Managing unreasonable customer behaviour policy

We're committed to delivering on our Customer Promise. At the same time our staff have the right to work in a safe and respectful environment.

We have zero tolerance for discriminatory, threatening, and abusive behaviour towards our staff. We will act quickly and decisively to manage unreasonable customer behaviour.

This policy sets out how we, Brighton & Hove City Council will address unreasonable customer behaviour. 

This policy aims to:

• define what we mean by ‘unreasonable customer behaviour’
• ensure our staff are protected from harm and abuse
• clarify how unreasonable customer behaviour will be managed in a consistent and constructive manner
• ensure our limited council resources are applied efficiently and fairly, which is not always possible when a small number of customers unjustifiably take up a disproportionate amount of time

Our customers include everyone who lives, works, visits or does business in Brighton & Hove; we all use council services such as street cleaning and lighting, highway maintenance and waste management. This also includes those who actively interact with the council (for example, residents who live in council housing) as well as those people that the council has to interact with, such as clients where we have a duty of care.

This policy applies to:

• all contact received across the council's various channels including:
  • telephone
  • written correspondence (including emails, online forms, social media, letters) 
  • face to face contact both on council's premises and any other locations in the community including resident’s homes
• those individuals representing the customer such as family members, advocates
• all services provided by Brighton & Hove City Council whether delivered directly by us or by contractors or other third parties on our behalf

We are committed to delivering our services in line with our Customer Promise and welcome all feedback, including when things do not go right, as feedback helps us learn when we make mistakes and we are committed to using this information to improve our services.

We will always seek to deal with customers fairly, inclusively, and respectfully. We also have a responsibility and duty of care to ensure our staff are kept safe (both physically and mentally), treated fairly with respect and dignity. We believe our staff have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment, free from abuse, disrespect, and harm whilst delivering services to all those who live, work, study, and visit the city. 

We will not tolerate any behaviours that are derogatory, abusive, racist, phobic, and discriminatory in any way, including those that are hateful, threatening, intimidating or violent towards our staff or other customers and service users. In keeping with the Equality Act 2010, our staff, like our customers are also deserving of safety and protection.

From time-to-time unreasonable customer behaviour can disrupt council services or take up a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources affecting the city-wide support we provide. In some cases, concerns consequently arise about the health, wellbeing, and safety of staff to whom we also have a duty of care.

This policy is designed to assist staff in consistently and inclusively addressing unreasonable customer behaviour. 

We appreciate how frustrating it can be when something has gone wrong with a service we provide, or where we are unable to provide a service that a customer would like from us. 

We also appreciate that people experience many barriers and pressures (for example, cost of living, vulnerability, and trauma impacts, both visible and invisible) and we understand that it is frustrating when we cannot help or solve a problem. 

We will always do our best to assist but sometimes there are things we cannot change or control because there are laws, rules or other limitations that we have to work within. This might restrict our ability to solve certain problems or provide the exact solutions customers are looking for.

We will always think about each customer's situation and see if there are specific things affecting them or any barriers we need to understand better, so we can offer different kinds of help. Barriers and circumstances can be intersectional and complex, involving various factors, including disabilities which can be visible and non-visible, for example:

• anxiety
• chronic conditions
• neurodivergence
• domestic violence
• language differences
• literacy barriers
• digital exclusion
• D/deafness
• sight loss
• social deprivation

In these cases, we will collaborate with customers to find solutions. We may ask for specific details, including sensitive information like protected characteristics, to fulfil our duties to promote fairness and inclusivity in the services we provide. This helps us ensure fair access and opportunities for everyone, even within our limitations.

We will continue to offer the best level of service that we can, even in challenging circumstances and will take steps to check our decision-making through relevant internal consultation, using customer feedback, and reflective case assessment approaches. However, in a small number of cases, unreasonable behaviour can be directed towards our staff and negatively impact other customers/service users.

There are a range of behaviours which have been identified as ‘unreasonable’ and affect our ability to serve all our different customers fairly and equally. 

These fall broadly under one of the following categories:

A. Aggressive or abusive behaviour

We appreciate that anger, distress, and frustration can rise when an issue remains unresolved and is continuing to directly impact customers or their families. When anger, distress, and frustration escalate into aggression, violence or abuse towards our staff, this is considered unacceptable.

Aggressive or abusive behaviour can be physically or emotionally hurtful or harmful towards our staff and other customers or service users. 

This includes the following behaviours directed towards our staff, in-person, verbally or in writing:

• abusive
• offensive
• discriminatory or threatening language
• threats
• intimidation
• harassment 
• physically aggressive 

Inflammatory, aggressive, disrespectful statements and unsubstantiated allegations may also be considered abusive. 

Harassing behaviours towards our staff or other customers include:

• sexual innuendos
• aggression
• micro-aggressions
• victimisation
• bullying 

In keeping with our Customer Promise, we expect our customers to treat our staff and other customers with respect – the very same way our customers expect to be treated by us. 

We have a zero-tolerance approach to the following behaviours directed towards our staff:

• racist
• sexist
• homophobic
• transphobic 
• any other discriminatory, abusive, and threatening behaviour

Examples include but are not limited to:

• sending rude, abusive, harassing, racist, phobic, discriminatory, or threatening correspondence or expressing related views
• making unsubstantiated allegations about a staff member’s capabilities and/or asking for their employment to be terminated
• publication of abusive, harassing, racist, phobic, discriminatory, or threatening material including on the internet, or via social media
• acting in an abusive, aggressive, racist, phobic, discriminatory, harassing, or disruptive manner whilst attending our Customer Service Centres, or other council offices or sites
• shouting, threatening, harassing, or acting in a disruptive manner at council or committee meetings and with our staff
• physical, verbal, and insinuated or implied threats of violence towards our staff and/ or other customers
• the use of animals to intimidate and threaten staff 

B. Unreasonable demands and/or extensive contact

A demand can be unreasonable when it takes up a disproportionate amount of staff time and resource to resolve (based on the needs of the individual customer), where these could be used to provide or improve council services for the majority of our customers.

