Incidents of verbal and physical abuse at work are on the rise in the UK with around 250 shop workers being assaulted in the workplace each day. However, only about a third of the incidents are officially reported to the authorities. If you were subjected to verbal or physical abuse at work and suffered injuries whether physical or psychological, it could entitle you to seek compensation for the pain and distress you endured which you can do through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority – CICA.
To find out more on whether your verbal and physical abuse at work claim would be valid and whether the CICA would consider paying you compensation through their scheme, please read on.
What Triggers Verbal and Physical Abuse in the Workplace?
Studies have determined that theft and the sale of “age restricted” items and products are the two main triggers for both verbal and physical abuse towards shop workers. People who shoplift often turn to violence when they are caught in the act of stealing something. The same can be said of underage customers when shop assistants refuse to sell them either cigarettes or alcohol.
However, verbal and physical abuse also occurs in the workplace with many staff and other employees being subjected to this type of aggressive behaviour by fellow workers, people who are in charge and employers.
If you were the victim of verbal or physical abuse at work, you could be entitled to file for Criminal Injury Compensation through the government funded Scheme that was set in place to help blameless victims of violence the chance to be compensated for the pain and distress they had to endure at the hands of an assailant.
What To Do if You Are Subjected to Verbal or Physical Abuse at Work?
If you are subjected to verbal or physical abuse at work, you must report the incident the person in charge or your employer. You should also report an incident to the Police and if you are injured in the incident, you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible even if you think the injuries you sustained in the assault are only minor. The reason being that something may appear minor at first, but later on the injury can turn into something a lot more severe.
There is also the mental trauma of having been subjected to verbal or physical abuse at work to think about. The incident may even lead to you suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder which could negatively impact your overall health and well-being as well as your ability to carry out your normal paid work.
Should this be the case and you choose to seek Criminal Injury Compensation through the CICA scheme, you could be entitled to claim loss of earnings and the capacity to earn in the future. You may even be entitled to include mental injury providing there is a medical reported provided either by a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist in support of your claim. A doctor’s or therapist’s report on your mental health would not be sufficient for the CICA to consider paying mental health compensation.
Claiming Compensation Through CICA or The Civil Courts
Anyone who is subjected to any sort of abuse is entitled to seek compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority which is a government funded scheme that compensates those who are innocent victims of violence whether in the workplace or elsewhere. If you were subjected to verbal or physical abuse at work, you may also be able to claim compensation for the pain and distress you were caused as a result of the incident from your employer if it can be found that not enough was done to keep you safe from harm and injury whilst in their employment.
This could involve having installed special screens that protect staff from being attacked or other measures that keep workers safe from harm while they are carrying out their normal jobs. However, even with the best of measures to keep workers safe, many assaults are unstoppable simply because they are “unpredictable”
You may also be able to file a civil suit against your attacker, bearing in mind that they may not have sufficient money to pay any money that a court may award you in a successful personal injury claim against them.
What is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012?
As previously mentioned, the CICA scheme is government funded and it lets those who are victims of violence or who suffer what is referred to as a “qualifying injury” as set out in the CICA tariff of injuries, seek compensation for the pain, distress, losses and damages they endured at the hands of an assailant. The scheme entitles those who are subjected to any form of abuse whether it is an one-off assault on them by someone they know or a stranger to seek compensation through the Scheme.
How Do I Apply For Verbal and Physical Abuse at Work to CICA?
If you subjected to verbal or physical abuse in the workplace, you would have to provide proof that you did nothing to provoke an assault on you for your claim to CICA to be accepted. The authority would then consider whether you are eligible to claim compensation through the scheme or not.
One of the most important considerations when making an assault claim to CICA, is as follows:
- That the incident was reported to the Police as soon as reasonably possible and that you fully co-operated with the authorities as they investigated your case against your assailant. This applies even if your attacker’s identity remains unknown or they are deceased, or even if the assault on you at work happened years ago. Failure to report an assault to the Police would result in your verbal and physical abuse at work claim being rejected by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
- That you sought medical treatment for any injuries you suffered in the assault on you and would therefore be able to provide a medical report to substantiate your claim
The process of apply for Criminal Injury Compensation is relatively simple but it is advisable to seek legal advice from a criminal injury lawyer prior to completing the necessary online application which can be found on the relevant Government website
How Do CICA Calculate Compensation?
The CICA tariff of injuries sets out the amount of compensation that you may receive if you are injured in the workplace when someone verbally or physically abuses you. As such, it is quite easy to calculate the amount of money you may receive through the CICA scheme for the injury itself. With this said, you would need to provide a detailed medical report of your injuries for the authority to consider when assessing your claim for compensation.
On top of the tariff award for your injuries, you could also claim the following:
- Loss of earnings and potential earning power – you would only receive any money after you are off work for 28 weeks. In short, the payment would only begin on the 29th week you are unable to work due to the injuries you sustained
However, you would be asked to provide evidence of any loss of earnings you incurred which could be in the form or payslips or if you are self-employed, your most recent tax return. Without the required proof for any loss of earnings, the CICA would not consider this part of your verbal or physical abuse at work claim.
Does My Assailant Have to Be Convicted For Me To Seek Compensation Through CICA?
The person who verbally or physically assaulted you at work does not have to either be known or successfully prosecuted/convicted for you to make a claim for compensation to CICA. The only criteria is that there was a crime of violence committed against you, that you are eligible to make a CIC (Criminal Injuries Claim) and that you reported the incident to the Police at the earliest opportunity so you can include the crime reference number in your online application to the authority.
