Lone working and health and safety

villandry

I work in a large building that serves the public. The department I work in most has a large main floor and two side rooms which are in effect blind spots. There are a lot of blind spots in the main area because of its layout.

When I started working there, there were four people in the department at all times, and we were always busy. This has been whittled down over the years (public sector) to two, and at times one. I feel very strongly that personal safety is being compromised. I was on my own some weeks ago, late in the evening and a man came in and started trashing the place and threatening me. I was terrified. Managers have not been very sympathetic, and the union is useless.

I feel that the premises are simply too big and busy to be safely run by two people, let alone one, and wondered if anyone knew about guidelines for safe numbers of staff in regard to large buildings open to the public? The man who trashed the place came in again recently having been released from jail, and I was on my own. I was very distressed by this, and felt very vulnerable. I'm so worried that I am thinking of resigning.

ohreally

villandry wrote: »

Managers have not been very sympathetic, and the union is useless.

What have you asked the union to do that they haven't done?

villandry

They have just said that we will have to live with the staff cuts. That's when they bother to reply to your calls at all.

ohreally

Contact the branch secretary and ask for the branch H&S officer to contact you re the situation and arrange to meetup over a coffee to discuss and look into options to resolve.

Has a suitable risk assessment been conducted and have you seen sight of it?

villandry

No risk assessment has been done as far as I know, and managers are saying that their hands are tied by budget constraints.

ohreally

villandry wrote: »

No risk assessment has been done as far as I know

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3242/regulation/3/made 3.1, ask to see it!

villandry

I will, thank you.

splishsplash

I imagine your employer must have policies covering things like lone working; personal safety; violence in the workplace, etc. You should find these and have a read to see what they say.

Write/email your managers asking for a risk assessment and outline your recent experiences to illustrate the urgent need to update these policies and make sure they're being adhered to.

Request basic interim personal safety measures be put in place immediately on foot of the recent episode, for example, screens between you and the public or at least barriers of some type; an exit or safe room behind you that you can access quickly and lock to prevent someone following you; a contact person who can call for help or come to your aid quickly; a personal alarm etc.

dickydonkin

villandry wrote: »

No risk assessment has been done as far as I know, and managers are saying that their hands are tied by budget constraints.

The costs of clearing up the trashed area would likely be more than someone carrying out a risk assessment and I wonder if there could be insurance implications, although there are certainly legal requirements to assess workers safety.

There is nothing illegal in working alone, but the employer has a duty of care to ensure the safety of not only their workers, but others who may be affected by their operations - so that would include the members of the public who also use the building so it would be in the interest of the employer to not only protect their workers and others, but their property as well.

Nobody should have to go to work and feel threatened and I would raise this issue again. Financial restraints is no excuse for not complying with a legal requirement.