Unacceptable Behaviour & Aggression Policy

Our policy

We appreciate that when contacting the CSA, you have done so with a reason that is important to you and we are here to help and assist as much as we can. We cannot always address issues immediately, but if we can resolve a problem we will endeavour to do so. However, we believe our people staff have a right to work in a safe and non-threatening environment, and to be treated with dignity and respect.

We will not tolerate abusive or aggressive behaviour towards staff, verbal or otherwise. Our company has an Unacceptable Behaviour & Aggression Policy which does not tolerate certain behaviours, including:

• Verbal abuse, threats, swearing, personal abuse directed at staff or offensive remarks

• Acts of written or verbal abuse including of a discriminatory, intimidatory or threatening nature

• Language or behaviour which is considered to be sexual harassment

• Unsubstantiated, vexatious or defamatory allegations about our employees

Our policy is to document all instances of abuse and record this and make available such records to relevant authorities or as evidence in court. Continuing abuse or aggressive behaviour could result in your call or correspondence being terminated, and you may be blocked from further communication.

Our policy applies to:

• all areas of our work

• anyone who contacts us including existing or potential members, complainants, representatives and businesses

• all methods of contact including telephone, face to face, letters, emails, social media and other digital channels

Before we make any decisions under this policy, we will look at what has occurred and consider individual circumstances. If we decide to take action to manage unreasonable behaviour, we will let you know why.

For complainants using our service

We recognise that the issues leading to a complaint can be frustrating and upsetting. But our staff always deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect. So, if frustration or upset turns into unreasonable behaviour, we will take action to manage it.

Aggressive or abusive behaviour

We deal with issues that can sometimes be emotive, and we accept that complainants may be unhappy when they contact us or may not agree with the outcome we reach.

But it is unacceptable for our staff to experience aggressive or abusive behaviour while at work. We won't accept or tolerate behaviour that we consider to be violent, insulting or threatening, such as:

• offensive language

• any form of discrimination

• inflammatory statements, that are intended to upset someone or make them angry

• any threat of physical violence

• malicious communication, for example indecent, offensive or threatening letters, emails or articles, that are intended to upset the person receiving them.

Unreasonable demands

We will help complainants understand what they can expect from our service. But if a complainant makes unreasonable demands, that may mean we can’t provide the service we want to.

Examples of unreasonable demands include insisting on:

• a response or action within an unreasonable time

• speaking to a particular member of staff when we’ve explained they’re not available

• speaking to someone who we’ve explained isn’t the right person.

Excessive or inappropriate levels of contact

We understand complainants, and their personal and professional representatives will contact us. But, if a complainant or representative contacts us too often it can affect our ability to do our job well.

Examples of excessive or inappropriate levels of contact include:

• making the same request a number of times or to several members of staff without good reason

• repeated phone calls or contact, emails, letters or visits to our offices when we’ve already given a response, or we’ve set expectations about when to expect a response

• pretending to be someone else, for example, a personal or professional representative

• unreasonable and persistent use of our complaint process

Actions we might take

Where we find the behaviour and demands of complainants to be unreasonable, we will consider whether we need to take more formal action. This might include:

• explaining to the complainant why we think their behaviour is unreasonable and what action we might take if it continues

• stopping communication about a particular issue or question that we feel we’ve already responded to or answered

• stopping communication with someone by phone and only contacting them in writing

• stopping direct communication with someone and only communicating through a verifiable representative

• stopping the investigation of a complaint

• notifying relevant public authorities, including the police, and taking further action if necessary.

We will aim to keep the impact of this to the minimum necessary for us to solve the problem.