Assault Leave

The European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) defines third party violence in the context of the workplace as “physical violence, verbal aggression or the threat of physical violence where the aggressor is not a work colleague, e.g. the person, customer, client or patient receiving the goods or services”, and is clear that in this context, assaults by pupils or parents are included [1]. As such it is an occupational health and safety hazard, covered by EU legislation. OSHA notes that workers in the education sector are more at risk of violence when their jobs involve working with children with special educational needs.