Best Practices for Handling the Aftermath of a Workplace Violence Incident

OHS laws require employers to take measures to prevent workplace violence. But they don’t say much—at least not directly—about what employers should do when and if incidents of violence do occur. To find standards for workplace violence response and aftermath, you need to look at other parts of the OHS law, including incident reporting, investigation requirements, and best practices. We’ve assembled and organized these required and best practice response measures into a Checklist.

Immediate Actions to Ensure the Safety of All Involved

Ensure that all victims and affected people get prompt first aid and medical evaluation, care, and treatment, including trauma-related injuries.
Assess the situation and verify that an act of workplace violence occurred.
Determine whether the incident is over or there’s an ongoing threat.
If the situation remains dangerous, call in your predesignated Response or Threat Assessment Team.
Get all personnel to a position of safety and offer to arrange transportation home for victims and affected persons.

Reporting & Notification

If necessary, report the incident to police and other law enforcement authorities.
If the incident results in a worker’s death or serious injuries, immediately, i.e., within 24 hours, notify government OHS officials using the fastest means of communication available.
Notify the spouse, family member, or other predesignated contact of victims and affected individuals.
Initiate your workplace violence emergency response measures.

Investigation & Documentation

Identify all witnesses and individuals involved.
Collect and review footage from security cameras to gather evidence about the incident.
Determine the perpetrator or type of perpetrator, e.g., company worker, outside vendor, customer, unknown third party, etc.
Fill out a workplace violence incident report form listing the time, date, location, description, and impact of the incident, including the nature of any injuries.
Investigate the incident.
Create a report documenting the findings of the investigation, including the causes of the incident and the immediate actions necessary to ensure safety and prevent a recurrence.

Post-Investigation Reporting

If required by OHS laws, report the incident to OHS authorities in writing using agency incident report forms or other approved methods.
Provide or make a copy of the investigation report or incident report form to the workplace JHSC or safety representative, if any.

Corrective Actions

Take actions Implement actions to address the identified causes of the incident and prevent similar incidents in the future, e.g., by replacing surveillance cameras or other security equipment determined to be flawed.
Make a record documenting all corrective actions taken or, if no corrective actions are taken, the reasons for not taking corrective actions.
If necessary, take disciplinary measures against all workers found to have engaged in violence or wrongdoing during the incidents.
Enter the incident into the log you maintain to document all incidents of violence at your workplace, their causes, and the corrective measures taken in response.

Support for Victims

Offer, arrange for, or advise victims to seek medical evaluation and treatment for any physical injuries they sustained during the incident.
Provide support for victims who suffered or might have suffered psychological damage as a result of the incident by either connecting them directly with healthcare professionals who specialize in treating trauma-related injuries or mental health concerns or giving them a list of such professionals along with instructions for contacting them.
Inform victims about available employee assistance programs (EAPs) or other resources offering support for emotional wellbeing, counseling, and referrals to community resources.
Where required by OHS, workers’ comp, contractual obligations, or other applicable law, offer to pay for the medical and mental health evaluation, treatment, care, and counselling victims need as a result of the incident.
Regularly communicate and check in with victims to monitor their progress and provide ongoing support as needed.
Be prepared to adjust work schedules, relocate workspaces or provide other reasonable accommodations that victims request in accordance with your company reasonable accommodations process.
Hold debriefing sessions with workers to discuss the incident, its impact, corrective measures taken, and support available for victims and affected workers.