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Zero Tolerance of Abusive Behaviour Policy

Purpose of this policy 

This policy helps us to make sure we have a safe and respectful environment for myself, staff and for anyone who comes into contact with us. It explains what customers should expect from this office, how we expect staff to be treated and if we experience unacceptable behaviour, the action we will take to protect our staff and resources. 

What to expect from us 

My office will: 

• provide a fair, open, proportionate, and accessible service 

• listen and seek to understand 

• treat everyone who contacts us with respect, empathy, and dignity 

In return, we expect people accessing our services to: 

• be courteous 

• be truthful 

• engage with us in a way that does not hamper our ability to carry out our work effectively and efficiently for the benefit of all. 

Types and examples of unacceptable behaviour 

My office is here to help constituents of Southgate and Wood Green with matters relating to central government. We will not accept behaviours that are abusive or aggressive or which constitute vexatious or unreasonable demands. In this policy, we call these ‘unacceptable behaviours’. This section does not cover everything but gives some examples of these behaviours. 

Aggressive or abusive behaviour 

This is behaviour or language (written or spoken) that could cause my team to feel afraid, threatened, harassed or abused. This includes threatening emails, telephone calls, meetings, and comments on social media or elsewhere. 

For example: 

• insulting or degrading language, tone, including inappropriate banter, innuendo or malicious allegations 

• any form of physical violence or threats of physical violence 

• racist, sexist, ageist, or homophobic remarks 

• derogatory comments relating to disability, perceived gender, religion, belief, or any other personal characteristic 

Unreasonable demands and vexatious complaints 

There are times when constituents may contact us about the same issue and make requests that we cannot reasonably carry out. 

We will identify if this behaviour can be called ‘unreasonable demands’. We will take into account the circumstances of each case on its own merits. 

Unreasonable demands take up a disproportionate amount of time and resources and affect our ability to provide a service to other constituents. 

Examples of unreasonable demands include: 

• persistently pursuing a matter where this office has exhausted all procedure signposting available to each case, and either 

• no action has been taken by the constituent to contact the relevant body 

• the relevant guidance has been given and concluded the case 

• contacting us repeatedly and frequently without giving us enough time to respond to previous correspondence or placing unreasonable timescales for a response 

• visiting our offices without an appointment 

• seeking a considerable amount of information or the volume of correspondence they generate 

• focusing disproportionately on a matter in relation to its significance and continuing to focus on this point despite receiving proportionate responses addressing the matter 

• insisting on the same member of staff when a suitable alternative is available; conversely, pursuing the same complaint with different members of staff 

• recording face to face appointments, telephone meetings or conversations without the prior knowledge or consent of other people involved 

• inappropriately using information rights as a way to re-open an issue which has been comprehensively considered or as a way of causing disproportionate disruption. 

How we will respond to unacceptable behaviour 

In most instances, we will let constituents know that their behaviour is becoming unacceptable. 

• we will tell the constituent why their behaviour is unacceptable and ask them to stop 

• in calls or meetings, we will explain what needs to happen for the call or meeting to continue 

• if the unacceptable behaviour does not stop, our staff will end the meeting or call 

• our staff will then tell their manager who will keep a record of the incident. We may also follow up by sending the constituent a warning in writing 

Exceptionally, where for example a physical threat is made to myself or a member of team, we will end the call or meeting without telling the customer to amend their behaviour. If a criminal offence has been threatened or committed, we will refer the matter to the police. 

 

Communication restrictions 

If a constituent exhibits unacceptable behaviour towards myself or my team, or makes unreasonable demands, in the ways described in this policy, we can decide it is necessary to place a temporary or permanent communication restriction on a constituent. A senior manager will make this decision. We will make a note of the decision in our records. 

If we decide to do this, we will tell the constituent that we are doing so, setting out: 

• why we consider their behaviour was unacceptable 

• what action we are taking and if there is a time limit on the restrictions 

We may restrict communication so that it is: 

• limited to being conducted in writing, to a specific individual, email address or telephone 

• restricted to communicating through a third party such as an advocate 

• restricted in terms of the time or volume that we give to the constituent 

• limited in other ways which we consider appropriate in the circumstances, in line with this policy 

In addition, we reserve the right to: 

• restrict the issues on which we will correspond 

• block emails or telephone numbers if the number and length of communications sent is excessive 

• remove messages from social media and block users from my accounts 

• in exceptional circumstances, refuse to consider any further contact 

• place correspondence on file without a further response 

• apply the exemptions in information rights legislation which allow this office to protect our resources or not to respond to requests which involve a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption 

• take any other action which we consider necessary or appropriate to make this policy effective. 

We will regularly review any decision to restrict communications and when appropriate we may lift some or all restrictions. 

 

Safeguarding and disclosures 

If, in the course of our work, an individual threatens to harm themselves or others, we will consider disclosing this to a relevant health professional and the police. 

Our zero-tolerance approach 

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any threats of harm or harassment towards our staff. Harassment is conduct that causes alarm or distress to another person. It can include actions such as repeated unwanted communication, threats, stalking or any behaviour that makes someone feel scared, distressed or threatened. It is an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. If this behaviour happens, we are likely to stop all direct contact without warning. It will be escalated to a manager and will likely be reported to the police. 

We will regularly review any decision to restrict communications and when appropriate we may lift some or all restrictions.