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Protecting frontline employees from abuse (or worse)
Workers at utilities are often on the receiving end of abusive behaviour by customers or the public, from being held hostage in people’s homes to attacked with weapons such as knives.
Sadly, it seems abuse of field workers by customers and the public is growing, and that’s not just the case in the energy and water industries.
Adam Elsworth, health and safety director for broadband provider Openreach, says abuse of employees has become the major health and safety concern, overtaking traditional risks.
In the past, health and safety predominantly focused on slips, trips and falls, the risks of working at height or in confined spaces, or driving, he points out.
But Elsworth has seen abuse and even violence toward employees increasing. “We’ve had people pushed down the stairs, spat at, threatened with swords, axes and knives, and barricaded in people’s homes, with them saying ‘you are not leaving until you’ve fixed my broadband’.”
These shocking types of incidents are now “actually the biggest cause of harm to our people”, Elsworth explains.
And they seem to be a part of a worrying trend. In summer 2025, the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) reported that “customer abuse and hostility is unfortunately still endemic in our society. Our latest round of research released in June 2025 shows a worsening problem; 43% of customer-facing workers experienced an incident of customer hostility in the previous six months, a rise of close to 20% year-on-year.”
The ICS noted abuse of staff is impacting the UK economy. “37% of customer service workers are considering leaving their jobs due to aggressive customer behaviour. Furthermore, 26% of those experiencing abuse have taken time off work as a result, taking on average eight days’ sick leave,” says the institute.
On the energy frontline
It’s in this context that abuse faced by frontline workers in the energy and water industries has become an urgent issue, experts say. Every day, customer service advisers, engineers, meter readers, field technicians and debt support teams interact with members of the public in challenging circumstances. They are dealing with rising financial pressures, service disruptions and heightened customer frustration.
While these workers play a vital role in keeping essential services running, many are experiencing unacceptable levels of verbal abuse, threats, intimidation and physical aggression.
A source at one energy retailer paints a grim picture: “What begins as a standard appointment – whether addressing a boiler issue or carrying out scheduled work – can sometimes deteriorate. In one case, a customer’s frustration over a boiler repair escalated from verbal aggression to a situation where the engineer was physically prevented from leaving the property, requiring police intervention to secure their safe exit. In another instance, inappropriate behaviour from a customer progressed from verbal abuse to unwanted physical contact, forcing the engineer to withdraw immediately and report the incident, with police subsequently involved.
“Similarly, a disagreement involving a third party during a visit to a property, escalated rapidly into physical violence, with the engineer assaulted before being able to disengage and move to safety.”
The energy industry is responding. Jamie Reeve, deputy director for safety, health and the environment at the Energy Networks Association (ENA) says that “nothing is more important than the continued safety of our customers and employees. Network operators have a zero-tolerance approach to any abuse of our staff. We are working with unions, sector bodies and other stakeholders to monitor and address any risks frontline workers face.
“Everyone in the energy sector has a right to work in an environment where they feel safe, respected and free from violence, harassment and abuse."
The problem is worsening, but not new. Two years ago, the ENA and Energy UK felt compelled to issue guidance as to how employees should respond to abuse as levels rose after the pandemic. Energy employers were told they must ensure workers knew what action to take if they faced violence and ensure employees had access to physical and mental health support.
Employees were also encouraged to report incidents of violence, harassment and abuse. Utilities were advised to collect and monitor data on incidents involving violence, carry out investigations, and learn any lessons.
Why the rise in levels of bad behaviour?
It’s probable there is a variety of factors underlying this troubling rise in abuse meted out to workers. One industry expert notes that, “it’s definitely been a challenging time”. They say that post-Covid, installing electricity smart meters become a flashpoint for abuse. Following the pandemic, “it’s been hard to return to a normal world. Installs of smart meters stopped and had to restart, and since then there has been an uptick in incidents.”
The expert points out that although approval ratings of energy companies are actually going up, the situation has not been helped by a “blame culture” when it comes to utilities. “Government and the regulator need to use the right language to breed confidence in the sector, otherwise it is very hard to build that trust.”
They add: “We have seen record star ratings across the piece, so when it comes to energy, there is an uptick [in public perception], which is positive. But we are still talking about moving from a fairly low base. Acceptance of suppliers has increased alongside violence toward suppliers, which suggests there are multiple things going on here.”
EDF Energy points out that there are many possible triggers of abusive interactions, including affordability (energy debt is at record levels), billing issues, or delays in getting appointments or resolving problems. “In the field, if visits are around debt, it can often be difficult to engage with customers,” an EDF spokesperson says.
