The Call Centre Workstation

Occupational Health & Safety Resource Kit.
Proudly brought to you by CEPU: NSW Telcommunications & Services Division

Abusive/aggressive calls: Abusive and/or aggressive calls are likely to cause some level of distress. The impact will depend on: severity of the abuse, frequency of abusive calls and the availability of support following an abusive call. The risk of frequent abusive calls involves physical and psychological harm to the employee receiving the calls as well as low staff morale and high turnover.

Good practices include:

addressing the reason for the abusive call (eg. long wait times, inaccurate or misleading printed information, lack of training or support)
developing clear abusive/aggressive call procedures and guidelines which include reporting the call and right to terminate the call
providing support following abuse (eg. time to debrief)
providing a rest period following an abusive call
providing alternative duties (where necessary or possible)
providing customers and clients with clear guidelines against verbal abuse when using the call centre.

INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
NSW Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000
NSW Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001
NSW Workers Compensation Act 1987
NSW Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998
Workplace Amenities Code of Practice 2001, WorkCover NSW
First Aid in the Workplace Guide 2001, WorkCover NSW
OHS Consultation Code of Practice 2001, WorkCover NSW
Risk Management at Work Guide 2001, WorkCover NSW
Risk Assessment Code of Practice 2001, WorkCover NSW
Armed Hold-ups and Cash Handling, WorkCover NSW
Violence in the Workplace Guide 2002, WorkCover NSW
Managing Workplace Violence in the Finance Sector, WorkCover NSW and Business Services IRG
Smoke-free Environment Act 2000
Passive Smoking-Policy and Control 2000, WorkCover NSW
Workplace Safety Kit Guide 2001, WorkCover NSW
Small Business Safety Starter Kit Guide 2001, WorkCover NSW