7.1 Unreasonable behaviour

Unreasonably persistent behaviour is characterised by someone trying to dominate our attention with frequent, lengthy contacts and repetitive information.

If an advisor thinks the nature or frequency of a complainant’s contact is unwarranted and unhelpful they should normally discuss this with an ITL who will consider appropriate steps towards moderating the complainant’s behaviour. This can include a discussion with the CSM about restricting their access to the service.

Notes should also be placed on ECHO to alert the next person who may have to deal with the person in question.

7.2 Unacceptable Behaviour

Unacceptable behaviour includes deceitful, abusive, threatening or similar actions that adversely affect the capacity and well being of staff.

Intake advisors may receive correspondence that contains offensive material. If this happens it should be discussed with the Team Leader who will then consider whether it is necessary to write to the person to draw attention to the offensive remarks and ask them to stop.

In addition, the behaviour of complainants during telephone calls may be deemed to be unacceptable. Where offensive or abusive remarks are made, the advisor is correct to highlight this  and ask the caller to stop otherwise their call may be brought to a close.

If this continues, then it is acceptable for the advisor to prematurely finish the call.

If an advisor ends a call for these reasons, they will record the incident and flag it to the ITL who will then decide if further action is required.

Wherever possible, notes should also be placed on ECHO to alert the next member of staff who may have to deal with the person in question.

For further guidance on how to deal with these situations see: Guidance on managing challenging complainant behaviour