I am proud to represent over 70,000 people from the Blaydon and Consett constituency. My casework service is supported by two members of staff. We’re a small team of dedicated staff who work hard to support as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
There are occasions when people may act out of character in times of trouble or distress. There may have been upsetting or distressing circumstances leading up to a constituent approaching my office.
However, I will not tolerate unacceptable behaviour nor actions that result in unacceptable or excessive demands on my staff in a way that it prevents them from carrying out their duties effectively.
It is these behaviours and actions that I aim to manage under this Policy.
Aggressive or abusive behaviour
I understand that many constituents are often upset and angry about the issues they have raised with me. If that anger escalates into aggression towards my team, I consider that unacceptable. Any violence or abuse towards my team will not be tolerated.
Violence is not restricted to acts of aggression that may result in physical harm. It also includes behaviour or language (whether verbal or written) that may cause staff to feel offended, afraid, threatened or abused.
I will judge each situation individually and appreciate individuals who come to my office may be upset. While I accept that those who contact me may feel angry, it is not acceptable to shout or swear at anyone in my office.
Unacceptable language is that which:
- is offensive, derogatory or patronising,
- is discriminatory in any way, including racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic comments; or
- makes serious allegations that individuals have committed criminal, corrupt or perverse conduct without any evidence.
I may decide that comments aimed not at my team but at third parties are unacceptable because of the effect that listening or reading them may have on my team or on those within a social media platform.
Examples include rudeness, offensive comments, derogatory remarks, making inflammatory statements, or raising unsubstantiated allegations made towards these third parties.
All threats against either myself or my team will be taken extremely seriously and if my team feel scared or threatened at any point during a conversation with a constituent, the interaction may be ended at any time and the Police may be contacted.
Unreasonable demands
A demand becomes unacceptable when it starts to (or when complying with the demand would) impact substantially on the work my staff carry out on my behalf.
Examples of this behaviour include:
- repeatedly demanding response within an unreasonable timescale,
- insisting on seeing or speaking to a particular member of staff, when that is not possible,
- repeatedly changing the substance of a complaint or raising unrelated concerns.
An example of such impact would be that the demand takes up an excessive amount of time and in doing so disadvantages other constituents and prevents their own complaint from being dealt with quickly.
Unreasonable levels of contact
Sometimes the volume, frequency and duration of contact made to my office by an individual causes problems. This can occur over a short period, for example, a number of calls in one day or hour, or frequent and persistent emails on a vast range of issues which take up a disproportionate amount of staff time.
It may occur over the life-span of a complaint when a constituent repeatedly makes long telephone calls to us or inundates us with copies of information that has been sent already or that is irrelevant to the complaint.
Harassment
My team has the right to carry out their duties free from harassment or threats of harassment. I ask everyone to respect that my team are delivering a service on my behalf and therefore this may not reflect their own views or preferences.
Examples of behaviours I consider to be harassment against my office include:
- recording telephone discussions and publishing the information online such as through YouTube, Vimeo or Twitter;
- contacting staff using their personal details or social media presence such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn;
- publishing personal, sensitive or private information about staff online or other public domains such as noticeboards or newsletters.
Actions I may take
I am passionate about delivering for my constituents.
However, when this standards policy is breeched, it becomes an issue and can have a significant impact on my staff, who above all else, are there to help.
The actions I will consider may include the following:
- Warning the constituent about their behaviour and requesting that the constituent modifies their behaviour in future contact with us.
- Reporting an individual to the Police.
- Communicating only in writing or via a representative
- Deciding not to investigate a complaint on the basis that it has been pursued in a way that is unacceptable.
- Stop all communication with a constituent
- Restricting or limiting contact
- Your telephone number and email may be automatically blocked from our systems.
Where it is decided that formal action must be taken a note may be placed on our records to this effect.