Bullying Prevention Awareness 33 Workplace violence and harassment can exist in every workplace. Employers have responsibilities under the OHS legislation to implement measures to identify and control these hazards by conducting a risk assessment and developing violence and harassment prevention plans. Workers must not engage in workplace violence or harassing behavior, and immediately report these incidents to their supervisor or employer. WorkplaceViolence Workplace violence can include threatening behaviour, verbal or written threats, physical assaults or other actions that give a worker a reason to believe they are at risk of injury. Violence can happen in any workplace. Due to the nature of work, the risk of workplace violence is greater in industries such as health care, service and retail. It can happen at the worksite or at an off-site business-related function (conference, trade show), at a client’s site or in a vehicle. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT How can you reduce the risk of workplace violence? • Conduct a risk assessment to identify risk factors specific to the workplace. • Eliminate the risks or replace with less hazardous options where possible. • Identify, prioritize and implement controls if you cannot eliminate the risk. • Develop aWorkplaceViolence Prevention Plan (include provisions for working alone). • Ensure emergency response plans are in place and are current. • Train employees on how to prevent workplace violence. • Evaluate and monitor controls to ensure legislative responsibilities have been met and controls remain effective.
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