WIDESPREAD violence has been exposed in British workplaces by a shocking new poll that has sparked calls for stronger legal protections and for it to be recognised as a health and safety issue.

The survey, by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, revealed that nearly a third of workers (31 per cent) reported experiencing at least one incident of violence, aggression or abuse in the past year.

The trust’s chief executive Suky Bhaker said the scale of violence against front-line staff in particular was “shocking and unacceptable.”

Out of all sectors, healthcare workers were found to be the most at risk, with one in four saying they felt unsafe on the job.

Across the board, verbal abuse was the most common form of aggression (21 per cent), followed by bullying or intimidation (14 per cent).

Women were approximately eight times more likely than men to experience sexual harassment or assault with 6 per cent reporting such incidents.

Physical assaults affected 3 per cent of workers.

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust was set up in memory of an estate agent who disappeared aged 25 and was later presumed murdered, after leaving her office to meet a mystery client in 1986. 

Plaid Cymru peer Baroness Smith said she had worked with the charity to table amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, which called for harassment and violence in the workplace to be considered a health and safety issue.

She said the amendments would have put a duty on employers to safeguard employees, but that they were rejected in a move deemed “deeply frustrating.” 

The politician said she will now try to push for the changes again through the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill.

Commenting on the figures, Unite national officer for passenger transport Wayne King said: “Perpetrators must know there is a serious consequence for assaulting a worker. 

“For too long people have been able to abuse and assault workers knowing they will get away with it. Employers must do far more to protect their workforce.”

He said there were over 800 reported assaults on bus drivers in London last year, yet “no information on how many prosecutions there were.

“Legislation needs to change, but that will take time. Employers must step up now; they must prosecute anyone who attacks their employees. There is no excuse for not protecting their staff.”

Public & Commercial Services union general secretary Fran Heathcote says the figures are “dreadful but not surprising,” noting that the union’s poll of Jobcentre security guards found that 91 per cent had experienced dangerous incidents. 

“Only a unionised workforce can push to ensure that workplaces are safe and that staff and managers are properly trained and equipped to prevent violence,” she said. 

A separate Retail Trust poll found that 23 per cent of shop workers were physically assaulted in the past year, while 43 per cent faced abuse or attacks every week — figures the GMB union called “completely horrifying.”

GMB national officer Nadine Houghton said: “Retail employers need to ensure they have adequate staff and security to prevent this happening — and rock-solid procedures in place to support staff when it does.”

General secretary of retail union Usdaw Joanne Thomas said the union “has long campaigned for substantial legislative measures to combat the growing problem of attacks on retail workers and we are pleased that the government has introduced the Crime and Policing Bill.”

The legislation introduces a new offence for assaulting retail workers, punishable by up to six months in prison, Respect Orders which could give police the power to ban offenders from certain areas, and a lift on the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters.

“It is our hope that these new measures will help give retail workers the respect they deserve,” Ms Thomas said.

Unison’s head of health and safety Joe Donnelly said: “Employers need to examine the risks faced by their staff and put proper measures in place to protect them.

“The justice system must also send a clear message that violent behaviour is always unacceptable.”