Report: Workplace Violence
- asquithsd
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
PRESS RELEASE
Violence at work “out of control” as MPs warn workers are being left unprotected
A cross-party group of MPs and peers has today (Friday) warned that workplace violence is “out of control” and is demanding urgent government action.
A new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health says abuse, threats and assaults are now a routine part of working life in sectors including transport, retail, prisons and education.
Ian Lavery MP, Chair of the APPG, said: “Workers are being punched, spat at and threatened simply for doing their jobs, and too often nothing happens. This is a crisis, and the Government is not doing enough to stop it.”
The Group is calling for immediate action, including:
Legal protection for all public-facing workers
An end to unsafe lone working and a review of sectoral minimum staffing levels
More funding for policing and health and safety enforcement
Urgent action on overcrowded prisons and underfunded schools
The Group heard evidence from representatives in multiple sectors, including one bus driver who was held at gun point, and a representative of the Prison Officers’ Association who spoke of the “moral failure” of a rising number of attacks on prison staff leaving multiple workers hospitalised on a weekly basis. The report also calls for a rethink on the ban on prison officers’ right to strike.
The report warns that current approaches are failing workers, leaving them to manage violence themselves instead of preventing it.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Violence in the Workplace is published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, April 2026.
The full report can be sent on request and will be published on www.appgosh.org.
The report draws on evidence from trade unions including RMT, Unite, USDAW, NASUWT and the Prison Officers’ Association
The evidence session took place in Parliament on 26 January 2026.
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