Training for Personal Safety at Work

Summary

During the last two decades the rise in the number of assaults on employees incurred in the course of their work has outpaced the growth in violent crime in general. Staff at a whole range of organizations now find themselves, through their work, at risk of physical violence, verbal abuse and harassment. These organizations include: public sector services such as social security, social services, health services, transport, library service and teaching; private sector services such as entertainment, leisure, security services and retailing; financial sector services such as banks, building societies and insurance; and the voluntary sector such as Citizens Advice Bureaux, volunteer bureaux, refuges and night shelters. This book is a complete training resource manual for trainers, personnel managers and anyone who is responsible for the personal safety of employees. Published in association with The Suzy Lamplugh Trust - a leading authority on personal safety - the manual is designed to help employers increase staff awareness of risks and teach them how to lessen those risks, avoid potentially dangerous situations and, as a last resort, defend themselves in the face of violent attack. Many of the difficulties associated with the problem of violence at work stem from ignorance, preconceptions and an unwillingness to recognize the problem on the part of both the employer and the employee. The Health and Safety at Work Act now places a clear responsibility on the employer to provide for an employee's personal safety.