[Insert name of Organisation] is committed to providing high quality services to users. [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] recognises that everyone has the right to make complaints and that valuable lessons can be learnt from listening to our users. Your complaint may well improve things for everyone. Whatever the reason for the complaint, [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] wants to put mistakes right quickly and improve our service to you in the future.
The purpose of this procedure is to enable people using [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] services or taking part in its activities to be heard when they feel things have gone wrong.
[INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] represents the interests of disabled people living and/or working in [Insert name of Borough/County]. [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] provides a range of services including welfare rights, information, a personal assistance support scheme, advocacy, assistance into employment, advice on funding and policy development.
[INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] recognises that making a complaint about services can be a difficult process. [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] is committed to investigating and dealing with complaints in a sensitive and appropriate way.
Every effort will be made to ensure that the person(s) involved in carrying out any investigation of a complaint will be impartial and that they will follow the rules laid down in the complaints procedure to ensure that justice is achieved in an objective way.
[INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] needs to know the origin of any complaint.
[INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] will provide you with an advocate if you require one to help you through this procedure.
HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT
Any person using [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] services wishing to make a complaint, can do so by phone (voice or text), by fax, in writing or in person.
There are four levels:
Make an informal complaint.
If you are not satisfied, make a formal complaint.
An appeal to a panel from the Executive Committee of [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION].
Finally, use an outside body for arbitration. An example might be xxx Council.
A. Level one
1.The first thing that anybody should do, is to contact the member of staff providing the service they want to complain about or their manager. Tell them the problem and they will try and sort it out. Often, they will be able to deal with the complaint on the spot.
2. If the complaint is not dealt with to the complainant’s satisfaction, or the nature of the complaint is such that they do nott feel it is appropriate to complain to the person they usually deal with, then [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] will record the complaint and the procedures outlined in Level two should be followed.
3. Before that, [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] will write to the complainant within 15 working days. If that person does not know who to contact, they should ring the [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] office on [Insert Telephone Number] or fax: [Insert Fax Number], e-Mail: @
B. Level two
1. The complainant should write to the Director of [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] providing full details of the issues about which they wish to complain together with their full name and contact details.
[Note: If the complainant has difficulty in writing a letter, they may, if preferred, make a verbal complaint at an interview with an advocacy service that will detail the complaint in writing. [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] will provide an external advocate when necessary.]
2. The Director will acknowledge receipt of the written complaint by responding in writing to the complainant within five working days from the date of receiving the complaint.
3. The complaint will be recorded in a Complaints Logbook kept in the Director’s office.
4. The Director will investigate the complaint and aim to give the complainant a full reply within 20 working days. If, during the investigation, it is identified that it will not be possible to prepare a response within this time, the reasons for the delay should be communicated in writing to the complainant, giving an indication as to when the full response will be forthcoming.
5. If [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] Director is the subject of the complaint, it should be made in writing to the Chairperson of the Executive Committee. In this case, the Chairperson will arrange the investigation and an Executive Committee member will conduct it.
6. The Director will arrange for an appropriate investigation to be made of the circumstances of the complaint by conducting the investigation personally, or by nominating an officer of [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] or a management committee member to conduct the investigation.
7. The person conducting the investigation should not otherwise be involved in any way with the complaint.
8. If a [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] staff member/volunteer is the subject of the complaint they have the right to representation.
9.The investigation will identify the events and issues leading up to and including the circumstances of the complaint, and will be compiled into a written report. This will be kept on file for a period of twelve months. All other written records and correspondence will also be kept for the same period.
C. Level three
1.If the complainant is not satisfied with the full response to the complaint, they may appeal in writing, stating reasons, to the Chairperson of the Executive Committee.
2.The Chairperson, in conjunction with the [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] Director, will arrange for a panel of two Executive Committee members to meet and examine the appeal within 10 working days of it’s receipt. The panel will also include a third person who is independent of the project, for example, a representative of another voluntary organisation.
(An Executive Committee member having conducted the investigation would be unable to participate in the Appeal Panel.)
3. The appellant may bring to the appeal an advocate or friend for support and may call witnesses to provide evidence at the appeal meeting. The individual, who has conducted the investigation and/or the Director, will provide evidence to the panel of how the matter has been dealt with and may call witnesses to provide evidence.
4. The panel will then meet without the appellant or [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] staff member/volunteer present, to decide whether the response was appropriate. It will make recommendations for further action if necessary. The Panel’s decision will be communicated to the appellant in writing within five working days of the meeting and will be final.
D. Level four
1. If the matter remains unresolved, arbitration by an independent organisation/agency/body (for example, xxxxx Council) could be sought by any of the parties involved, i.e. [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] and/or the appellant.
The Employment Act 2002 includes Regulations to encourage Employers and staff to resolve disputes in the workplace. The Regulations, (see below), introduces minimum procedural standards for handling disputes.
Minimum grievance procedures comes into force on the 1st October 2004 and will automatically apply to all disputes, unless the employer has identical, or better procedures already in place. Employers who do not follow them will have Tribunal awards against them increased 10-50%, and dismissals will be considered automatically unfair.
The procedures state that:
Employees must set out their grievance in writing and send a copy to the Employer.
The Employer must then hold a meeting with the Employee to discuss the grievance.
The Employer must then advise the Employee of its decision and of the Employee’s right of Appeal.
The Employee must advise the Employer if s/he wishes to appeal and a further meeting must then be arranged. The Employer must then tell the Employee of their final decision.
Similar procedures are being introduced to cover disciplinary hearings and there will sanctions against Employers who fail to comply with these.
Managers should be trained in ‘conflict management skills’ so they can intervene and defuse disagreements before they escalate, and where a dispute cannot be avoided Employers should consider using ‘mediation’ with an independent third party trying to broker an agreement. Some Employers train members of their own staff as ‘mediators’ but the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) and Acas can also provide these services for those without the expertise.
Other Useful Web Sites:
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To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for damages (direct, indirect and consequential) arising out of use of this website or any content included on it, nor shall our employee(s), affiliates, subsidiaries, personnel or other representatives be so liable.
Links:
Where we provide links to other sites we do so in good faith and for your information only. We accept no responsibility for the content, suitability or accuracy of any linked site or any information on it, as linked sites are not within our control, nor do the views, opinions of statements expressed or made on any document or web site not attributed to us, reflect, or are those shared or expressed by Mr Gordon P OwenMessrs G Owen & Co.
Governing law and jurisdiction:
These terms and conditions will be governed by English law and will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
[Insert name of Organisation] is committed to providing high quality services to users. [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] recognises that everyone has the right to make complaints and that valuable lessons can be learnt from listening to our users. Your complaint may well improve things for everyone. Whatever the reason for the complaint, [INSERT NAME OF ORGANISATION] wants to put mistakes right quickly and improve our service to you in the future.
Make an informal complaint.
includes Regulations to encourage Employers and staff to resolve disputes in the workplace. The Regulations, (see below), introduces minimum procedural standards for handling disputes.
and Acas 
can also provide these services for those without the expertise.
Public Interest Disclosure
Messrs G Owen & Co. 
