How I Use the Workplace Violence and Venue Security Template with Customers in Pilla
Workplace violence is one of those risks that most businesses don't think about until something goes wrong. I've reviewed health and safety management systems across hundreds of operations, and the pattern is familiar: there's a generic line about violence being unacceptable, but no risk assessment, no training, no reporting process, and no plan for what happens when a member of staff gets threatened on a Friday night. The policy exists on paper. The protection doesn't exist in practice.
The gap matters because violence at work isn't rare. HSE data shows that around 688,000 workers experienced violence at work in a single year. For venues that serve alcohol, run late-night events, or deal with the public in high-pressure settings, the risk is higher still. This article covers what your workplace violence policy needs to include, gives you a template you can edit for your own operation, and explains the bits that actually matter when an HSE inspector asks how you're managing the risk.
Key Takeaways
- What is workplace violence in health and safety? A workplace violence policy covers the prevention of violence and threats towards staff, risk assessment for security needs, training for employees and managers, incident reporting, and victim support. It sits alongside your broader health and safety management system
- Why do you need a workplace violence policy? The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a general duty on employers to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of employees, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require you to assess risks, including the risk of violence. An HSE inspector will want to see that you've identified violence as a hazard and put controls in place
- How do you set it up in Pilla? Use the knowledge hub template below, edit it to match your operation, and share it with your team through the app so everyone has access and you can track who's read it
- How do you automate the follow-up? Set up Poppi to chase staff who haven't acknowledged the policy and flag when it's due for review
Article Content
Understanding What's Required of You
Workplace violence covers any incident where a member of staff is abused, threatened, or assaulted in circumstances related to their work. That includes verbal abuse, threats, and intimidation, not just physical assault. It also covers violence from members of the public, customers, and colleagues.
The legal basis sits in two places. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. That includes protecting them from violence. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 then require you to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of all hazards your employees face, and violence is one of them.
For venues that serve alcohol, run events, or operate late at night, the risk profile changes. I've worked with nightclubs, bars, live music venues, and late-night food operators where the risk of confrontational behaviour is part of the operating model. The security arrangements need to match that reality. A pub in a quiet village and a 2,000-capacity club on a Saturday night are not the same risk, and the controls shouldn't look the same either.
An HSE inspector will want to see that you've identified violence as a specific hazard, assessed who's at risk and when, put proportionate controls in place, trained your staff on how to respond, and set up a clear reporting process. If you've had incidents and haven't updated your risk assessment or changed your controls, that's a problem. The expectation is that you learn from what happens and adjust accordingly.
One thing I see regularly: businesses that treat workplace violence as something that only applies to security staff or bouncers. It applies to everyone. The bar staff dealing with an aggressive customer, the manager handling a complaint that escalates, the cleaner working alone after closing. Your policy needs to cover all of them.
Setting It Up as a Knowledge Hub Entry
I've built a workplace violence and venue security template in Pilla covering risk assessment, security measures, employee training, manager responsibilities, open-door reporting, incident investigation, victim support, and ongoing monitoring. It gives you a structured starting point, but you need to edit it to reflect your actual operation.
In the knowledge hub, create a new entry and tag it with "Health and Safety System". Use the same tag across all of your health and safety policies so they are grouped together and Poppi can track them as a set. Assign the entry to all teams so that everyone in the business can access it.
The template is designed to be edited, not just filed. If you don't serve alcohol, the section on alcohol-related risk factors won't apply to your setting in the same way. If you already use SIA-licensed security, add the name of the firm and the number of personnel you deploy. The more specific you make it, the more useful it is when an HSE inspector asks to see your arrangements.
35. Violence in the workplace - Venue Security and Visitors
The personal safety of staff is of paramount importance. Consequently, any actual or threatened violence towards staff is unacceptable.
Company Name recognises and accepts responsibility under Health and Safety legislation to create a safe working environment and expects all staff to take reasonable care for their own well-being and the safety of persons who may be affected by their actions.
Company Name will minimise risks and ensure the prevention of violence and the security of the working environment. We aim to do this by following these safety arrangements.
*Responsible Persons to assess risks of violence amongst staff and towards staff.
The assessment should consider whether addition security is required in the form of CCTV, hired security or both. The decision to hire security will depend on whether alcohol is serviced, the venue's potential for violent confrontations, occupancy and size of the venue, weekend opening hours, there is a risk of underage drinking, and whether staff feel safe at work.
