Unreasonable, unreasonably persistent and vexatious complaints procedure and guidance - 7. Equalities

The Council is committed to respecting equality and diversity in everything it does.  This procedure will not discriminate against somebody on the grounds of sex, age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs. 

Reasonable adjustments will be actively considered and documented. Any action taken must respect equality requirements.  A practical example of this may be choosing not to restrict a person’s contact with the Council to sending letters or email, where their circumstances may make this difficult or impossible. 

There may be instances where a complainant exhibits behaviour that falls within the definitions provided as guidance above, but there may be underlying extenuating circumstances for this behaviour.  These may include, among others, mental health conditions, dementia, learning disability, or alcohol or drugs dependency. 

As outlined above when considering if this procedure should be invoked the Assurance Team will check if the customer is, or has been, in receipt of social care services.  If the customer is not known to social services but is behaving in a way that raises concern about their safety or the safety of others, it may be appropriate to make a referral to Adult Safeguarding by emailing initialintake@walsall.gov.uk.