In today’s workplace, safeguarding isn’t just best practice, it’s a legal duty.
Employers have a clear responsibility to provide a safe working environment for everyone, and that includes being proactive in preventing harm, abuse, and exploitation. Whether your setting involves children, adults at risk, service users, or staff, you are legally and ethically bound to protect them.
Several laws support this duty:
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure a safe working environment for employees and anyone affected by their operations.
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 now places a positive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment of employees, including by third parties.
The Children Act 1989 and 2004 and the Care Act 2014 establish a duty to safeguard children and adults with care and support needs.
In educational settings, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) is statutory guidance that outlines employer responsibilities — including safe recruitment, reporting concerns, and designating safeguarding leads.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 underpins vetting processes for people working with children and adults at risk.
HR policies also play a crucial role. Your safeguarding responsibilities are reflected in whistleblowing, safer recruitment, grievance and disciplinary procedures, and your staff code of conduct. Together, they create the framework for fulfilling your duty of care.
Beyond Compliance: Creating a Culture of Safety
It’s one thing to have a safeguarding policy. It’s another to make sure it’s understood, lived, and applied.
Safeguarding means protecting individuals' health, wellbeing, and rights, and preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation. But it can’t sit in a file. It needs to live in your culture.
At Emmaus, we support organisations across sectors to develop systems that move beyond compliance into embedded safeguarding practice. One employer came to us after repeated low-level concerns had been missed. A serious incident finally prompted action. Together, we conducted a full review, developed leadership training, and created safer disclosure routes. The result? Greater awareness, more confident staff, and significantly reduced risk.
Lesson? Policies alone don’t prevent harm. Culture does.
Domestic Abuse: A Workplace Safeguarding Issue
Domestic abuse doesn’t stay at home, and employers can play a key role in recognising the signs.
Whether your team is based in a retail unit, a regional office, or on the road, employees affected by abuse may show signs including absence patterns, anxiety, isolation, or reduced performance. Sometimes, the workplace is their only place of safety.
You don’t have to be an expert, but you do need to:
Train managers to recognise the signs
Establish clear disclosure pathways
Ensure staff feel believed and supported when they speak up
Emmaus Global believe every employer can, and should — take action to protect staff affected by domestic abuse.
Working Together – How Emmaus Can Help
At Emmaus, we journey alongside organisations to strengthen safeguarding from the inside out.
We offer:
Strategic investigation support
Safeguarding audits and risk reviews
Bespoke learning and development programmes
Support embedding trauma-informed, multi-agency practices
Whether you’re refining what’s already in place or starting from scratch, we bring practical, sector-specific insight and help you meet your obligations with confidence.
What’s Next?
Ask yourself:
Do our safeguarding responsibilities go beyond policy and into practice?
Are our leaders and teams equipped to recognise and respond to harm?
Could we confidently support someone facing abuse or risk?
If you're not sure, that's the moment to act.
We’d welcome a conversation about your safeguarding maturity and how we can help you build systems that protect people, reputations, and futures.
Safeguarding isn’t a checklist. It’s a culture. And building it starts with you.
Please contact for any further information or support
Dawn Grant Email: Dawn@EmmausGlobal.co.uk
Website: https://emmausglobal.co.uk Tel: 07908 449936
