life threatening incident in work and no support.

LegacyUser

I was involved in an incident in work in which my life and that of the other staff was seriously threatened. We both believe the only reason we were both not seriously injured was because the client could not kick in the door of the room we locked our selves in. While he was trying to kick in the door he had a knife in his hand and was stating how he was going to kill us, and other members of our staff team. He tried to breake the window of the room we were in, and even stood out side it showing us the knife.

The Gaurds arrested him, but the company refused to press chargers so he was realised. (I know we could press charges but it is frowned upon)

Since it happened I fell we have received no support from work. Damage was caused to the other staff members car, and because she is on a probationary period she is not entilited to sick leave. Both of us have been prescribed meds and have been written off work by our G.P's but she thinks she will have to return to work this week as she will not get paid. She has tried on a number of occasions to contact HR, no one is available to talk. Our manager has no answers for either of us, and only appears to be concerned about us writing an incident report.

Neither of us are coping well with the situation as we fear that the individual will return to the house to get revenge on staff and other residents. Since the incident he has contacted staff and informed them he would burn the house down etc. Now I found out from other staff that he has been moved to our sister house, which means we could have to work with him again.

Im not really sure why im posting this but im not sure what to do. The incident was bad, but how we are being treated is making the whole thing worse. I feel fine for a little while and then the panic washes over me again, and I have spoken to the other staff and she says the same.

Tokyo

un reg stressed wrote: »

I was involved in an incident in work in which my life and that of the other staff was seriously threatened.


....While he was trying to kick in the door he had a knife in his hand and was stating how he was going to kill us....

...Since the incident he has contacted staff and informed them he would burn the house down etc. Now I found out from other staff that he has been moved to our sister house, which means we could have to work with him again

Screw what the company thinks - contact the police and press charges. This person assaulted you and other staff members with a lethal weapon, and despite everything is continuing to make threats - no company policy gets to dictate the course of action in a case like this. I'm surprised that the Gardaí didn't actively encourage you to press charges already, given the nature of the assault....

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Calibos

Sounds like she works in a homeless shelter or mental health care residential unit or something

Lux23

Ah come on, you have to get on to someone with more clout. Does your company have a CEO? Is it a national organisation? Do you have a whistleblower contact? I can understand that there may be good reasons as to why they don't want you to press charges but this person shouldn't be allowed in a sister house after this incident. They could get in serious trouble if he did this again.

Rubberchikken

maybe the unwillingness to follow up with a complaint comes from not wanting to be seen 'picking' on some poor misfortunate.
but your bosses are not doing their job properly if they fail to secure their employees safety.

go to them and tell them you are talking to the gardai. maybe then they'll sit up and listen.
if they're not willing, then maybe it's time to look for work elsewhere, before something serious happens to you or a colleague.

good luck

A.Partridge

File a complaint with the Health and Safety Authority.

Each year the HSA investigates people who are injured or even killed in workplace incidents. They should be able to provide you with advice on where you stand.

Sh1tbag OToole

un reg stressed wrote: »

(I know we could press charges but it is frowned upon)

Sure let them frown away. A knife-wielding 'customer' like that is surely more trouble than he's worth

LegacyUser

Hi Op,

I guess your working in some area of social care/support/residential care work, which is only relevant as quite a few of the health and safety workplace regulations aren't applicable. HIQUA may be the body to call?

I have work experience in situations where this threatening behaviour was fairly common, and am well aware that some companies and managers can become immune to the level of risk for staff. If there is nothing being done, have you tried to bring the incident and the lack of support to the company director?

Are you both trained with restraint etc and managing challenging behaviours? What is the written company policy? Can you use that to write a letter of complaint (i.e stating that you have received no post incident support/debrief) and state your wish (and legal right) to involve the gardai? Would it be possible to suggest that while you may not wish to press formal charges, the gardai could be asked to come into the workplace to discuss the consequences of continuing to behave aggressively?

What do you both want out of this? do you want paid sick leave? what type of support? what do the other team members think?

I am not trying to be cheeky but, is it a situation where a lot of the 'customers' are high risk and that this is common behaviour? If so, how have you dealt with it previously? You mentioned that the other staff member is new. Is this their first event? OP, what I am trying to do is to establish if there are company expectations of risk and strategies for managing that and if you followed them - or - if you reacted? Either way there should have been a meeting with you and your managers, together and separately, and paid time to write up the incident (legal requirement) and then serious time spent debriefing.

Any chance your workplace has an employee assistant program? someone you could ring and say simply, 'there was an incident, it has made me stressed, I am scared to work and I need/want support'?... It is time for a career/workplace change?

gugleguy

OP is your role replaceable? Can they get somebody who will work in such conditions? Thought I'd put that angle for you.

Oink

I only have 2 things to say:
- "not pressing charges"
Either the man is taken care medically, or else by the guards. Not doing either is dangerous and irresponsible

- It looks like they're not taking your mental health seriously. You need to make sure that your issues are addressed or you'll be the one paying for it.

Best of luck!

Ps personally I'd be pissed off. Is there no proper hr policy in place? Are the processes and policies documented and available to the staff?

FairytaleGirl

Hi OP,

I work In the same sort of area by the sounds of it, low threshold service, working with people with mental health & addiction issues.
Your policies and procedures are where you need to go at the moment, read up on them, see what protocol is in this situation - were you de briefed after the incident? Offered support from your lmt? Action taken against the client? What steps are taken now to ensure staff safety?

This is where you need to start, but by all means, take as much time off as you need - your mental Health needs looked after right now!You have been through a traumatic event and need to process it.

JuliusCaesar

un reg stressed wrote: »

because she is on a probationary period she is not entilited to sick leave. Both of us have been prescribed meds and have been written off work by our G.P's but she thinks she will have to return to work this week as she will not get paid.

Are you in a union? You should mention the words "occupational injury" to HR. I'm pretty sure that leave taken due to injuries* caused by an incident at work will have to be paid.

Also, Fairytale Girl's advice is good. Check the protocols. Talk with other staff. File a complaint with the Gardai. See what the Legal forum has to say, or if you can, get advice from a solicitor. Many of them do not charge for a first consultation. I'm not saying you need to take a case against your employer, but you really need to know your rights in this situation.


*injuries aren't just physical, they can be psychological too.

LegacyUser

Is this a private company?



If it is private, the stories I have heard about how staff are treated by private companies are terrible so who knows how young people are treated.

Get out if your not supported. Start looking for other jobs. Seek low cost counselling. There is no proper monitoring of the private residential care and the directors are more concerned about making money. Staff are not treated well at all.