The assault laws in Scotland are set to become more stringent as a new Bill that seeks to penalise people who assault workers is in the offing.

The Bill provides for protection of workers from assault and such acts will be seen as aggravated crime, as is currently the case in the law for the prevention of abuse of emergency service workers.

Hugh Henry MSP has been instrumental in bringing about the Workers (Aggravated Offences) Bill, which will be drafted in the course of the next few months. Workers’ unions like USDAW, Unite, Unison, CWU and ASLEF have lent their support to the Bill.

Henry believes a law is necessary to safeguard the interest of workers as they are often abused throughout Scotland. He confessed that some positive changes had taken place in the lives of a section of workers after stringent penalties were introduced for assaulters but said a large number of workers were still helpless.

He said that just like the Emergency Workers Act 2005 provided more protection against assault and violence to a group of workers, the present bill was aimed at furthering the same protection to all other workers who served the public directly.

According to USDAW General Secretary John Hannett, a law for shopworkers’ protection was necessary since they offered a key public service. To back his statement about the constant abuse of shopworkers he pointed out to a research conducted by their union, which found that one tenth of shopworkers were assaulted at work.

Hannett added that USDAW was now urging the lawmakers to introduce similar laws in England and Wales. The integration of good health and safety management systems is an essential principle of any business. Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues. IOSH training courses, accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, from Workplace Law are designed to give managers and supervisors all they need to know to help their organisation find the best ways to lead and promote health and safety.

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