- November 8, 2018
- Posted by: Faith Associates
- Categories: Security, News
Stay Safe at Work – National Personal Safety Day
According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) 2017, between April 2016 and April 2017, 24% of all violent incidents took place on work premises.
The Health and Safety Executive states that in 2016/17 this equated to an estimated 1.3% of working adults being the victims of one or more violent incidents at work.
In total, in 2016/17, 326,000 adults in employment experienced work-related violence, including threats and physical assault. There were estimated to have been 642,000 incidents of violence at work, according to the 2016/17 CSEW, including 269,000 assaults (the remainder being threats).
The public nature of working in a Mosque or Madrassah means staff are vulnerable to attacks. It is essential that the Mosque has the right procedures in place to keep its staff safe.
Suzy’s Charter for Workplace Safety is a great set of guidelines that can be implemented to ensure safety for staff.
- Embed a workplace personal safety culture
Employers should embed a culture of personal safety in their workplaces by ensuring regular consultation and dialogue with staff about the risks they face and the steps they would like to see implemented. This should counter any perceptions or acceptance by employees of violence and aggression being ‘part of the job’.
- Implement adequate risk assessments
Employers should prioritise risk assessment and mitigation for all employees and adhere to legislation and guidance setting out obligations for protecting the personal safety of staff.
Risk assessments should include specific consideration of lone workers as well as risks related to all specific environments that different staff work in, such as client’s/patient’s homes and remote locations etc. Employers should follow HSE guidance on risk assessments.[i]
Risk assessments should include consideration of all forms of violence, aggression and harassment, both online and offline. This should include stalking as well as any violence or harassment motivated by prejudice on the basis of a worker’s personal characteristics or perceived personal characteristics.
Risk assessments should include the impact of stress and mental health implications of violence and aggression at work.
- Provide adequate reporting procedures
Employers should provide access to reporting tools for all staff, including remote workers, to enable immediate and reactive reporting of all work-related personal safety incidents.
- Provide personal safety training
Employers should train all employees in preparing for and responding to personal safety risks.
- Implement a tracing system
Designated colleagues should always know each other’s whereabouts and contact details while they are working alone or on the front line. This should include checking in and out when arriving at and leaving an appointment or meeting, including out of normal office hours.
- Have a system in place for colleagues to covertly raise the alarm
Enable colleagues to alert the office in case of an emergency while working alone.
Where possible have discreet lone worker devices available.
- Have a clear procedure to follow if a colleague does not return or check inwhen expected
- Ensure colleagues share contact details ofthe person they are meeting
This should include the exact location and time
- Offer all staff a personal safety alarm
- Regularly consult on, update, inform staff and provide access to all personal safety measures available
For survey results, please see https://www.suzylamplugh.org/national-personal-safety-day-2018-stay-safe-at-work.
