“Coughing attacks” from members of the public

Unfortunately, many employees who work in public facing roles encounter the threat of verbal and physical violence. The official statistics on violence at work for 2017/18 indicate that 374,000 adults of working age in employment experienced violence at work, including threats and physical assault.

Employers should already be addressing the risks of violence and aggression towards employees and it would be prudent to review this and determine if there is an increased risk due to Covid-19 in the working environment.