In 2021, Thanet District Council launched a campaign calling for people to respect its staff members while they go about their work in the district.
The council noted that there had been increasing incidents of verbal and online abuse of its staff and even instances of physical abuse. Taking a zero-tolerance approach, the council decided to highlight the issue.
The campaign featured photographs of frontline staff, all of whom were Thanet residents, and highlighted that the people doing these jobs are individuals, who live locally, and all of whom take pride in the area, as well as in their jobs.
The images were accompanied by the message ‘no excuse for abuse’ to reinforce the message that abuse and intimidation of staff by telephone, online or in person is unacceptable.
The campaign featured on all the council’s social media channels, at various sites across the district as well as on council vehicles, including the large waste and recycling trucks that drive through every town and village in Thanet.