If required, hire security personnel from a registered Security Industry Authority (SIA) private security firm. Ensure all hired security personnel are SIA licensed and have been trained in first aid (which adds to our existing first aid provision at times worked). The private security firm will assist in advising the number of security personnel required for the venue.
Provide appropriate training to enable employees to respond respectfully and sensitively in situations and also to enable them to protect themselves, colleagues and others when managing violent or potentially violent situations.
Ensure senior managers are provided with suitable training to deal with reports of violence and to never trivialise the employee's perception of being under threat. Such feelings should always be discussed seriously, and every effort made to achieve a resolution, which minimises the employees fear. This may involve general discussion, support from other colleagues, additional training, or counselling.
Encourage an open-door policy amongst senior management to enable employees to report all incidents of violence and ensure incidents are investigated.
Enable senior management to take appropriate action to prevent or reduce the risks of deliberate acts of violence via Company Name's management procedures and/or where appropriate via police intervention in cases of assault.
Staff that become victims of an act of violence during the course of their work, will be offered support.
Incident investigation protocols must ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to minimise any future risk and undertake a new risk assessment.
If the aggressor should be a member of staff, the incident should be investigated in accordance with the Company Disciplinary Procedure.
Monitor and review arrangements for managing violence in the workplace to ensure the arrangements remain suitable and sufficient, allowing us to maintain a safe working environment.
*Responsible Persons are identified on the House Responsibility Chart section of the health & safety policy.
This is a preview of the template. In Pilla, you can edit this to match your business.
What I'd want to see when reviewing this:
The risk assessment section is the foundation. I'd want to see that you've specifically assessed where violence risks exist in your operation, not just ticked a box. That means thinking about who interacts with the public, when confrontational situations are most likely, whether alcohol is involved, and what your premises layout looks like in terms of escape routes and blind spots. The decision on whether to hire security, install CCTV, or both should flow directly from that assessment.
The training section matters more than most businesses realise. Your staff need to know how to de-escalate a situation before it turns physical. They need to know when to step back and get help rather than trying to handle it themselves. I've seen staff get hurt because nobody told them it was acceptable to walk away from an aggressive customer. That training gap is preventable.
The manager training section is just as important. Senior managers need specific training on handling reports of violence. The template makes a critical point: never trivialise an employee's perception of being under threat. I've sat in meetings where a manager described a staff member's complaint about a threatening customer as "overreacting." That's how you lose your team's trust and stop getting reports altogether.
Common mistakes I see:
The security section often says "security will be hired if needed" but doesn't say how the decision gets made. I want to see the factors listed: whether alcohol is served, the venue's potential for confrontational situations, occupancy, operating hours, and whether staff feel safe. If you can't explain why you do or don't have security, you haven't done the assessment properly.
The open-door reporting policy sounds good on paper, but in practice, staff don't report because they think nothing will happen. The template covers investigation of all reported incidents and appropriate action through management procedures or police intervention. If you've got the policy but aren't actually investigating reports, an HSE inspector will find that gap quickly. They'll ask to see incident records and follow-up actions.
The victim support section is the one most businesses skip entirely. Staff who experience violence at work, even threatened violence, can be deeply affected. The template includes offering support, which might mean time off, counselling, adjusted working arrangements, or help through legal processes. If your version of this policy says nothing about what happens to the person who got threatened, it's incomplete.
Automate the Follow-Up with Poppi
Writing the policy is one thing. Making sure your team has actually read it is another. Poppi can handle the chasing so you don't have to.
If you mark the knowledge hub entry as mandatory, Poppi will track who's read it and who hasn't. You can set up automations to chase staff who are behind, notify managers when someone completes the policy, and get a regular report showing where the gaps are.
Here are three automations I'd set up for any knowledge hub policy:
Tom, you have 2 overdue policies to read and acknowledge
Overdue training reminders
Automatically chase team members who have mandatory policies they haven't read yet. Poppi sends the reminder so you don't have to.
Tom, you have 2 overdue policies to read and acknowledge
Emma has completed a mandatory policy
Video completion alerts
Get notified when a team member finishes reading or watching a policy, so you can track progress without chasing.
Emma has completed a mandatory policy
Training Report: 87% team completion. Tom and Sarah behind on 2 mandatory policies, due 3 days ago.
Training gap analysis
Get a regular AI report showing which team members are behind on mandatory policies and where the gaps are across your team.
Training Report: 87% team completion. Tom and Sarah behind on 2 mandatory policies, due 3 days ago.