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“A customer told me on a phone call that they were going to ‘cave my skull in’ then came to the branch and said, ‘You finish at four – I’ll see you then’.”

It’s a sad fact that too many finance workers who work in branches and other frontline settings have experienced customer aggression and violence.

Whether it’s verbal abuse, yelling, banging on doors or making threats, much of the frustration and anxiety we absorb comes from repeat offenders – customers who we are all too familiar with and we know will come back.

But now, proposed laws in NSW, called Workplace Protection Orders (WPO), could help make workplaces safer.

What is a Workplace Protection Order?

WPOs, which are made by courts, prohibit or restrict a person from approaching a workplace or engaging in abusive behaviour towards staff. Importantly, they provide police with a legal instrument to take immediate action if the order is breached.

Currently, NSW employers are unable to prevent individuals from entering a bank branch, in

stead relying on workers applying for individual intervention orders against customers who offend.

Police may be called, but in the case of bank branches, they are often unable to prevent an offender from re-entering the workplace given banking is an essential service that the public is entitled to access. Most bank branches do not generally engage security guards.

WPOs provide employers with an additional mechanism to ensure their workplaces and employees are safe.

If passed, the proposed legislation would bring NSW in line with other Australian jurisdictions, including South Australia, Western Australia, the ACT and the Commonwealth.

Importantly, in a recent submission, the FSU called for the legislation to be broadened so that WPOs are available to any worker who experiences aggression and/or violence at work by a member of the public, including in the finance sector.

You can read the FSU’s full submission here.

Recounting a frightening experience with a customer, FSU member and Branch Manager John McWhirter explained why it was vital these laws be extended to finance workers.

“A customer told me on a phone call that they were going to ‘cave my skull in’ then came to the branch and said, ‘You finish at four – I’ll see you then’.

“Being told I would have to pursue any personal legal action myself made it worse, especially as I had not previously been required to report crimes or give statements.

“Money can be a significant trigger for inappropriate customer behaviour. When this occurs, staff need clear, active employer support.

“The ability for employers to support staff through this [WPO] process would make a real difference for those affected.”

Every worker has the right to feel safe at work. We urge the NSW parliament to pass this crucial legislation, and encourage other jurisdictions across Australia to consider similar measures to keep finance workers safe no matter where they work.

FSU recommendations

In our submission, the FSU made various recommendations to ensure the NSW legislation goes far enough to protect finance workers, including:

• broadening the legislation to include all customer-facing roles in the community.
• extending WPO applicants to include unions and Health and Safety Representatives.
• broadening the legislation so that it can be applied to an individual employee, a group of individual employees, an identifiable class of employees or all employees in a particular workplace.
• enforcing WPOs indefinitely unless a court determines a specific duration.