Abuse is also a problem over the phone. The industry expert recommends that contact centres “reduce friction” wherever possible, along with keeping requirements to ask customers for data to a minimum when they call. EDF also notes that when it comes to contact centres, there has been an “increase in more severe abuse and in some rare cases we have had to block numbers to protect our colleagues. This year there have been around 1,700 calls which have been deemed abusive and 714 contacts across emails, WhatsApp and SMS… which is too high, as no-one should come to work to be verbally abused or threatened.”
Of course, this has a human cost. EDF’s spokesperson notes that “colleagues can be extremely negatively impacted by abuse from the public”. “Each person reacts differently, but it can range from needing to take 10 minutes away from their desk, to seeing cases of long-term sickness absence caused by distress following abusive contacts. We obviously do not tolerate any abuse towards our colleagues, and we will always do all we can to support them.”
Part of this support sees EDF residential debt field welfare officers now wear bodycams. Visits to homes are recorded. “All officers wear an urgent first response device which they can press should they require urgent help. This device will alert the relevant team for assistance. To help protect our operatives, we have put several measures in place, including conflict management and de-escalation training, the use of lone worker devices, and assigning two operatives to higher-risk jobs where appropriate.”
Sending out an SOS
Gas network Cadent has also been looking to technology to protect employees.
Cadent deploys safety technology from Peoplesafe that connects vulnerable or lone workers to an accredited alarm receiving centre. The system uses dedicated devices and apps to open a two-way communication channel, capture audio, relay locations, and dispatch emergency services if necessary. The employee simply has to push a button for help.
“If you’re in a violent situation it’s hard to get the phone out to ring the police,” explains Hannah Newman, senior security specialist, Cadent Gas. “Our employees are geo-located, so they haven’t got to tell anyone where they are. We also see our engineers pressing the SOS button prior to going into an address. They either know that there is a customer who may cause an issue, or know they are going in to cut someone’s gas off, and they are going to be aggrieved. The engineer will press that button and have the operator listening in.”
Peoplesafe’s technology means emergency services can be on the scene in as little as four minutes. Cadent lead gas engineer Joe Whitaker had just been trained in how to use the technology when it proved its worth. He explains that he had finished a job and sat down in his van to fill out paperwork when there was a rattle at the door. “There were two people seemingly trying to get into my van, a woman and a man; the woman was screaming for help and asking me to call the police.”
Aware of his duty of care for both the woman and the Cadent van, and the need to keep safe, Whitaker activated the Peoplesafe app. “The man was saying he had been stabbed,” Whitaker recalls, “and I saw blood.”
Using the app, he arranged for the police and the ambulance service to attend. “It was easier than calling 999 yourself. I got through quicker, because you only have to press a button, and you can do it discreetly if you’re in a dangerous situation.”
Newman says the Peoplesafe system has already become an important means of protecting employees, especially field workers. “We are a safety-first business,” she says. “We will not tolerate people being abused or violent behaviour.”
Openreach is also using the technology to protect workers. Peoplesafe is integrated via an API with the utility’s workforce management system, enabling it to work automatically in the background to protect engineers.
For both Openreach and Cadent, Peoplesafe is ensuring that in the event of an incident, employees can get help rapidly – without needing to ring the emergency services.
Want to learn more? Peoplesafe has you covered here.
Controlling the risk you can’t design out
James Shew, channels and partnerships manager, Peoplesafe
Aggression can’t be removed with a barrier or a permit to work. For utilities, connecting lone workers to immediate help is fast becoming the critical control, writes James Shew, channels and partnerships manager, Peoplesafe.
Traditional safety controls assume a hazard that can be assessed, isolated and managed in advance. Abuse and aggression do not behave that way. They arrive without warning, often in or around a customer’s home where the worker is alone, and no harness, barrier or method statement can prevent them. What matters in that moment is how quickly help can reach the worker.
This is where personal safety technology is changing the picture for the sector. Peoplesafe connects lone and vulnerable workers to a professionally accredited alarm receiving centre through a dedicated device or smartphone app. At the press of a button, a two-way audio channel opens, the worker’s location is shared automatically, and a trained controller can listen, assess and, where needed, escalate directly to the emergency services.
Crucially, it works discreetly. An engineer who senses a situation deteriorating, or who knows a visit is likely to provoke a hostile reaction such as disconnecting a supply, can raise an alert before crossing the threshold, with a controller already listening in. In a genuine emergency that head start counts: with location shared and the call already open, response can arrive in as little as four minutes, rather than the time it takes to reach a phone and dial 999.
For those accountable for health and safety, risk and compliance, the value extends beyond the individual incident. Every activation is logged, giving organisations hard data on where and when their people are most exposed, evidence that strengthens risk assessments and demonstrates duty of care. Just as importantly, workers who know help is one button away feel safer doing a job that increasingly brings them face to face with the public.
“Every activation is logged, giving organisations hard data on where and when their people are most exposed, evidence that strengthens risk assessments and demonstrates duty of care.”
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