If you're affected by the far-right riots and racist attacks

There are reports that people involved in the riots are targeting people who work for certain companies, like immigration lawyers.

Your employer must carry out a risk assessment in response to any risks to the health and safety of workers. 

The risk assessment should try to protect you from any risks to your health or safety while at work.

If your employer thinks your workplace might be targeted, they should allow you to work from another site or from home, if possible. They shouldn’t expect you to go to your workplace.

If your employer says you should go to your workplace, speak to your employer or your workplace health and safety representative.

You should explain to your employer that you’re worried about your safety. You could also speak to your colleagues about your concerns. You might find it easier to approach your employer as a group.

If they say you must attend work, you can raise a formal grievance with your employer.

Check how to write a grievance letter.

There are reports that people involved in the riots are targeting:

• people of colour

• Muslims

• migrants and refugees

• members of other marginalised groups, like Jews / Jewish people

If you’re worried you could be a target, speak to your employer. Ask them to make changes to remove the risk to you.

For example, you could ask your employer to:

• make changes to the way you work - they might change the hours you work or your delivery route

• let you work from home or at a different site

• pay for a taxi for you to get to and from work

• let you work in pairs

Your employer doesn’t usually have to pay you if you choose to stop working. There are things you might be able to agree with your employer that mean you can still be paid if you stop working.

You could ask your employer if you can:

• use some of your annual leave to take paid time off

• take unpaid time off

You should also check what benefits you can get from the government.

You might be finding it more difficult to go to work or do your job because of the racist riots. For example, you might feel stressed about travelling to work on public transport.

You should talk to your employer about your situation. 

If your condition has an impact on your day-to-day activities, you might be disabled under the Equality Act.

If you’re disabled under the Equality Act, your employer has a duty to help you by changing the way you work - this is called making ‘reasonable adjustments.’

Reasonable adjustments could include:

• letting you work from home, even if that’s not normal for your workplace

• changing your hours of work so you can avoid crowded public spaces and transport

• paying for you to use alternative travel to work such as taxis, where reasonable

You can check if you’re disabled under the Equality Act.

You can check our advice about asking for reasonable adjustments if you’re disabled.

If you don’t think you’re disabled under the Equality Act

You can still ask your employer to make changes that help you do your job. 

If they refuse to make changes, you might not be able to use the Equality Act to challenge them.

You should talk to an adviser. They could help you negotiate with your employer.

Tell your landlord if you’ve experienced harassment, or if you don’t feel safe in your property. This could be because:

• someone is intimidating you

• your property has been vandalised or graffitied

• there are riots planned in your local area

Your landlord should have an anti-social behaviour or harassment policy - you should be able to download it from your landlord’s website. 

If your neighbours are harassing you, your landlord should warn them to stop. Your landlord and the police might also be able to work together to respond to the harassment or anti-social behaviour. For example, police officers can order someone who’s harassing you to leave an area for up to 48 hours.

Check the government’s guidance about how council and housing association tenants can deal with anti-social behaviour on GOV.UK.

If you’re experiencing harassment or are worried about your safety, you should contact the police or Victim Support.

Check how to contact Victim Support on their website.

You can also contact your local council’s homelessness team to see if they can give you advice.

Your local authority might find you somewhere to stay if you're at risk of physical violence.

You can contact your local council for more support - they might be able to give you advice on keeping safe.

Your local authority might find you somewhere to stay if you're at risk of physical violence.

Contact your homeless officer. Tell them about your situation and why you’re worried about your safety. 

If you’re living on the streets, they might be able to find you somewhere to live. This will depend on your situation. Find your local council on GOV.UK. 

If you’re currently in temporary accommodation, your local council must make sure the accommodation is suitable for you and anyone who lives with you.

If you don’t feel safe in your temporary accommodation, ask your homelessness officer to find somewhere else for you to stay. 

If you need help to challenge the suitability of your accommodation, talk to an adviser.

You should still contact your local authority - ask them what’s available locally to help those who are sleeping on the streets.

If you made a homeless application in the past and it was turned down, you’ll have to show there’s been a change in your situation. For example, you might have found accommodation and lost it since your last application.

Check if you can apply for homeless help.