Behaviour Policy - Office of David Taylor MP
The Office’s casework service is supported by a small team of dedicated staff who work hard to help as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
Whilst the office understands people may act out of character in times of trouble or distress, we will not tolerate behaviour or actions that result in unacceptable or excessive demands on the office staff.
Objective:
To establish guidelines for respectful and constructive communication between constituents and the office, and to outline consequences for violating these guidelines.
Guidelines:
Respectful Language: Avoid using profanity, vulgar, discriminatory or any form of abusive language in any written or verbal communication. The office has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of swearing or abusive language.
Harassment: Recording telephone discussions and publishing the information, contacting staff using personal details or social media, and publishing personal, sensitive or private information about staff.
Constructive Criticism: If you have concerns or criticisms, please express them respectfully and constructively, avoiding personal attacks or threats.
Professionalism: Maintain a professional tone throughout your email, even when expressing frustration or disagreement.
Unacceptable Demands: Demanding repeated surgery appointments, responses in unreasonable time frames, unnecessary contact, (e.g. waiting for a reply from 3rd party), repeated contact help for the same issue when we have told you we have exhausted all support, refusing to accept a decision where David Taylor MP has no direct authority or would be inappropriate to be involved (e.g. court decision or private dispute).
Unacceptable Contact: Repeated telephone calls over a short period, lengthy phone calls repeating the same points, high volumes of repetitive written communication, unnecessarily or excessively copying the office into emails, knowingly providing incorrect information which wastes the office time and prevents successfully dealing with your case.
Consequences of Non-Compliance:
We will give you a chance to change your behaviour before we stop helping you, explaining why this needs to happen. The staff member will remove themselves from the situation if it continues and action will be taken.
Repeated violations of this policy may result in the following:
Calls: Placed on hold or call ended.
Surgeries: Ask you to leave and no further appointments.
Emails/Letters: Not reply and issue a warning.
Blocked: Your email address or phone number may be blocked to prevent further communication with the office.
Reported to Authorities: Threatening and/or offensive emails will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
The Equality Act:
The Office will meet the requirements of the Equalities Act 2010. This includes considering reasonable adjustments for those who request them. We will always consider the needs and circumstances that we have been made aware of, before deciding how to best manage the situation.
For example, using a different communication method, such as written communication in a large print, coloured text, or translated to another language.
Thank you for your cooperation in helping us maintain a respectful and productive communication environment.