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📋 Toolbox Talk  ·  Health & Safety

Violence at Work:
It Is Not Part of the Job

Employer duties under health and safety law — abuse from customers and the public is a workplace hazard to be controlled, not something to put up with.

✅ Verified August 2026📚 HSE · Violence at Work guidance🇬🇧 Applies across the UKukworkrights.co.uk
The risk

What counts as violence at work

  • HSE defines it as any incident where a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work
  • It includes verbal abuse and threats, not only physical assault
  • Highest-risk roles: retail, hospitality, healthcare, transport, social care, security, enforcement and lone working
  • Common triggers are money, alcohol and drugs, waiting, refusal of service and enforcement of rules
  • Effects include anxiety, sleep problems, loss of confidence and people leaving the job
  • Under-reporting is severe because staff are told, or assume, that it comes with the territory
  • Assaults causing certain injuries are reportable under RIDDOR

⚠ 'It's part of the job' is not a safety policy

Abuse from the public is a workplace hazard. Employers must assess and control it in the same way as any other risk. Being told to accept it is not the employer discharging their duty.
The controls

What employers must do

  • Assess the risk of violence for the roles and locations where it is foreseeable
  • Design it out where possible — queue management, cash handling, staffing levels, layout, lighting and screens
  • Training in de-escalation and in when to withdraw
  • Clear arrangements for lone workers, including check-ins and a way to summon help
  • A reporting system that is used, including for verbal abuse and threats
  • Support after an incident — time out, someone to talk to, and help reporting to the police
  • A visible position that abuse of staff is not tolerated, backed by action
  • Reviewing incidents to find patterns rather than treating each as a one-off

Report the near misses too

Threats and verbal abuse are the pattern that precedes assault. If only physical incidents get recorded, the risk assessment is built on a fraction of the picture.
Your rights

What you're entitled to

  • A workplace where the risk of violence has been assessed and controlled
  • Training and support for foreseeable aggression in your role
  • To report incidents — including verbal abuse — and have them recorded
  • To call the police. An employer cannot stop you reporting a crime committed against you
  • Protection from detriment for raising safety concerns — Employment Rights Act 1996 s.44 and s.100
  • Reasonable adjustments if you develop a condition such as anxiety or PTSD — Equality Act 2010
  • You may be able to claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority after a violent crime at work

If it's a crime, it's still a crime at work

Assault, threats and harassment do not stop being criminal because they happened behind a counter. You are entitled to report them to the police, whatever your employer's preference.
Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Does verbal abuse really count as violence at work?
Yes. HSE's definition covers any incident where a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work. Verbal abuse and threats are included, and they should be reported and recorded — they are usually the pattern that precedes physical assault.
Can my employer stop me calling the police?
No. If a crime has been committed against you, you are entitled to report it. An employer may prefer incidents handled internally, but they cannot prevent you contacting the police, and pressuring you not to could itself amount to detriment.
Is an assault at work reportable under RIDDOR?
It can be. Where a person is injured by a physical assault arising out of or in connection with work and the injury meets the RIDDOR thresholds — a specified injury, or incapacity for more than seven days — the responsible person must report it to HSE.
For whoever runs this talk

Delivery notes & attendance record

Suggested length: 10–15 minutes. A toolbox talk is a short briefing on one hazard, given by a supervisor to the crew doing the work.

Before you start

Handle this one carefully — people may have recent experiences they have never reported. Make clear that abuse from the public is a hazard the employer must control, exactly like a dangerous machine, and that reporting is not weakness.

Questions to ask the team
  1. Has anyone been threatened, abused or assaulted at work in the last few months?
  2. Was it reported, and if not, what stopped you?
  3. Which situations or times of day feel most risky here?
  4. What would actually help — different staffing, screens, training, a way to call for help?
The law behind this talk

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg. 3; Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013

Employers must give workers comprehensible information, instruction and training on the risks they face — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2(2)(c) and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg. 10. Keep the record below as evidence that you did.

Attendance record
TopicViolence at Work: It Is Not Part of the Job
Date
Site / location
Delivered by
Actions agreed
Next talk due
Attendees
NameSignature

Use the Print handout button to print this record. General guidance only, not legal advice. This toolbox talk is generic material and is not a substitute for a suitable and sufficient risk assessment by a competent person. Employers remain responsible for their duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Free H&S guidance

Violence at Work
free guidance

Get plain-English guidance on your rights and your employer's legal duties.

HSE Infoline
0300 003 1747
hse.gov.uk
ACAS
0300 123 1100
acas.org.uk
Citizens Advice
0800 144 8848
citizensadvice.org.uk
UK Work Rights
Violence at Work
ukworkrights.co.uk/toolbox-violence.html

General guidance only — not legal advice · Verified August 2026 · © UK Work Rights Ltd · Company No. 17228507 · ICO registered · Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ  ·  hello@ukworkrights.co.uk
Directed and published by Matt Thompson, founder
Content is produced with AI assistance and checked against primary sources including GOV.UK, ACAS and legislation.gov.uk before publication.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.