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The Charity Commission is committed to providing a quality service to all our customers. We want people to be, and to feel, heard and understood.

We understand that, in times of trouble or distress, people may act out of character, and, in a very small number of cases, may behave in an unacceptable way despite our best efforts to help. This can affect our ability to do our work. It can also affect the well-being of our staff.

We have a duty to protect the welfare and safety of our staff. They should be able to come to work without fear of violence, abuse, harassment, or discrimination.

Purpose of this policy

This policy helps us to make sure we have a safe and respectful environment for Commission staff and for anyone who comes into contact with us. It explains what customers should expect from the Commission, 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

Our staff will:

• provide a fair, open, proportionate, and accessible service
• listen and seek to understand
• treat everyone who contacts us with respect, empathy, and dignity
• behave in line with the Civil Service Code

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

If you have a concern that you have not received the standards mentioned above, you can tell us. Or you can make a service complaint.

Types and examples of unacceptable behaviour

The Commission is here to help charities and those with a concern about a charity. But 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 our staff 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 customers 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. We will always consider each complaint on its own merits.

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

Examples of unreasonable demands include:

• refusing to follow our complaints procedure
• persistently pursuing a complaint where the Commission’s complaints procedure has been fully and properly exhausted, and either
  • no appeal has been made to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), or
  • the PHSO has considered 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
• insisting on seeing or speaking to a particular member of staff when a suitable alternative has been offered
• 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 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 customers know that their behaviour is becoming unacceptable.

• we will tell the customer 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 customer a warning in writing

Exceptionally, where for example a physical threat is made to a Commission employee, 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 customer exhibits unacceptable behaviour towards Commission staff, 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 customer. A senior manage 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 customer 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 customer
• 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 Commission’s social media and block users from our accounts
• in exceptional circumstances, refuse to consider a complaint or any further contact
• place correspondence on file without a further response
• apply the exemptions in information rights legislation which allow the Commission 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.

Where circumstances are serious enough to warrant further restrictions, we may take legal action to prevent further contact and protect our staff.

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.

How we will take account of our duties under the Equality Act 2010

We make sure that we meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. This includes making sure we consider adjustments for people with protected characteristics.

Some people may have difficulty expressing themselves or communicating clearly and/or appropriately. We will always consider the needs and circumstances that we have been made aware of, before deciding how best to manage the situation. This will include making reasonable adjustments. However, this does not mean we will tolerate abusive language, shouting, or other unacceptable behaviour or actions.

If an individual with a protected characteristic becomes the subject of a restriction under this policy, we will consider whether the restriction may affect them more than someone without that characteristic. If this is the case, we may make different arrangements so they can still access the service.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

°Õ³ó±ðÌý recognises that a small number of people who complain can be unreasonably persistent or behave unacceptably. It recommends that public bodies should have their own arrangements for managing unacceptable behaviour. If customers still, consider that they have been treated unreasonably they can . The PHSO website sets out what it can investigate and what it can recommend if it finds an organisation has not acted properly or fairly or has given you a poor service and not put things right.