Zero Tolerance Policy (Plain English)

Description

As providers, we all do our best to help people who need our support and services. We work for and with people, often intensely, and often in difficult and sometimes emotionally-charged situations.

Whether staff or clients, we’re all human. We make mistakes. We miscommunicate. We get riled up by the paperwork and bureaucracy. We get tired, and cranky when things don’t go well. Sometimes, it’s tempting to take out our frustrations on others. But we mustn’t: being professional means treating people with respect and dignity at all times.

Respect and dignity go both ways. Staff deserve to be respected, too. No one should ever have to tolerate violent, aggressive, abusive or threatening behaviour from anyone in their workplace, or for any reason.

As NDIS and/or health providers, it’s our job to ensure everyone in our workplace remains safe. Part of any risk management approach to workplace safety is a clear statement of zero tolerance from management for any violent, aggressive, abusive, or threatening behaviour.

This Zero Tolerance Policy template is designed to signal to clients and others that staff and others in your workplace should always be treated with respect and dignity, and that violent, aggressive, abusive, and threatening behaviours are never OK.

We’ve worked hard to write the policy in Plain English, and it is in editable Word format so you can expand and tailor it for any special or additional risks in your workplace.

We’ve also included an A4 poster, which can be put up behind reception desks and other areas in which client discussions are regularly held.

The policy and poster (6 pages in total) can also be included in a provider’s onboarding pack or policies and procedures for clients and participants.