In a significant achievement for multi-sectoral social dialogue,trade unions and employers’ organizations from five sectors have signed Guidelines to prevent and tackle violence and harassment related to work.
These guidelines update the existing Guidelines that date from 2010 notably by expanding their scope to include cyberviolence and underscore the principles of gender equality and anti-discrimination.
The Guidelines address third-party violence and harassment related to work, which refers to violence and harassment perpetrated by clients, customers, patients, service users, students or parents, members of the public, or other service providers, and differs from violence perpetrated by co-workers or employers.
The Guidelines were signed at the Liaison Forum meeting chaired by the European Commission on 6 May 2025 by social partners representing employers and workers in:
- central government administrations
- local and regional governments
- hospitals
- education
- HORECA (hotels, restaurants and cafeterias)
These economic sectors are particularly exposed to third-party violence and harassment. They jointly employ more than 50 million workers across the EU who can potentially benefit from the implementation of the Guidelines.
The document sets out practical steps that employers and workers can take together to tackle third party violence and harassment related to work. In these Guidelines, social partners reiterate their commitment to a zero-tolerance policy on third-party violence and harassment at work and emphasise the need to take a gender-responsive and intersectional approach to this issue. They underline the importance of social dialogue in designing and implementing policies to prevent and mitigate the consequences of this issue.
The signatories of the updated Guidelines stress that third-party violence and harassment at work has serious consequences for the health, dignity, and confidence of workers. Third-party violence and harassment undermines the working environment, staff morale, the attractiveness of jobs and retention of workers. It can also create an unsafe environment for the public and service users and has a wide negative social impact.
Key measures
Though not legally binding, the Guidelines provide fundamental guidance on how to implement effective policies and procedures in consultation with workers and their trade union representatives. Some of the key measures introduced are:
- better identifying the risks: the identification of risks is crucial to better inform prevention strategies at work. Occupational-safety and Health (OSH) risk assessments should be used to map the risks linked to the sector and in the different occupations and develop appropriate preventive and reactive measures
- reporting and responses procedures: accessible, confidential and safe channels to report incidents should be in place for workers to report third-party violence to line managers knowing that their anonymity is preserved
- support for victims: affected workers should have access to appropriate support services to allow them to cope with the consequences of third-party violence and harassment at work
- training and awareness: continuous training for employers and workers to recognise, prevent, and handle third-party violence and harassment related to work helps foster a workplace culture of zero tolerance and equip workers with a better understanding of their rights and the reporting procedures in place
Instances of third-party violence and harassment at work have escalated, notably during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Eurofound’s data shows that 12.5% of workers in the EU have experienced some form of adverse social behaviour, with causative factors including increased digitalization, labour and skills shortages leading to understaffing, and gender-based violence.
The share of women experiencing adverse social behaviour at work was higher than that of men, with the most significant discrepancy observed in reporting unwanted sexual attention, where women (3%) are more likely to be affected than men (1%). Further, women in the 16-24 age group are more likely to report unwanted sexual attention, being disproportionately targeted (8%).
Background
Inspired by the ILO Convention 190, the term work-related “third-party violence and harassment” or TPVH refers to a range of unacceptable behaviours and practices, or threats thereof – whether isolated or repeated – that aim at, result in, or are likely to cause physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm perpetrated by third parties. Perpetrators of third-party violence and harassment refer to third parties, either individuals or groups, meaning clients, customers, patients, service users, students or parents, members of the public, or service providers.
The original Multi-sectoral Guidelines on Third Party Violence at work were adopted in 2010. In 2023, some of the signatory social partner organisations adopted an action plan to review the original 2010 Guidelines.
In 2024, social partners from five sectors (hospitals and healthcare, education, local and regional governments, central government administrations, and HORECA) negotiated the revision with a focus on the following policy areas:
- gender-based violence including domestic violence
- digitalisation and cyberviolence
- health risk assessments
- support and compensation of victims/survivors of violence
- effective implementation at national level
The European Commission provided support for the negotiation meetings between the social partners. Representatives of the European Commission at the signing ceremony included Ana Carla Pereira, Director for Equality and Non-Discrimination at DG JUST, and Maria Luisa Llano Cardenal, Head of Unit for Social Dialogue at DG EMPL.
Future multi-sectoral social partner updates relating to third-party violence and harassment will be made available at thirdpartyviolence.com The website will serve as a central repository of knowledge and resources, facilitating the sharing of good practice among signatories and other stakeholders.
The signatory parties to the reviewed Guidelines on third party violence and harassment related to work are, on the side of trade unions:
- European Public Service Union (EPSU) representing workers in central government administrations, local and regional governments, and hospitals and health care
- European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) representing workers in central government administrations and with observer status in education and in local and regional governments
- European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture, and Tourism sectors (EFFAT) represents workers in the tourism sector
- European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) representing workers in the sector of education
On the side of employer organizations, the signatory parties to the reviewed Guidelines are:
- Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) from the sector of local and regional governments
- European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM) from the hospital and healthcare sector
- European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE) from the sector of education
- European Public Administration Employers (EUPAE) from central government administrations
- Association of Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe (HOTREC) from the sector of hotels, restaurants and cafeterias