FEATURE
INTERPRETING THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT
There is a new legal obligation for health and safety, explains Peoplesafe. It requires structured risk management, proportional controls and documented evidence of action.
The Employment Rights Act introduces strengthened protections for workers, placing clearer responsibility on employers to prevent harassment from customers, service users and members of the public. While this may initially appear to sit within HR policy, it is fundamentally a health and safety issue – requiring structured risk management, proportionate controls and documented evidence of action.
For health and safety professionals, this marks a shift from reactive response to proactive prevention. The emphasis is no longer solely on responding appropriately after an incident has occurred, but on demonstrating that ‘all reasonable steps’ have been taken to prevent harm before it happens.
RECOGNISING THIRD-PARTY HARASSMENT AS A WORKPLACE HAZARD
Third-party harassment – abuse, intimidation or threatening behaviour from customers, clients, patients or the public – must now be treated as a foreseeable workplace risk. For many public-facing and lone workers, exposure to hostility is not hypothetical; it is an operational reality.
Under the Act, this risk should be managed in the same way as any other occupational hazard: identified, assessed and controlled. Written policies alone are unlikely to be sufficient. H&S professionals should be reviewing whether existing risk assessments reflect real-world behavioural risks, particularly for lone workers or those operating without direct supervision.
Increasingly, organisations are strengthening their approach through integrated personal safety systems such as Peoplesafe’s lone worker monitoring and incident escalation services, which provide visibility of behavioural patterns, hotspot data and real-time reporting. This type of intelligence-led insight enables H&S teams to evidence that risks have been actively assessed and managed.
THE EXPECTATION OF PROACTIVE CONTROL MEASURES
A key implication of the Act is that action must be demonstrably preventative. Health and safety leaders should be asking: Are current controls adequate? Are they consistently applied? Can we evidence that they are working?
Proactive measures may include visible signage stating abuse will not be tolerated, structured training on managing difficult interactions, and clear escalation pathways when employees feel unsafe.
Technology is becoming a central part of the control hierarchy for managing harassment and abuse risks. When implemented successfully, it enhances protection, supports early intervention, and strengthens accountability.
Solutions such as Peoplesafe’s SOS alarms, welfare check- ins and 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) monitoring
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provide employees with immediate access to assistance. These systems do not replace traditional risk controls – they strengthen them by adding a layer of real-time response and reassurance.
For H&S professionals, the value lies not only in response capability but in the demonstrable control measure it represents within the hierarchy of risk management.
EVIDENCE, DOCUMENTATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Documentation is central to compliance. In the event of a tribunal, investigation or regulatory review, organisations must be able to evidence the steps taken to prevent harassment and protect workers.
Health and safety teams should ensure that: • Risk assessments are current and regularly reviewed. • Training attendance is recorded. •
Incidents and near-misses are logged consistently. • Follow-up actions are completed and documented.
Without an auditable trail, even robust arrangements can appear insufficient. This is another area where integrated systems such as Peoplesafe’s incident reporting platform can support compliance. Time-stamped records of alerts, communications and escalation decisions create a defensible evidence base, helping organisations demonstrate that reasonable and proportionate steps were taken.
TRANSLATING LEGAL DUTY INTO PRACTICAL PROTECTION
The Employment Rights Act reinforces that third-party harassment is not simply an HR matter but a workplace safety hazard requiring structured control. For H&S professionals, the challenge is translating legal obligation into practical, defensible protection strategies.
By combining robust risk assessments, documented preventative measures and integrated personal safety technology such as Peoplesafe, organisations can move beyond policy statements and demonstrate a genuine, proactive commitment to employee protection.
In an environment of increasing accountability, that ability to evidence action may prove just as important as the action itself.
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