A new campaign has been launched aimed at raising awareness of the violent and aggressive behaviour faced by staff at Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Image © B&NES Council
Examples of behaviour towards council workers include a worker being driven at, a female colleague followed back to her workplace and threatened with physical violence and another member of staff being threatened with a hammer.
The campaign is linked to a new Violence, Aggression, Threatening and Challenging Behaviour (Staff Safety) Policy which is being rolled out by the local authority.
Staff have also reported being sworn and shouted at, being trolled on social media and receiving persistent aggressive calls, visits or emails.
Councillor Kevin Guy, council leader, said: “Most people treat our staff with respect and they value the many services they provide to help improve people’s lives.
“Yet our staff sometimes face the risk of work-related violence, aggression, threatening or challenging behaviour from a small minority of the public.
“None of our staff should ever have to experience this as part of their job.
“As an employer the council is committed to providing and maintaining a safe working environment and safe systems of work for all staff which includes contractors and volunteers.
“We are taking a zero-tolerance approach towards unacceptable behaviour and the aim of the policy and campaign is to provide information to stop, control and respond to customers who are behaving in violent, aggressive, threatening or challenging manner.
“We all deserve to be safe at work and be treated with respect.”
