Violence in the Workplace: Prevention and Response

a) Threats, including a threatening statement or threatening behaviour that gives an employee reasonable cause to believe that the employee is at risk of physical injury.

b) Conduct or attempted conduct of a person that endangers the physical health or physical safety of an employee.

Some examples of violence include shaking of fists, destroying property, throwing of objects, expression of intent to inflict harm, hitting or other acts of physical assault, robbery and arson.

An act of abuse that can be physical, emotional or psychological. It can include coercion, stalking, harassment or financial control. Or, it can be a threat of such abuse. This includes the following relationships;

(a) An employee who is abused by:

• their current or former intimate partner

• their child

• a person under 18 years old who lives with them

• an adult who lives with them and is related to them by blood, marriage, adoption or foster care

(b) An employee whose child (under 18) is abused by:

• The child’s current or former intimate partner

• A person who lives with the child

Should there be a reasonable ground to suspect domestic violence could occur on the worksite, domestic violence would be considered workplace violence.

1. Reporting Actual or Potential Incidents of Workplace Violence / Threatening Behaviour 

• Report incidents of violence/threatening behaviour as soon as possible.

• If confronted by violent behaviour, one should:

    1.1 Report Emergencies

Threats of violence, physical attacks or other violent incidents that require immediate response should be reported by calling 911. Please call Safety and Security to let them know 911 has been called.

Callers should be prepared to provide critical information including the nature of the incident, whether emergency attention is required, the number of perpetrators involved and whether they are present, whether weapons are observed, etc.

    1.2 Report Non-Emergencies

Threatening statements or behaviours that give one reasonable grounds to believe that there is a potential for workplace violence must also be reported. All such circumstances should be reported in confidence to the Supervisor, Manager, Chair, Director and/or Dean responsible for the department involved or to a member of the Senior Management Group. The Director of Risk Management may be contacted at 902 867 3889 to provide advice.

    1.3 Follow-up

The details surrounding the situation will be evaluated by any or all of these parties and a decision made regarding further investigation or the initiation of appropriate action.

Such reporting may assist in identifying patterns of potential violence and could assist in the prevention of emergency situations in the future.

The University will provide information to the StFX community, as required, about the risk of violence from someone with a history of violent behaviour.

2. Investigation

All reports of violent incidents or potential incidents will be taken seriously. The form of the investigation will depend on the circumstances and may involve Security, the Faculty or department involved and, as appropriate, external law enforcement agencies.

The University will ensure that notice of actions taken to prevent recurrence of an incident of violence are given to all employees affected by the incident and the University Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

    2.1 Debriefing

StFX will provide an employee who has been exposed to or affected by violence at the workplace with an appropriate debriefing and will advise the employee to consult a health professional of the employee’s choice for treatment or counseling.

3. Support Services

3.1 First Aid and Other Resources

In the event of an incident resulting in physical injury, access to first aid will be provided by contacting Security at (867) - 4444, the local First Aid Attendant or 911, if deemed necessary. Please call Safety and Security to let them know 911 has been called.

The University’s Employee Assistance Program is available for employees who have been involved directly or indirectly in an incident by contacting Human Resources at (867)-5038. Students who have been involved directly or indirectly in an incident can contact the University’s Health and Counselling Services at (867)- 2633 for confidential counselling.

In cases where other support services are necessary, there may be consultation with Human Resources, Risk Management and/or Student Services.

4. Risk Assessments

To evaluate the risk of violence/threatening behaviour in particular workplaces, departments will conduct a risk assessment at least every five years, in consultation with the OHS Office. As part of such assessments, the department will complete a Violence/Threatening Behaviour in the Workplace Risk Assessment Questionnaire (Appendix 2).

The Supervisor will retain one copy of the completed Risk Assessment. Copies will be provided to the OHS Office and the University Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

5. Violence Prevention Plan

Where the Workplace Violence Risk Assessment indicates that one or more significant risk of violence exists, the Supervisor or designate must prepare a Violence Prevention Plan to address those significant risks. A sample Violence Prevention Plan, as may be amended from time to time, is attached as Appendix 3. As part of the Violence Prevention Plan, the Supervisor or designate must:

• take and document reasonable measures to lessen, and where possible, eliminate the risk of violence; and

• provide training to employees who are exposed to a significant risk of violence regarding:

✓ employee rights and responsibilities with respect to workplace violence;

✓ the type of violence and the amount of risk they may encounter;

✓ the steps taken to minimize or eliminate the risk of violence to the employee being trained;

✓ recognizing potentially violent situations and how to respond to them; and

✓ reporting, documenting and investigating incidents of violence.

Where a significant risk of violence is posed by an individual, the extent of personal information disclosed to an employee must be balanced against the privacy rights of the individual. This determination should be made in consultation with Director of Risk Management and/or University Legal Counsel.

Supervisors or designate should ensure employees under their authority who are not exposed to a significant risk of violence, receive or have received general training regarding the following issues:

• employee rights and responsibilities with respect to workplace violence;

• recognizing potentially violent situations and how to respond to them; and

• reporting, documenting and investigating incidents of violence.

The Supervisor will retain one copy of the completed Violence Prevention Plan. Copies will be provided to the OHS Office and the University Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

5. Information Sessions/Training

This policy will be distributed widely within the University community, including posting on the electronic OHS Right to Know bulletin board. Awareness of this Policy will be provided by OHS and the University JOHSC to current employees, and it will be reviewed with new employees during their onboarding process.

The University commits to providing ongoing training to designated members of the University community, using the Non Violent Crisis Intervention model.

Requests for training as part of a Violence Prevention Plan can be made to Erica Baker, Health and Wellness Advisor at @email.