With this said, the Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme covers “violent” crimes and not just “crimes”. The authority would assess whether your case falls under the category of a “crime of violence” for them to consider it. As such, it is essential that you can prove that intentional violence was levied against you by your assailant and the more evidence you can provide, the stronger your case would be and the more chance there would be that the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority would consider awarding you compensation for the pain, distress, damage and any other losses you suffered because of the assault at work against you.
What if I Have Previous Convictions, Can I Still Claim Compensation Through the CICA Scheme?
There are strict rules that apply the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 which cover previous convictions. If you have any unspent convictions, the authority has the right to withhold or reduce the amount of money you may receive unless there are exceptional reasons for them not to do so. However, this would not apply to “spent” convictions under the terms of the “Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974”.
It is worth noting that some people who submit a claim to the CICA would have their applications turned down if specific convictions are “unspent” at the time of they were submitted to the authority which covers sentences that are excluded from “rehabilitation”. This applies to victims of a violent who were convicted of an offence that resulted in either a community order or a custodial sentence. As such, they would have to wait till their sentence is “spent” for them to be eligible which would have to be within the 2 year deadline.
If you are unsure about any convictions you have had in the past and you would like to claim compensation for verbal and physical abuse at work, you should contact a legal adviser who would determine whether any of these would negate your chances of applying for compensation to the CICA.
Are There Any Time Limits to Filing a Verbal or Physical Abuse at Work Claim to the CICA?
If you were the victim of verbal or physical abuse at work, you would have 2 years to claim compensation for the pain and distress the incident caused you. The deadline begins from the date of the traumatic event. However, if you are under the age of 18, the time limit would start from the date you turn 18 years of age providing the crime against you was reported to the authorities before your 18th birthday. Should the incident not have been reported, the time limit would begin from the date the incident was reported to the Police.
The CICA has discretionary powers when it comes to extending the 2 year deadline associated with claims for compensation through the Scheme examples of which are as follows:
- Because of exceptional circumstances, you could not submit your application any earlier
- The authority may require further evidence to support a claim for compensation through the Scheme
If you need help and legal advice before claiming Criminal Injury Compensation, it is best to discuss your verbal or physical abuse at work case with a criminal injury lawyer who would explain what is needed to support a claim for compensation made to the CICA.
Making Sure You have All the Evidence Required to Submit a Claim to the CICA
It is always advisable to have as much evidence as possible when seeking verbal and physical abuse at work compensation from the CICA and to gather it well in advance of submitting an application to the authority. This would include the following:
- Copies of work records
- Medical records and reports
- The Police report and the Police reference number
- Clinical psychiatrist or psychologist report if you are claiming mental injury from CICA
The more evidence that you have gathered ready to submit an application for Criminal Injury Compensation, the less chance there would be of having to endure unnecessary delays and having a claim rejected due to insufficient evidence.
How Long Does it Take to Receive Criminal Injury Compensation (CIC)?
The typical timeline for a claim for compensation through the CICA scheme can be anything from 18 months to 24 months years, depending on the complexity of a case and whether the authority would need you to provide more evidence to support any claims you request be included. If medical reports are needed, and this includes mental health reports, it could mean that a payment is delayed until the CICA is satisfied that all the necessary proof of both physical and mental injuries has been provided.
Having a criminal injury lawyer help you from the outset when seeking Criminal Injury Compensation would avoid any delays in the process. A lawyer has vast experience when it comes to dealing with verbal and physical abuse at work victims who seek compensation through the Scheme and would offer essential advice on what is required in the way of details and evidence to support your claim, whether your assailant was apprehended or convicted of violence against you.
Seeking Legal Advice From a Criminal Injury Lawyer
Because there are so many rules and criteria that must be met when applying for Criminal Injuries Compensation (CIC), it is best to seek legal advice and representation from a criminal injury lawyer prior to submitting an online application to the authority. There are many pitfalls to avoid. You would also need to ensure that you are eligible and that you have sufficient evidence to prove that you were the blameless victim of violence in the workplace when you were subjected to verbal or physical abuse at work.
The process involved in submitting a claim through the CICA scheme involves filling out an online application form and it is essential that all the relevant information is provided at the outset. An experienced criminal injury lawyer would have the necessary expertise and would therefore assist you in filling out the required information to avoid any errors being made which could result in your application being delayed or even rejected.
What if The CICA Rejects My Claim?
If your claim for compensation through the Scheme is rejected or you are unhappy with the amount you are awarded, you have the right to appeal the authority’s decision which you can do through the Criminal Injury Compensation Tribunal. The best course of action would be to have legal advice prior to appealing a CICA decision to ensure that it stands a better chance of being reconsidered and to receive a higher amount in the way of compensation through the Scheme.
Would a Criminal Injury Solicitor Represent Me on a No Win No Fee Basis?
A criminal injury solicitor would need to assess your claim to determine whether you have a strong enough case to file for Criminal Injury Compensation (CIC) should you have been subjected to verbal or physical abuse in the workplace. You would need to provide the solicitor with as much information relating to the incident as well as proof of the injuries whether physical or mental that you sustained when you were assaulted. However, it is worth noting that if it is found that you have a valid claim, you would not necessarily need to have been injured for you to claim through the CICA scheme.
The lawyer you contact would offer a no obligation, free consultation to establish whether you have a strong case and when this has been determined, they would offer to represent you without requesting that you pay them an upfront fee if you choose to work with the lawyer on a No Win No Fee basis.
If CICA accepts your claim and you receive compensation for the verbal and physical abuse at work you endured, the amount you agreed to pay the solicitor would be deducted from the amount of money you are awarded by the authority. Should your claim not succeed, there would be no fees to pay for the legal representation the lawyer provided when you sought Criminal Injury Compensation having been subjected to verbal or physical abuse at work.