Unreasonable Behaviour Policy

Our approach

Most people who contact Streathers Daynes Smith do so respectfully and reasonably. We value those interactions and are committed to treating everyone we deal with fairly, courteously, and with professionalism. This policy explains how we manage the small number of situations where a client, prospective client, or third party behaves in a way that makes it difficult for us to deal with an enquiry or continue acting on a matter effectively.

At Streathers Daynes Smith, we take concerns seriously and believe that everyone who contacts us should feel heard and treated with dignity. Equally, we believe that our staff are entitled to the same standard of respect and courtesy in return. If you are dissatisfied with our service or the conduct of any individual at Streathers Daynes Smith, you should raise this through our Complaints Policy, which is available on request. Where a person has specific communication needs, including needs arising from a disability, medical condition, or illness, we will make reasonable adjustments in line with our Vulnerable Clients Policy.

Understanding unreasonable behaviour

We recognise that people may contact us at stressful or emotional times and that frustration or distress can influence behaviour. We take this into account wherever possible. However, we cannot accept behaviour that is abusive, threatening, harassing, or places unreasonable demands on our time or resources. The examples below illustrate the types of conduct we may regard as unreasonable. This list is not exhaustive.

Aggressive or abusive conduct

Unacceptable behaviour includes, but is not limited to, verbal or written communication (in any format) that causes or is likely to cause distress, intimidation, or offence, such as:

threats or intimidating language
shouting, swearing, or verbal abuse
offensive, insulting, or derogatory comments
inflammatory or provocative statements
making allegations without reasonable foundation
discriminatory language of any kind
physical contact

Harassment

We define harassment as unwanted behaviour that:

relates to a protected characteristic (including age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation) and violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment; or
is intended to cause distress or alarm and occurs repeatedly, even if the behaviour varies over time

Harassment of anyone who works at Streathers Daynes Smith will not be tolerated, and staff are encouraged to report such behaviour.

Unreasonable demands

We act in our clients’ best interests and in accordance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Principles. To do so effectively, we must be able to manage matters appropriately and proportionately.

Behaviour may be considered unreasonable where it places excessive or inappropriate demands on our time or resources, including:

pressuring us to meet unrealistic or unreasonable deadlines
repeated insistence on speaking to specific individuals
attending our offices without appointment or prior notice
expecting immediate responses or availability outside normal working hours
excessive or repeated contact while a matter is under review
contacting multiple members of staff about the same issue

Such behaviour can hinder progress on a matter and affect our ability to serve other clients.

How we respond to unreasonable behaviour

All Streathers Daynes Smith staff are authorised to take reasonable steps to manage unacceptable behaviour.

Zero tolerance

We operate a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, harassment, or threats directed at our staff. Where appropriate, such behaviour will be reported to the police.

Telephone contact

If unacceptable behaviour occurs during a telephone call, our staff may:

explain why the behaviour is unacceptable and ask for it to stop
place the caller on hold or end the call if the behaviour continues
terminate the call immediately in cases of serious abuse or offensive conduct

Ongoing concerns

Where unreasonable behaviour continues or occurs repeatedly, we will normally write to explain:

why the behaviour is considered unacceptable
what changes are required for contact or services to continue
what restrictions may be applied if the behaviour does not improve A copy of this policy will be provided.

Possible restrictions

If behaviour does not change after we have raised our concerns, we may take one or more of the following steps:

require communication to be through a named individual only
limit the frequency, format, or scope of contact
restrict correspondence to specific issues
terminate our retainer or decline to act on future instructions

Any decision to restrict service will be made by a Streathers Daynes Smith partner and will be taken carefully and proportionately. All incidents of unreasonable behaviour are recorded, and any restrictions applied will be noted on the relevant file.