Violence at work involves any incident in which an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted (either physically or verbally) in circumstances relating to their work.

End Violence at Work Campaign

The UNISON Violence at Work Charter is a useful resource for UNISON Reps campaigning for an end to Violence at Work in public services

We believe that it is unacceptable that so many workers each year are being assaulted for simply doing their jobs. Many UNISON members work directly with the public in areas where they are often placed at increased risk of being attacked. These include those working in social and health care, community and residential work, law enforcement, housing, and education.

For some years now, it has been recognised that violence towards people working in public services, is a significant problem and it’s getting worse.

Meeting the standards in our Charter will show the workforce and the employers’ stakeholders that organisations are serious about protecting their staff.

UNISON’s Violence at Work Charter

Facts and figures

According to Health and Safety Executive statistics (based on the Crime Survey for England and Wales), it has been estimated that there were 688000 instances of violence and aggression at work across the UK between 2019 and 2020 (including those that may not have been reported to the police)

Our Successes

We campaigned successfully for the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 which provided greater protection for those working in the police, emergency service and the NHS.

We’re now campaigning for the same protection to be extended to all other public service staff.