Guidance in light of the violence and disorder taking place

It is good to try to be open with your employer about your fears and to try to explain your worries to see if you can reach agreement about how to approach this. Is there a particular aspect of your work or event that is causing you concern or is it the journey to work you are worried about, for example?

If you have a particular characteristic (eg religion, ethnicity, appearance, health (physical or mental), pregnancy or family situation) that makes you especially worried and you are happy to disclose it, it may help to do so. If you need help with this, contact [email protected]

If there is time to do so and there is a health and safety rep or committee at your workplace then the appropriate channel is to raise it through them. However, often there won’t be one or it won’t be possible to do this, in which case you have protection from detriment if you raise your concerns about health and safety by reasonable means.

Try to discuss this with the employer/your manager at the earliest possible stage and if you can’t get hold of them you could put it in writing or use whatever your usual means of communication is. Try to keep a record of what you say or any relevant messages.

If there are circumstances of danger which you reasonably believe to be serious and imminent (and which you couldn’t reasonably be expected to avert), and you leave, threaten to leave or refuse to return to your place of work (or any dangerous part of it) then you have the right not to be subjected to detriment by your employer as a result.

If it is possible to notify them of your absence and the reasons for it in accordance with the employer’s usual rules (in terms of timing and method) then do your best to comply with this. If this wasn’t possible, explain why it wasn’t. Avoid just failing to turn up for work without explanation.

Your employer has additional duties towards you in terms of risk assessments, reducing risks, offering alternative work and possibly suspending you with pay. Contact our employment team on [email protected] if you need advice on this.

You have legal protection from being treated badly by your employer if, in circumstances of danger which you reasonably believe to be serious and imminent, you take or propose to take appropriate steps to protect yourself or others.

You have a duty to provide a safe working environment and a safe system of working for your employees. You should therefore consider whether it is safe for your workers to work in the usual way. If you are fearful that the workplace is not safe then it would be appropriate to close it, ideally for as short a period as possible (and to pay staff if they are ready, willing and able to come to work or if the reason they won’t come is because they are legitimately frightened).

Note: If closing a practice with a GOS contract there may be obligations to notify the NHS. Consider all options to make staff safer, for example, is there any possibility of anyone being able to work from home

You should be open to having these discussions with staff and be mindful that they may have particular concerns for their safety depending on their religion, ethnicity, appearance, health (physical or mental), pregnancy and family situation or for other reasons.

Be aware that everyone is different and that just because one person is not worried does not mean that it’s not legitimate for another to be. You have a duty not to treat people badly because they raise health and safety concerns or take steps to protect themselves or others or because they refuse to return to work in circumstances where there is danger which they reasonably believe to be serious and imminent. There would also be possible discrimination claims if you fail to deal with these issues adequately or if you treat people badly for raising these concerns.

Try to have open and supportive conversations with staff and reassure them about any steps you are taking to keep them safe. If there is another branch where people feel safer consider whether people can work there. Consider whether there are different forms of transport they can take to work. Keep a record of any discussions you have.

As well as your duties to conduct general risk assessments, once an employee informs you they are pregnant you have a duty to conduct an additional assessment. Keep reflecting on this on an ongoing basis and consider whether you need to update it in light of developments. If you are unable to deal with significant risks you have duties to consider alternative work or paid suspension. If you need advice on this contact [email protected]

If you need to close or cancel or change appointments you should inform patients in advance with as much notice as possible. If there are urgent appointments you should try to make provision for them to be seen elsewhere or direct them to where they can get help.

Check in on your staff regularly to see how they are feeling and make it clear that you are open to having these conversations. Make them aware of any support that may be available eg well-being support. Do all that you can to keep them safe.

We would urge you to report this to the police and close the practice if necessary to protect your staff, patients and premises.