Worker's emergency call ban

A Welsh call centre has come under fire after telling a man that he could not speak to his wife when their son had been rushed to hospital until she was on her next break.

David Bebb from Treorchy in the Rhondda, south Wales, claims he was finally forced to pose as a customer and ring in to speak to his wife.

Ann Marie Bebb later left her temporary job at the Cardiff call centre which is run by the recruitment agency Manpower on behalf of British Telecom.

BT has said it needs time to investigate the allegations which if true would understandably have caused distress to this call centre operator and her family.

I'm a grown woman with children of my own - to be treated like that is disgusting

Ann Marie Bebb

The alleged incident happened on August 9 when Mr Bebb, who works for the probation centre, called the Stadium House call centre after the couple's 10-year-old son Sam was rushed to hospital.

A lump had been found behind his eye during a trip to the opticians and needed further investigation.

Mr Bebb said when he rung the call centre and asked to speak to his wife, explaining the situation, he was told he would have to wait until her next break.

He was also told that a message would be passed to his wife, asking her to ring him.

After half an hour he rang back the centre - this time on a customer line - and again asked to speak to his wife.

He explained the situation to the operator who initially said he could not pass the call on but later agreed.

When he eventually got through to her, Mrs Bebb had not received any message from her bosses.

"I thought it was disgusting - after I had explained what had happened and the potential seriousness of it," Mr Bebb told BBC Wales.

Sam is now recovering at home.

However, Mrs Bebb said: "If it had turned out to be more serious it could have been dire."

She had worked at the centre as a temporary worker employed by Manpower for 11 months, but has now left.

Full statement

"The treated us very much like children and I am more than a child," said Mrs Bebb.

"I'm a grown woman with children of my own - to be treated like that is disgusting."

BT said it needed time to investigate before making a full statement on the matter.

"Until we have made all the necessary investigations within BT, and with any employment agency who may also have a responsibility, we cannot say any more at this stage," the company said.

The TUC have set up a special hotline as part of a campaign to improve working conditions in call centres.

Senior policy advisor Sarah Veale called the case "appalling," and said there were new rules in place which give workers the right to have time off work for a family emergency.