Contribute to a safe and positive culture in the workplace

This standard is about contributing to a safe and positive culture in the workplace. It includes identifying where the risks are in your job role and the triggers that may escalate behaviour towards violence. It is also about understanding relevant organisational procedures, identifying and reducing the risks of violence, knowing what to do to carry out your work in a calm and professional manner. You should be aware of all your responsibilities in the workplace, including working safely.

This standard is for all professionals who contribute to a positive and safe working culture.

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1. identify all potential risks of violence in your working environment
2. analyse your job role and responsibilities to identify any risks of violence to you or your employees
3. identify which aspects of your organisation’s policies on preventing work-related violence and risk assessments are relevant to you and your work
4. keep yourself up-to-date with information about your working environment on possible causes of violent behaviour
5. prepare for a work task and consider whether you require additional resources, human support and special safety equipment
6. observe the actions and behaviours of other employees
7. identify all potential triggers of violence within your job role and working environment
8. review your organisation’s procedures to check they cover all potential situations at work and inform the responsible persons about any identified issues
9. identify the circumstances of the service-users with whom you normally expect to work
10. record all the risks of violence you have identified, the controls in place for those risks, and report any issues to the responsible persons
11. identify actions to prevent violence in the workplace
12. identify sources of help should an incident occur
13. clarify and record any incidents of violence in the workplace in accordance with organisational procedures
14. seek support post incidents
15. record incidences of violence in accordance with organisational procedures
16. identify possible solutions and action plans to leave if the situation gets out of hand
17. respond to requests for assistance in a prompt and courteous manner
18. treat service-users and other people who work alongside you with respect and encourage goodwill
19. respond to and follow-up complaints in accordance with organisational policies and procedures
20. identify difficulties in working relationships and report outstanding issues to the relevant persons
21. contribute to reducing the risks of violence in your working environment
22. monitor your own and other’s levels of health and safety and report any concerns to the responsible persons in the workplace

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1. your job role and responsibilities
2. the variety of safe working practices relevant to your job role
3. your organisation’s requirements, standards and expectations of your performance
4. the procedures for safeguarding confidentiality in accordance with data protection regulation
5. your legal duties for ensuring your and other employees’ well-being, safety and health in the workplace
6. the relevant procedures for reporting injuries, diseases, near misses and dangerous occurrences
7. the relevant organisational policies and procedures in relation to your work environment, lines of communication and accountability
8. the principles and types of risk assessment
9. your duties and procedures for reporting problems to responsible persons in the workplace
10. how to recognise challenging and unacceptable behaviours and triggers of violence
11. the situations where you may be at risk of changes in service-users’ and other employees’ behaviour
12. the importance of personal conduct in maintaining a healthy, safe and positive work environment
13. the amount and type of communication appropriate to the needs of the service-users and other employees
14. the importance of developing positive working relationships with service-users and other employees
15. the importance of considering and listening to other people’s views and opinions
16. your organisation’s requirements to provide training in personal safety, conflict management and resolution techniques
17. your organisation’s complaints policies and procedures
18. the relevant legislation for health and safety at work
19. the rules and etiquette of social media and online methods of communication
20. the legal responsibilities and your organisation’s policy and procedures

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Aggressive behaviour
Any behaviour or actions aimed at harming a person or damaging physical property.

Aggressive communication
A style of communication in which individuals express their feelings and opinions and advocate for their needs in a way that violates the rights of others.

Conflict
A state of opposition and disagreement between two or more people or groups of people, which is sometimes characterised by verbal abuse, threatening behaviour or physical violence.

Conflict Management
The practice of identifying and handling conflict in a sensible, fair, and efficient manner. Conflict management requires such skills as effective communicating, problem solving, and negotiating with a focus on common interests and safeguarding all concerned.

Dynamic Risk Assessment
This is a continuous assessment of the risks faced in a situation as it unfolds to ensure the safest and most effective response is being employed.

Equipment
These could include equipment such as pagers, mobile phones, walkie-talkies, panic buttons, public address systems, etc.

Evaluation
The process of determining whether an item or activity meets specified criteria.
It can include comparing the adequacy of policies and procedures with current practice or professional standards to manage work-related violence.

Generic Risk Assessment
It is:

• an examination of the work and workplace activities to identify what could cause harm to people (a hazard); and
• an assessment of the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by the hazards identified, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be (the risk).

On the basis of this assessment a decision is made as to what prevention or control measures should be taken to prevent the possibility of harm.

Physical Intervention
This should include personal safety techniques to reduce the impact of hazardous behaviours, protective stances, disengagement and breakaway techniques” (when responding to physically threatening behaviours or defending oneself or another) or “restraint techniques” (when physically restricting a person’s movement).

Positive Working Environment and Culture
A working environment and culture which does not tolerate any violent behaviour.

Procedures
A series of steps following in a regular definite order that implements a policy.

Precautionary Measures
These could include: protective barriers, protective clothing, security responses, working in pairs or teams instead of lone working, etc.

Responsible Person
A person named in the organisation’s procedures as having responsibility for incidents of violence at work.

Risk
A risk is the likelihood of potential harm from that hazard being realised.
The extent of the risk depends on:

• the likelihood of that harm occurring;
• the potential severity of that harm, i.e. of any resultant injury or adverse health effect; and
• the population which might be affected by the hazard, i.e. the number of people who might be exposed.

Source: HSE “Management of health and safety at work –Approved Code of Practice & Guidance”.

Safe Working Practices
Established safe methods of carrying out activities, procedures or techniques used in carrying out your job or work activities to deliver a service with levels of quality and efficiency required by the organisation.

Service Users
Examples are: school students, patients, clients, passengers, customers, detainees, the public, parents, volunteers and carers.

Triggers of Violence
Factors that might cause violence to occur. They can be categorised in four different types:

• temporary personal factors for example, the service-user being uncomfortable from a lack of food, warmth, light, or presenting challenging behaviour whilst under the influence of drink or drugs, or
• persistent personal factors such as deteriorating mental health, having a difficulty or disability, which prevents normal communication, movement or behaviour, or
• temporary environmental factors such as a hot, noisy, crowded room, poor work dynamics in terms of furniture layout, etc., or
• persistent environmental factors such as too much being expected of the service-user, or the quality of the service offered consistently failing to meet the required standards of the user.

Work-related Violence
The Health and Safety Executive’s definition of work-related violence is: “Any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work‟.

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ACAS https://www.acas.org.uk/
Equality and Human Rights Commission http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/
Institute of Conflict Management https://instituteofconflict.management/
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) http://www.hse.gov.uk/
Trade Union Congress http://www.tuc.org.uk/
Victim Support www.victimsupport.org

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1

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2030

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Current

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Original

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Instructus

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CFAPMVW1

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Managers and Senior Officials, Personnel, Training and Industrial Relations Managers , Trade Union Representatives and Professionals, Personnel and industrial relations officers

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1135

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Prevention; Management; Violence; Workplace; Culture; Your; Actions, Values

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