden Name:
Date of Birth:
Designation:
Next of Kin’s Name and Address
Car Details
Name:
Colour:
Home Address:
Make:
Home Phone No:
Model:
Work Contact Details:
Registration No:
The council has a duty to take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of its employees. Your personal information is
collected to enable the council to assist the authorities if we have concerns about your safety. Your information will in these
circumstances be provided to the Police or such other necessary authority. Your consent is formally requested. However you should
note that lack of consent will not prevent the sharing of your data with the police in an emergency situation.
I consent to the above information being shared with the Police or such other necessary authority should the council have concerns
about my safety when undertaking lone working.
SignatureThis form requires to be reviewed by employees at least annually
Date
or when there is a change
of details.
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APPENDIX 4
Review of Violent Incident
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Name of Service
Name of Employee
Date and Time of Incident
Date of Interview and name of
Manager undertaking the
interview
Location of Incident
Description of the incident
(outline the behaviours
displayed by the offender)
Date
Date
Was there a Risk Assessment
in place at the time of the
incident and did the employee
follow the controls? If not why
not?
What were the controls in place
at the time of the incident?
What were the employee’s
views of controls in place at the
time of the incident?
What are the employee’s
suggestions for improvements?
What are the identifiable
common factors in events
leading up to the incident?
Were there any relationships
between workplace assault
victims and the offenders?
Did the actions of the victim
influence the outcome of the
attack?
Was physical intervention
used? If so was this consistent
with service guidance.
Are changes required to the
service guidance?
What steps are being taken to
implement the
recommendations?
Has the Risk Assessment been
reviewed and employees
notified of any changes?
What lessons have been
learned from this or similar
incidents that you will share
with others?
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Time
Manager