INCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS AND ASSAULTS

If you are involved in an incident/accident or are assaulted at work, do you know what to do about it, and what should be done following it?

Here is a quick guide to what you should do if you find yourself in this situation.

ACCIDENT IN THE WORKPLACE?

Please make sure you report this in the accident book as soon as you can. This can be found on the homepage of the intranet, on the top bar under HMPPS. Then, under polices and tools, you will find the ‘Accident, near-miss, work-related injury or fire incident’ reporting link, or you can use the direct link: bit.ly/427tCRU You can now have two claims for this accident.

1. Report this to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), on 0800 1218379, as an accident at work, or complete an industrial injury benefit claim form 11 DB at Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: How to claim – GOV.UK. Your employer will not register you for this, so make sure you do. There is no time limit on this and you can back date any old accidents. You may receive a Disability Benefit while you are still in full-time employment.

2. Inform a committee member and complete the online form for legal advice from our solicitors, Thompsons, as you are covered for this. Litigation claims are time bound, so do this as soon as you can. Go to bit.ly/41EC3Ed or contact Thompsons directly on 0800 587 7515.

ASSAULTED AT WORK?

Place the prisoner on report and ask for an adjournment while you report this to your local police station, stating you have been assaulted at work.

You can now have three claims for this same incident.

1. Get an adjudication log number or police reference number to be able to claim from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) – GOV.UK. The CICA tariff table ranges from a minimum payment of £1,000 to a maximum payment of £500,000. The compensation payments are based on a set of guidelines that take into account the type and severity of the injuries, the impact on the victim’s life, and any financial losses they have incurred as a result of the crime.

2. Report this to the DWP as an accident at work (assault) on 0800 1218379 or use the online form: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit claim forms – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). You may receive a Disability Benefit while you are still in fulltime employment.

3. Inform a committee member and complete the online form for legal advice from our solicitors, Thompsons, as you are covered for this. Again, as this is a litigation claim, it is time bound, so do this as soon as you can. Go to bit.ly/3JJkQ6t or contact Thompsons directly on 0800 587 7515.

INFORMATION REQUIRED:

A. Witnesses:

(i) to the assault
(ii) to the facts/failures leading up to the assault, even if not an eyewitness (staffing levels, RMPS staffing levels etc.)

(a) VDT (violent diagnostic tool) for place of work
(b) Wing risk assessment
(c) Cell-sharing risk assessment
(d) SSOW (safe systems of work)
(e) CSIP referrals and adjudication history

B. Other evidence:

(a) Staff:Prisoner ratio
(b) Regime management plan
(c) Details of what the member/branch think went wrong on the occasion
(d) Details of previous events with inmate (any Mercury reports?) and adjudication history, handover books/C-Nomis
(e) Was the inmate appropriately placed? (CSIP referrals)
(f) Details of other complaints or near-misses
(g) Crime reference number or adjudication number
(h) BWVC footage numbers/CCTV available?

Also make sure you report this in the accident or near-miss book online as soon as possible. bit.ly/47sqdRb

We all have a legal right to be safe at work. However, when things happen that result in us getting injured in our workplaces, the POA wants to help all our members get the maximum claim to which they are legally entitled. Remember, as your committee we are here to help you, but if we don’t know about it, we can’t help.

EMAIL US

This provides evidence to the timeline of events to help any claim you might have, and we may have supporting evidence to help your claims. See your branch noticeboards or email circulars for your committee members and ways to contact us.

If you’ve had an accident or been assaulted outside of work, what should you do?

FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

Complete the online form for legal advice from our solicitors, Thompsons, as you are covered for this. Go to bit.ly/45OaLxx or contact Thompsons directly on 0800 587 7515.

REHABILITATION AND RECOVERY

The Fire Fighters Charity offers our members a bespoke service with highly skilled therapists to help people get back on the road to recovery.

This service is funded by the POA welfare fund and includes physiotherapy, gym sessions, health and wellbeing workshops, and use of a hydrotherapy pool, if required.

There is also an online service that can offer support with physical health and wellbeing, assessment, exercise, and selfmanagement tools.

Details can be found on the POA website. Alternatively, contact Carol Strahan by email at carol@poauk.org.uk, call 0208 884 5693 or go to bit.ly/4nzuKGv

Do not be frightened to contact your own GP for help and assistance, or your local POA committees; we are here to help you. Line mangers can assist you with a workplace compact and a stress-management tool assessment.

I do hope this helps you and that we can make our workplaces safer for everyone. When incidents do happen, we are here to maximise the amount of compensation our members will receive.

Unity is strength. Stay safe.

NATHAN STANLEY M.I.C.A
POA STYAL BRANCH CHAIRMAN
POA HEALTH & SAFETY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER