{"id":50,"date":"2026-07-21T13:59:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/?p=50"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:59:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:59:41","slug":"violence-at-work-it-is-not-part-of-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/?p=50","title":{"rendered":"Violence at work: It is not part of the job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;ve ever been shouted at, threatened, or physically assaulted while at work, you&#8217;re not alone \u2014 and it is not something you just have to put up with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UNISON Scotland&#8217;s latest Violence at Work report found that public service workers faced <strong>over 75,000 incidents of violence and aggression in a single year<\/strong> \u2014 that&#8217;s an average of 206 every single day. Those numbers are rising. But behind every statistic is a person who went to work to do their job and came away feeling unsafe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a serious issue, and if you are worried about your safety at work, you have a right to be heard and a right to be protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What counts as violence at work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Violence at work isn&#8217;t only physical assault. It includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Verbal abuse and shouting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Threats and intimidation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aggressive behaviour from members of the public, service users, or colleagues<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Racial or sexual harassment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Physical attacks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Too often, these experiences are dismissed as &#8220;just part of the job.&#8221; They are not. Verbal abuse, threats, and assault are all forms of workplace violence, and your employer has a legal duty to protect you from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What your employer should be doing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every employer has a legal duty of care to protect their staff from harm \u2014 and that includes violence. That means they should be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Carrying out <strong>risk assessments<\/strong> that account for the risk of violence, not just physical hazards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing <strong>training<\/strong> in conflict management and de-escalation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Having a clear <strong>violence and aggression policy<\/strong> that all staff can access<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensuring there are <strong>proper reporting and investigation procedures<\/strong> for incidents<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Offering <strong>support<\/strong> \u2014 including access to counselling \u2014 for staff who experience violence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Taking incidents <strong>seriously<\/strong> and acting to prevent them from happening again<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UNISON has a <strong>Violence at Work Charter<\/strong> that sets out ten standards employers should meet to keep their staff safe. If your employer hasn&#8217;t signed up, that&#8217;s something your UNISON representative can raise on your behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you can do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are experiencing or witnessing violence at work, there are practical steps you can take:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Report every incident<\/strong> \u2014 even the ones that seem minor. A pattern of smaller incidents can build a picture of a bigger problem, and without reports on file, it&#8217;s harder to demand change.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Write down what happened<\/strong> \u2014 note the date, time, location, what was said or done, and who was involved. This is your evidence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Talk to your colleagues<\/strong> \u2014 if others are experiencing the same thing, there is strength in numbers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Contact your UNISON representative.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You don&#8217;t have to face this alone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the most important message: <strong>if you are concerned about violence at work, contact your UNISON representative.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your rep can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Help you understand your rights and what your employer should be doing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support you in raising concerns with management<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Push for your employer to adopt the UNISON Violence at Work Charter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Advise on reporting incidents and accessing support<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Work with other members to campaign for safer workplaces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Violence at work is a health and safety issue. It is taken seriously in law, and UNISON takes it seriously in practice. No one should go to work afraid of being abused or attacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>If you&#8217;re worried about your safety at work, get in touch with your UNISON representative today.<\/strong> They are there to support you, and they will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Need help?<\/strong> Contact your local UNISON branch rep, or call UNISON direct on <strong>0800 0 857 857<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;ve ever been shouted at, threatened, or physically assaulted while at work, you&#8217;re not alone \u2014 and it is not something you just have to put up with. UNISON Scotland&#8217;s latest Violence at Work report found that public service workers faced over 75,000 incidents of violence and aggression in a single year \u2014 that&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/?p=50\" aria-label=\"Violence at work: It is not part of the job Read full post\">Read full post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51,"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions\/51"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unison-uos-branch.stir.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}