Business owners often assume that if they provide a physically safe and secure environment their employees will be safe at work — but statistics tell another story. Workplace violence and sexual assault are increasing risks which involve duty of care liability for the organisations concerned. Business owners need to understand and be prepared to handle the problem, Gallagher Workplace Risk Principal Consultant Keith Govias advises.
Employers, especially those in customer service industries, bear responsibility for ensuring their workers are protected from potential hazards, including from customers and third parties. Providing a safe workplace in settings such as retail premises or local government offices, where members of the public frequently engage with workers, requires employers to consider the potential risks posed by harassment, aggressive and anti-social behaviour.
Govias cites the example of retail workers being caught alone or boxed into a space by customers harassing them or attempting to bully them into a preferred outcome. "Aggressive behaviours can also be demonstrated through phone or social media contact and these have to be considered equally as a potential source of harm," he adds.
Violence is also a common threat in health-related occupations that involve substantial contact with clients, such as nursing, social work and care giving, both international and local research have found. Plus the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has reported that sexual harassment in the workplace has doubled in recent years.
Workplace violence can range from bullying to actual bodily harm, according to Safe Work Australia. It can be any incident where a person is abused, threatened or assaulted at the workplace or while they are carrying out work.
Workplace violence includes
Incidence of these kinds of actions is more frequent than most people realise. 2017 statistics on workplace bullying and violence reported by Safe Work Australia showed
"COVID-19 has demonstrated how insidious workplace violence events can be in a number of workplaces, including retail and fast food, where the workforce tends to be young and inexperienced," Govias says.
"The number of reported incidents is increasing and I believe that better reporting has a large part to play in this. With improved reporting comes a better understanding of trends and helps employers to work on constructive measures to address their workplace risk."
Work health and safety laws require business owners to ensure their workers are not exposed to risks of personal attacks or injuries in the workplace. This should be evidenced in a systematic approach to workplace risk management aimed at eliminating — or at least minimising — the possibility of violence and aggression.
This can be achieved through a formalised risk management process in consultation with health and safety representatives to
Addressing workplace violence risk factors requires a systematic approach in considering and addressing the identified hazards. In a retail context, this could look like:
Identifying hazards — looking for locations in the premises where violence and aggression could be more likely to be demonstrated (eg: at the sales register) and identifying factors that might prompt aggressive behaviour (such as a lack of register operators or poor signage regarding returns policy).
Assessing and controlling risks — the retail employer could consider different risk control options such as reviewing roster hours against sales to confirm that maximum number of register operators are available during peak periods, provision of training to help workers understand how to interpret the returns policy and redesigning the store to provide physical barrier to prevent contact between customers and workers.
Reviewing efficacy — the employer could then check with workers through safety committees, stand-up meetings or via short surveys that risk controls are working effectively, as well as monitoring the frequency of reported incidents to identify new hazards or if the initially identified risk is beingl managed.
Contact us to find out more about reviewing your organisation's health and safety. The Gallagher Workplace Health & Safety offering encompasses everything from safety mentoring and training through to health and wellness programs, hazard and risk profiling, and incident management and investigation.
Connect with us to find out more about the Gallagher Workplace Risk team.
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