Zero tolerance statement unacceptable behaviour towards staff

Adur & Worthing Councils adopt a zero-tolerance approach toward any behaviour that causes harm, fear, or distress to our workforce, or systematically undermines the stewardship of public funds. We are committed to delivering accessible, high-quality services while ensuring our staff, contractors, and volunteers can work in a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment free from fear, violence, or intimidation.

We recognise that residents may contact us during stressful or difficult times. While we always aim to communicate with empathy and make reasonable adjustments for individual needs, heightened anxiety or personal circumstances can never justify abusive, fraudulent, or anti-social actions.

Unacceptable behaviour:

We do not tolerate any form of the following misconduct across our physical premises, phone lines, in-person visits to private residences, business premises, or public spaces, as well as digital services and social media:

• Abuse and aggression: Threats, swearing, physical contact, or aggressive gestures.
• Harassment and discrimination: Bullying, intimidation, or hateful language targeted at individuals, including actions violating protected characteristics or building on systemic inequality.
• Digital misconduct: Public or private social media comments containing defamatory, offensive, or excessively hostile content directed at staff, councillors, or other residents.
• Serious anti-social behaviour: Persistent nuisance, property damage, or targeted intimidation that disrupts housing communities or local environments.
• Financial misuse: Fraudulent activity, deception, or corruption that intentionally misuses public funds, benefit schemes, or council resources.

What we ask of you:

To maintain a productive partnership, we expect all residents, service users, and visitors to:

• Treat council representatives with respect, courtesy, and fairness.
• Communicate in a polite, appropriate, and non-threatening manner.
• Allow officers and partners to perform their regulatory and community duties safely.

Actions we will take:

If an interaction violates these baseline standards, we will respond proportionately and decisively based on the severity of the situation:

• Warnings: We will explicitly identify the unacceptable behaviour and request that it stop immediately and where necessary place the individual on our 'customers of concern register'.
• Service restrictions: We reserve the right to end the call, restrict future communication channels, request that the individual leave the building or withdraw services.
• Account enforcement: Accounts engaging in unacceptable behaviour on our social media platforms will be blocked, hidden, or restricted.
• Legal and financial recovery: Instances of suspected fraud or criminal property damage will be thoroughly investigated to pursue maximum statutory sanctions and recover lost revenue.
• Police escalation: Any serious incidents involving violence, threats to personal safety, or hate crimes will be immediately reported to the police.

See also:

• Contact us

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