Introduction

In a small number of cases people interact with services in a way that is unreasonable. This may include being unreasonably persistent in relation to their contact and submission of information. This can prevent organisations from providing services to the individual and others and have a significant impact on staff wellbeing. These actions can occur during delivery of a service, while a complaint is being investigated, or once an organisation has finished the complaint investigation.

However, the decision to restrict access to services, including the ability to raise complaints, should not be taken lightly. There is an inherent imbalance of power between organisations and individuals and careful consideration should be given to an organisation’s duties under equality and human rights act legislation. Organisations should not operate a blanket approach to managing challenging actions and should consider the circumstances of each individual case.

This guide aims to help local authorities and other bodies within the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s jurisdiction develop a proportionate approach when responding to unreasonable actions, based on our view of good practice in dealing with these complainants. It should be read with our Complaint Handling Code and other good practice guides.

Throughout this guide we refer to unreasonable actions in relation to complaints. Unreasonable actions can also include behaviour that is unreasonable. However, the judgement of behaviour can be subjective and what may be acceptable in some cases may be classed unreasonable in different circumstances. Therefore, organisations are encouraged to take account of wider circumstances and actions of each individual case.

This guide focusses on unreasonable actions within a complaints process. However, individuals will often display unreasonable actions when engaging with services before a complaint is made. The information in this guide is also applicable to those cases.

This guide is not intended to cover the relationship between elected officials and the public.