Unreasonable Behaviour Policy

Respect is at the heart of what we do. Unum is an organisation built on openness, trust, professionalism, respect for others and integrity. 

Respect works both ways and our staff also always deserve to be treated with courtesy, fairness and respect. So, we will not tolerate a third party’s frustration or upset turning into unreasonable behaviour which targets our staff. If that happens, we will take action to manage any situation appropriately.

This policy sets out what we consider to be unreasonable behaviour and the actions we might take if a third party’s behaviour goes beyond what we consider to be acceptable.

This policy applies to all areas of our work. It covers all communication our staff have with any third party in the course of their employment, including:

• existing, former or potential customers;
• brokers/representatives;
• members of group schemes; and
• other third-party business partners such as suppliers.

2.1 Aggressive or Abusive Behaviour

We will not accept or tolerate behaviour that we consider to be violent, insulting or threatening, such as:

• offensive language,
• any form of discrimination,
• inflammatory statements,
• threat of physical violence, or
• actual abuse or violence.

2.2 Unreasonable demands

We will not accept or tolerate communication or behaviour which puts unreasonable expectations on our staff. This includes:

• insisting on a response or action within an unreasonable timeframe,
• insisting on speaking to a particular member of staff when we have explained they are not available, and
• insisting on speaking to someone who we have explained is not the appropriate person.

2.3 Excessive Levels of Contact

We will not accept or tolerate communication or behaviour which makes excessive and unnecessary use of our staff’s time. This includes:

• making the same request to multiple members of staff without good reason, and
• repeated phone calls, emails, letters or visits to our offices when we have already given a response, or we have set expectations about when to expect a response.

Our response will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis to ensure that it is reasonable and proportionate to the unreasonable behaviour, but that it fully protects the health and wellbeing of our staff. Steps that our staff may take to deal with a third party’s unreasonable behaviour include:

Issuing a warning: In most circumstances, if our staff experience unreasonable behaviour, the first response will be to issue a warning explaining why the behaviour is unreasonable and that they will be required to take actions detailed below if the behaviour continues. 

Ending a call or meeting: If our staff experience unreasonable behaviour from a third party during a call or meeting, and either it continues after a warning, or is sufficiently serious, our staff will immediately end the call or meeting. 

Our staff will likely then also advise the third party that future communication will be limited to correspondence in writing and by email, and that telephone calls received in breach of this will not be answered.

Stopping communication about an issue: If a third party continues to request a response or communication on an issue which has already been responded to, and this continues after a warning has been issued, our staff may stop responding to any communication relating to that issue.

Communicating through a representative only: If our staff experience unreasonable behaviour through email or in writing, and this continues after a warning has been issued, our staff may stop all direct communication and appoint a representative through which all correspondence should be sent and received. 

Terminating our business relationship: If a third party’s behaviour to our staff is sufficiently serious, we will also consider termination of our business relationship with the third party. 

If our staff decide to take any of the actions above to manage unreasonable behaviour, we will explain the reasons why we believe the behaviour is unreasonable or unacceptable and what action we have decided to take in response to the behaviour.

If an individual third party’s behaviour involves offensive language, any form of discrimination, and/or inflammatory statements, we may alert the individual’s company / employer to the conduct. In extreme circumstances we may also need to report the individual (and their company) to the relevant public authority.