This may involve an individual making repeated contact with us, re-sending extensive communications, contacting multiple staff repeatedly, aggressively and often about the same issue which is ongoing or where we have explained what we can and/or cannot do to resolve it.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• unreasonably engaging in multiple, lengthy correspondence with council staff
• repeatedly asking questions that take up a disproportionate amount of staff time to deal with
• insisting on immediate responses to enquiries or requests raised
• repeatedly refusing to accept the council’s decision or explanation
• insisting on how a matter should be handled, especially if it is unreasonable or goes against council policy
• refusing to mediate and problem solve alongside the council or share information that can help us resolve the issue
• refusing to accept that some issues are not within the council’s remit to action or influence for change
• repeatedly insisting on the importance of minor or technical issues that do not impact the outcome of the council’s decision on the issue
• refusing attempts at mediation or resolution
• raising repeat issues with minor additions or variations, insisting these are ‘new’ issues or complaints requiring attention
• refusing to follow the relevant escalation route when an outcome is not as expected or preferred
• making representations claiming to represent organisations or groups for which they do not have authority
• pressuring the council and staff to act under threats and duress or threatening consequences

We appreciate that a customer’s behaviour towards us may be impacted by various barriers and personal circumstances. When we decide what to do, we will consider these factors and ensure our plans take into account a customer’s protected characteristics and specific requirements in a fair and inclusive way.

Step 1: Warning

If we think a customer’s behaviour has become unreasonable, our staff will explain this to them and ask them to alter their actions or behaviour. This means we can keep helping them while also making sure our staff stay safe.

We may also choose to issue a warning (verbally and/or in writing) to customers that, if this continues, we may take further action to restrict future contact with us. In extreme cases, we may need to report the matter to the police or take legal action. 

Where the warning does not change the nature of the behaviour, staff may:

• terminate the telephone call, appointment, meeting or visit
• escalate the situation to their manager for further action
• ask the person to leave the premises through the use of appropriate means
• report the incident to the police
• take any other action considered appropriate to the circumstances

Step 2: Managing ongoing customer contact

Outside of exceptional considerations and circumstances, where customer behaviour continues to remain unreasonable, or their behaviour is so inappropriate as to cause immediate concern then we may need to take an alternative approach to communication.

The decision to manage an individual’s contact with a council service will only be taken if it is proportionate to do so and/or our requests for a customer to modify their language/tone/approach/behaviour have not been met.

Managing contact could include but is not limited to:

• developing an approach to future communication in collaboration with the customer
• restricting communication to one specific form of contact (such as email) and/or restricting contact to a specific named staff member or team mailbox
• restricting times when telephone calls can be accepted (specific days/and or times)
• replying on a scheduled basis (for example once every 10 or 20 working days to any legitimate issues raised.) If there is a need for ongoing interaction with the customer, the frequency of these communications may need to be increased
• continuing contact through an independent advocate
• temporarily restricting access to council premises
• refraining from replying to customers on specific issues

Each case will be reviewed and considered on an individual case by case basis, and any action taken would be appropriate to the circumstances.

The decision to manage a person’s contact in an alternative way with a council service must be reviewed and approved by the relevant manager. This decision will consider all factors including exceptional circumstances or barriers faced by the customer due to any known or advised protected characteristics, at risk factors, or other relevant reasons.

Decisions will also be reviewed and approved when new information around protected characteristics, barriers, circumstances, and inclusive adjustments becomes available or is offered by the customer.

Once a decision has been taken to manage contact, the council service will formally advise the customer of this decision which will include details of how to request a review of the decision.

A manager (not involved in the original decision) will consider any request for review and will formally advise the person of their decision determining whether the alternatively managed contact arrangements still apply or whether an alternative course of action has been agreed.

When we decide to restrict communication with a customer, we will still work to resolve their enquiry/complaint if it has not already been dealt with, and we will continue to deliver services equally to the customer, in line with our duties and obligations. It is important to note that managing contact in an alternative way with the customer will not affect decisions or outcomes of any requests or applications they have made.

Any new complaints or enquiries received from the customer will be treated on their own merits. Previous action taken to alternatively manage contact with a customer will not automatically be applied to any new issues subsequently raised.

If a customer continues to contact the council in breach of the contact arrangements, we may need to consider further proportionate restrictions. In some more extreme cases, we may need to consider other legal interventions and enforcement options as detailed below in c. Further intervention and enforcement options.

Step 3: Further intervention and enforcement options

In cases where customers have repeatedly acted in an abusive, aggressive, disruptive manner or their behaviour is so unreasonable, as to cause immediate concern, there are a range of interventions and enforcement options that may also be considered including:

• inclusion on the Clients of Concern register
• removal of implied right of entry from a council building for a fixed or permanent period
• serving notices
• civil injunctions
• community protection notices
• criminal or civil prosecution

We may also make the police and the Safer Communities Team aware. 

If a Councillor experiences unreasonable customer behaviour, we will review these instances on a case-by-case basis to assess whether this policy applies in these circumstances. Where appropriate, we will respond to the issue in accordance with this policy. 

This policy will continue to be reviewed and revised as needed based on feedback received from staff and customers. 

If you feel there are things in this policy that we can consider or improve, send an email to CustomerFeedback@brighton-hove.gov.uk with your suggestions. 

You may also wish to copy our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) team for their awareness where your feedback involves equalities and inclusion issues Equalities@brighton-hove.gov.uk.