AFTER a year in which essential services and the key workers who provided them were celebrated, over half of public-facing staff have reported a rise in abuse.

Waste management company Veolia is taking a stand after reports from frontline staff more than doubled across the UK, with a 118 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

This picture is reflected in Hampshire where post pandemic frustration is also leading to more frequent reports.

In response Veolia has launched SiteKind, with the backing of Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner. This is a new campaign thanking residents who recognise the hard work of their teams and taking stronger action against those who abuse or endanger their staff.

Whilst the majority of people are respectful and kind to frontline staff, a rise in the most serious cases of physical and verbal abuse has led to a new commitment from the company to pursue more criminal prosecutions.

The campaign builds on previous Veolia initiatives focusing on building a safe workplace and includes a comprehensive training programme to support staff to defuse situations, handle instances effectively and how and when to involve the police.

It said that frustration at needing a booking to visit or queues at recycling centres are not reasons to abuse key workers and the company is reaffirming its support to staff who are victims of abuse.

Richard Hulland, chief risk and assurance officer for Veolia UK and Ireland, said: “I talk to our people on a regular basis. They are proud of the service they provide to their local community and being part of a team, but hearing their stories of abuse, especially in the last six months, has been increasingly distressing.

“No one should be abused simply for doing their job and we’re determined to combat this unacceptable trend.

“As well as appealing to the public to show their appreciation for our teams, we are also focusing on training and support for our employees to respond to incidents.

“We will take the most serious action for the most serious attacks, including criminal prosecutions, in order to build a safer workplace environment for our colleagues.”

SiteKind will thank the majority of the public for respecting staff and ask them to show their appreciation now and again with a smile or a thank you when using Veolia’s sites.

It also aims to raise public understanding about the abuse suffered by key workers since the pandemic, stabilise incident reporting to ensure the problem is accurately represented and increase prosecutions for the worst offenders.

SiteKind is part of Veolia’s wider StreetKind campaign launching across the country and will be localised to each area. In Hampshire the focus will be on our 26 household waste and recycling centres, where incidents are most likely to occur.