All organisations, no matter their shape or size, have a duty of care to ensure the safety and security of their staff. Although many organisations strive to do their best at providing a safe and secure environment for employees to work in, achieving this is especially important in public facing roles across the public sector, such as councils, healthcare, education, and so on.
Unfortunately, though, abuse in the workplace seems to be commonplace in the UK. Thousands of employees are subjected to intimidation, humiliation and rudeness annually. In fact, according to the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in the UK between 2022/23 there was an estimated 649,000 incidents of violence at work, of which 288,000 were assaults and 360,000 threats.
Public sector workers who work directly with the public – either in open plan offices or alone in private – are particularly susceptible to threats. This includes verbal abuse, physical violence, and even harassment. Any lack of immediate support or backup, when these situations occur, can embolden perpetrators, who feel less likely to be caught or reported. Therefore, employers must implement safety measures to face up to this problem. This includes regular check-ins and the use of emergency communication systems to protect employees.
Chris Potts, Marketing Director at ANT Telecom, delves into the threats workers face and the vital role organisations must play in implementing effective safety measures…
The Challenges Facing the Public Sector
Public sector workers, including those in local government, social services, and other community roles, often engage directly with individuals under significant stress or frustration.
Unfortunately, when staff face these members of the public, they are vulnerable to abuse, threats and violent behaviour. In healthcare, for example, NHS figures revealed that more than 3,500 incidents of aggression against staff between 2018 and 2022 alone. These interactions can escalate quickly, especially in cases where individuals feel desperate or wronged, meaning these workers’ physical and emotional safety can often compromised.
Threatening behaviours can generally become amplified when workers are alone too. For example, when council workers have one-on-one sessions which take place in separate offices or conference rooms, or a social worker visits a client’s home to assess family situations, or even in the school system when teachers are dealing with a problematic child, disgruntled parent or someone coming onto school grounds. All of these scenarios can lead to heightened risks of aggression or violence against staff. Therefore, health and safety officers must ensure appropriate measures are in place to protect employees. This includes the installation of modern, functioning, emergency communication systems that comprise of silent alarm systems, regular safety drills, and clear protocols for responding to alarms.
Integrating Safety Technology
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations from the HSE, employers must manage the risk to all their workers, whether they are office-based or working alone. However, to do so, they must equip staff with the right tools. In many situations audible alarms are used to support this. While they are handy in most situations and are a great tool when warning against potential danger or protecting your office environment from a burglar or fire, there are delicate and discreet situations where a quiet warning is a far better approach.
For example, for anyone working in the public sector, an audible alarm would be a poor solution for employees to ask for assistance with troublesome members of the public, as it could exacerbate the situation they are dealing with. Because of this, in work-related incidents involving the public, a silent alarm is preferable. Schools may also use silent alarms to keep students safe. A trespasser in a school may respond unpredictably to an audible alarm. However, a silent alarm will allow staff to take appropriate action without alerting the offender.
In these kinds of situations, it is also key to remember that the effectiveness of a silent alarm is measured not just by the alert it sends, but by the speed and appropriateness of the response it triggers. By ensuring that any alarm you install is linked to an alarm management platform, that immediately alerts local responders – such as nearby colleagues or security personnel – when a staff member is in danger, can drastically reduce response times. This approach can potentially prevent incidents from being hospital disasters, fatalities or PR disasters too.
Building a Comprehensive Strategy
Installing the right technology, while being beneficial, is not enough on its own. Training and regular testing are key to ensuring these systems being effective. For example, training programs should be tailored to help staff recognise the early signs of a potentially dangerous situation. Are they equipped in de-escalating tricky situations, and do they know how to use the silent alarm systems effectively? Regular testing will help to embed the process and ensure responders know what to do once an alarm has been triggered too. Tests will show whether response times are fast enough and where improvements can be made.
Therefore, organisations should consider using a provider that offers training that helps workers become proficient at using emergency systems, alarms and processes under pressure.
Conclusion
With all the technological development available to us now in 2024, there’s no surprise that workplace landscape continues to evolve. However, this means that the strategies and technologies used to protect employees must evolve too; by installing modern, functioning, emergency communication systems. For public facing workers in particular, silent alarm devices are an integral part of a comprehensive approach to ensuring employee safety. So, by staying ahead of potential threats posed by working with the public, and equipping employees with the necessary tools, employers can significantly reduce risks associated with volatile behaviour, increase staff wellbeing, and enhance overall workplace security.
