Zero Tolerance Policy

This practice has a zero tolerance approach to aggression, abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour. Anything deemed as such will not be tolerated, be it through face-to-face communication, emails, letters or telephone calls.

The health and safety of SPA Vets’ employees is of paramount importance. In the vast majority of cases, owners are respectful towards those who are providing a service to them but a minority of people are abusive or use threatening behaviour.

The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of aggression and inappropriate behaviour towards our staff. We are committed to the creation of a culture and environment where our employees may undertake their duties without fear of abuse or violence and we retain the right to refuse treatment where such behaviour has occurred.

Such behaviour or the use of inappropriate language causing distress and/or constituting harassment will not be tolerated and could lead to the person being removed from the practice list. In extreme cases, the police may be contacted if an incident is taking place where a client is posing a threat to staff or other members of the public.

Harassment may defined as any unwanted physical or verbal conduct that offends or humiliates the recipient and that any reasonable person ought to have known would be unwelcome. Whilst it is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of this type of incident, some examples are provided below:

• Threatening or abusive language including excess swearing or offensive remarks or gestures
• Racist, religious or sexual comments
• Loud and intrusive conversation
• Malicious allegations relating to members of staff
• Violence, perceived acts of violence or threats of violence
• Inappropriate behaviour as a result of alcohol or misuse of illicit drugs
• Intimidation, threats or threatening behaviour
• Unreasonable behaviour and non-cooperation