Call centres

In October 2013, British Gas became the first major employer to sign up to UNISON’s call centre charter, which commits companies to basic standards. With around 3% of the workforce now employed in call or contact centres, the union commissioned research from Portsmouth University. This found that the biggest issues of concern raised by members were oppressive monitoring and high staff turnover leading to shortages and workload pressure. In addition, almost a quarter of respondents in the survey (23%) felt bullied or harassed.

Using the research, UNISON produced a charter for organisations to sign committing them (and the outsourced companies they use) to basic standards and improving working conditions in contact centres.