Position Statement: Zero Tolerance

We have a zero-tolerance position on threatening, aggressive, abusive, violent behaviour, or any other act of discrimination; we will not tolerate it inside our organisation or against our staff from people outside the organisation.

Customer Service Principles

Historic England is committed to providing excellent customer service to everyone who contacts us.

  • We are committed to being professional, transparent, consistent and timely in the way we work.
  • We are committed to creating a safe, accessible and inclusive environment for our staff and customers.
  • We communicate in a way that’s clear, understandable, available and useful to everyone.
  • We are accountable to the public and we always act with integrity.

Managing unacceptable customer behaviour

We are committed to providing a professional and fair service to everyone we work with, and our Customer Service Principles set out what customers can expect from us. In return, we ask that customers and contacts respect our staff and those commissioned or contracted to work for us.

We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our people - incidents of unacceptable behaviour can have a substantial impact on our people and their wellbeing, and we will take any such incidents very seriously.

We won’t tolerate threatening, aggressive, abusive, or violent behaviour. Under these circumstances, no member of staff should be required to, or feel obliged to, deal with any customer either face to face, over the phone or in correspondence.

Historic England handles thousands of enquiries a year. While it will only be in exceptional circumstances that the unacceptable behaviour policy will apply to a customer interaction, it is intended to be a tool for Historic England to enable us to deal with unacceptable behaviour professionally, consistently, and fairly. It applies to all our customers, contacts and enquirers. Contact via social networks or digital platforms is also covered by this policy.

This policy does not apply to requests which are being considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Requests which may be vexatious will be considered using the ‘Guidance on vexatious or repeated requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000’ document. This policy also excludes requests arising under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

‘Vexatious’ behaviour is defined as:
Behaviour causing or tending to cause annoyance, frustration or worry.

This policy is separate from our complaints process. We recognise that there are times when a customer may wish to raise a complaint and we encourage customers to let us know when we have not got things right – please see Complaints for more information.

Deciding whether a customer’s or enquirer’s behaviour is unacceptable requires judgement, considering all the circumstances of the case.

For the purposes of this position statement, unacceptable behaviour is defined as:
Behaviour or language (written, verbal or online) that we consider may cause staff to feel intimidated, afraid, offended, threatened or abused, or discriminated against.

This includes face to face, telephone, written, digital (including social media) communication and contact.

We recognise that an individual may act out of character when frustrated or unhappy with our service. There may have been upsetting or distressing circumstances leading up to contact with Historic England and we will take this into account. However, actions from an individual that are angry, demanding, or persistent will be deemed unacceptable.

Where the behaviour is directly linked to a disability, mental health or long-term health condition and we are made aware of this, we will take this into account and seek to make reasonable adjustments to ensure we engage with all customers equally and equitably. However, this does not mean that we will accept violent, abusive or discriminatory behaviour towards our staff nor expect them to tolerate this.

How we aim to manage our response depends on the nature and extent of an individual’s actions.

If we feel that a customer’s behaviour is unacceptable, we will first ask the customer to modify their behaviour.

If the behaviour continues, staff are advised to remove themselves from the situation, this may include termination of the call/correspondence, immediate departure from a building or site, asking the customer to leave the building or seeking assistance. We will then follow a review and reporting process.

If the behaviour continues to adversely affect our staff, our ability to do our work or provide a service to others, we may need to take further action.

We do not engage with contact that is aggressive, abusive, or offensive to staff. When this happens, we will inform the enquirer that we consider their language offensive and state that we will not respond to their correspondence if they do not moderate their use of language. We may require future contact to be through a third party.
Where the behaviour is extreme or it threatens the immediate safety and welfare of staff, property or assets, we may need to escalate to the Police or other service or take legal action.

We will always explain what action we are taking and why. Wherever possible, we will give the customer or enquirer the opportunity to modify their behaviour or action before a decision is taken on next steps.

Historic England’s online channels are designed as places to share our collective appreciation of heritage and discuss our work and relevant latest news. We want to keep them an open forum, and we love hearing ideas and opinions, but we need comments and posts to be clean so that our pages can remain safe and enjoyable for everyone.

In addition to the behaviours listed above, all digital users must comply with the social media platform's terms of use as well as Historic England’s Blog and Social House rules and website terms and conditions. We may not view, edit or pre-screen every contribution made and therefore cannot assume responsibility for having made it available. If we consider that any of the above terms of use are breached, Historic England, and others designated, have the right to block users and refuse, remove or edit any content that is posted, or made available, without the need to give any reason for doing so.

If the customer disagrees with the final decision, they are entitled to make a complaint.

You can contact us at: [email protected]

Address:
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Historic England
4th Floor
Cannon Bridge House
25 Dowgate Hill
London EC4R 2YA

All contact that causes concern will be recorded and kept as evidence to support further action, and escalation and allow for any appeal or annual review to be carried out.

This information will be stored and managed in line with our privacy notice.

Date: September 2024
Review date: September 2025