Support for members during race riots

The scenes around the country are nothing short of despicable — they have no place in our society.

Migrant nursing staff are precious members of our communities, hardwired into the very DNA of our health and care services. Our international colleagues are welcome, valued and owed a debt of gratitude. As an anti-racist organisation, we'll take a lead part in tackling this hatred.

We stand with our migrant and global majority colleagues and all those who come from diverse backgrounds in the UK. You are not alone, and we value your contribution to society.

Use this page to find answers to some of your questions. If you need further information or support, please contact your local RCN rep, or contact our advice team.

If you are worried about your travel to work being disrupted or you believe it is not safe to travel to work, you must inform your employer of these concerns as soon as possible.

It may be possible for your employer to take action to mitigate risks. For example, this could be providing transportation, extra security in and around hospital sites, changing working patterns, allowing you to work from home, changing your workplace temporarily, organising car-pooling for affected staff, and liaison with local police.

We have produced a 'Travel disruption and getting to work' advice guide, which outlines your rights. 

Find out about your employer’s obligations on personal safety and risk assessments using our 'Prioritising personal safety' advice guide.

Employers have a statutory duty to provide a safe place of work. If it is safe to work, you must honour your contractual obligation to do so. 

Whether it is safe or not will depend on an assessment of the risks. Your employer must undertake and regularly review a risk assessment to ensure your safety at work and take action to mitigate any risks. This could, for example, include having an effective means of raising an alarm, such as a lone worker device, pairing lone workers up while a threat exists or increasing security in a place of work. 

Find out about your employer’s obligations on personal safety and risk assessments using our 'Prioritising personal safety' advice guide.

No one should have to put up with abuse at work, including racial abuse. Your employer has an obligation to act to protect workers in these situations.

If you are subject to racial abuse from a patient, you should always report and record it with your employer using the appropriate reporting procedure at your place of work. Let your line manager know and ask them to act. Please see our raising concerns toolkit for further information.

Where there is any imminent threat to your personal safety, you should take action to protect yourself, escape/ withdraw from the situation and seek assistance. You may wish to read our guidance below on refusal to treat.

You can also report hate crimes against you through the government website.

No one should have to put up with abuse at work, including racial abuse. Your employer has an obligation to act to protect workers in these situations.

If you’re experiencing discriminatory behaviour, including racism, or fear physical violence, it may justify a refusal to treat. There are several things that need to be considered, and you should always consult your manager and make your concerns known verbally or in writing as soon as possible and follow local policies. For further information, read our 'Refusal to treat' advice guide.

You have a right to be safe at work irrespective of whether you are based in hospitals, mental health settings, in the community or other health care premises. 

Employees have certain rights to refuse to work in circumstances of danger.  An employer must not subject an employee to a detriment for leaving work in circumstances in which they reasonably believed they were in serious or imminent danger. This protection is set out in section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and it would also amount to automatic unfair dismissal if an employee were dismissed for this reason. 

If you believe you have suffered a detriment or were dismissed after taking action to keep yourself safe, contact us for further advice.

It is understandable, with the heightened risk, that many members from the global majority will feel increasingly worried and anxious about their own safety and that of loved ones, and this may impact negatively on their mental health. Your workplace Employee Assistance Programme or Occupational Health support and/or peer support from staff race equality networks, mental health first aiders and your RCN workplace reps and branch can all provide support. 

As a member, you can access our mental health and wellbeing resources, which include information on how to access our free counselling service.

Mind, the mental health charity, have a 'Useful contacts - racism and mental health' webpage which lists of organisations that offer support for people whose mental health is affected by racism.

First, acknowledging our colleagues from different international backgrounds may be affected by this is important. 

Let your colleagues know that you support them and that they can talk about the effect this is having on them in a safe space. Be aware that these concerns might go beyond the workplace and could include worries about family. Ask if there is anything you can do to help them personally in this challenging time.

You can also help us make our voice heard on these issues. Follow our social media channels, and like, click and share information about why immigration and diversity are a positive thing in health care and in our workplaces. Regular updates are posted, and you can do your part by spreading this message.

If you are a manager, consider what action you can take to mitigate risk proactively — do not wait to be asked. 

For example, can you proactively offer alternatives to public transport for a period or organise departmental carpools? Can you alter shift patterns or places of work? Can you let your affected staff have a break to check in with friends and family for support and to allay fears while they are at work? Have you signposted resources available to staff who may be struggling with the impact of these appalling riots?

You may choose to actively point your staff in the direction of our website for guidance, alongside any other internal sources of advice you can signpost. Let staff know that you take their safety seriously and that you are prepared to listen and act on issues raised with you.

If you have an issue at work and you are not being listened to, please contact us for help and support.

If you do not need or want active support but want to let us know about something that has happened, please complete our form to tell us about something you have seen or heard anonymously. This can be something you have experienced at work or outside of work related to the current situation. We want to hear your experiences so we can use that data to inform government and employers about your issues and the scale of the problem you are facing.

If you are experiencing racism at work or your concerns about this are not being taken seriously by your employer, please contact our advice team.