Violence Risk Assessment Participation

Nova Scotia Health, IWK Health and Council of Nursing Unions signed a Letter of Commitment #9- Safety Innovation Fund that would focus on the importance of ensuring safe and healthy workplaces free of Violence and Harassment.

A committee was established to prioritize the work that needs to be completed to support the funds being used to this end. The Committee has recently developed a Violence Risk Assessment Tool that will be used to identify gaps in relation to violence in your workplace and then establish a list to recommendations to help mitigate Violence and Harassment in your workplace.

The Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions is sending this joint message to inform our members of this upcoming work. If you are asked to participate, we strongly encourage you to do so.

Background

The Nova Scotia Violence in the Workplace Regulations, which are attached to the NS Occupational Health and Safety Act, states:

      2 (f)    “violence” means any of the following:

                         (i)     threats, including a threatening statement or threatening behavior that gives an employee reasonable cause to believe that the employee is at risk of physical injury,

                         (ii)    conduct or attempted conduct of a person that endangers the physical health or physical safety of an employee.

6 (1)An employer must conduct a new violence risk assessment for a workplace in any of the following circumstances:

                (a)    the employer becomes aware of a type of violence occurring in similar workplaces that was not taken into consideration when the previous violence risk assessment was conducted;

                (b)    there is a significant change in any of the following:

                         (i)     the circumstances in which work takes place,

                         (ii)    the interactions that occur in the course of performing work,

                         (iii)   the physical location or layout of the workplace;

                (c)    the employer plans to construct a new facility or renovate an existing facility;

                (d)    the employer is ordered to do so by an officer

       (2)    An employer must conduct a new violence risk assessment for each of their workplaces at least every 5 years.

[Violence in the Workplace Regulations 6 (1) & (2)]

Situation

Over the coming months, most units at each Nova Scotia Health site will be initiating the rollout of an updated Violence Risk Assessment. As such, you may be asked to participate in this process. The Unions collectively encourage and support your participation. If you have addition questions, please reach out to your respective Union Occupational Health and Safety Officer or representative.