Complaints and appeal policy

This Policy and Procedure is designed to clarify the process both for those making a complaint and the staff dealing with complaints.

1. Policy Statement

1.1 Dominion Training is committed to ensuring that any complaints received are addressed in an open, transparent manner to the satisfaction of all parties involved. The organisation welcomes the opportunity to investigate and deal with deficiencies in its services.

2. Complaints Policy

2.1 Dominion Training will deal with legitimate complaints in a fair, prompt and objective manner. Complaints will be dealt with without recrimination and learners will not be disadvantaged by raising a complaint. All information will be kept in strict confidence, shared only on a need-to-know basis. Staffs are expected to respond positively to complaints and to alert learners to the Complaints Procedure.

2.2 This policy and procedure is designed to address general complaints within the organisation where the delivery of a training service has resulted in the complainant experiencing injustice or hardship. Any complaints received in areas covered by specific Policies or Procedures will be addressed in accordance with these policies and procedures. Where this is the case the complainant will be notified which policy and procedure will be used to address their complaint.

2.3 Dominion Training will be fair in its treatment of all those who complain irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity and disability.

2.4 Complaints will be dealt with promptly and constructively. All complaints will be dealt with in confidence but shared with a person who may be the subject of a complaint. The outcomes of any complaint will be shared with the complainant and any training or administrative staff involved only. Complaints made which, on investigation, turn out to be malicious, may result in disciplinary action.

2.5 The Training Manager, as Complaints Officer, has overall responsibility for the complaints procedure and may nominate another person to investigate the complaint.

2.6 If the complaint is against the Training Manager then the Complaints Officer will be the Assistant Training Manager.

2.7 An overview analysis of the complaints received by the training school is provided to the Training Manager and the Assistant Training Manager for the purpose of performance review.

3. Scope of Complaints Procedure

3.1 The procedure deals with complaints arising from:

3.1.1 Delivery (or lack thereof) of academic services or training, including teaching, course content, tutoring and learner support

3.1.2 Incorrect or misleading information about services provided by the training organisation

3.1.3 Delivery (or lack thereof) of support services provided by the training organisation including administration of fees and grants, enrolment and examination registration.

3.1.4 Unacceptable behaviour by the organisation’s staff.

4. When a staff member receives a complaint

As complaints can potentially cover a wide variety of topics the following are general points on how a member of staff should deal with a complaint. Our commitment is to:

4.1 Take all complaints seriously. Whatever the subject of the complaint may be, by complaining the complainant has attached value to the subject and this should be respected by the member(s) of staff involved.

4.2 Remain Professional. In an organisation with a high degree of face to face contact, it is perhaps inevitable that there will be a proportion of complaints relating to staff. If a complaint relates to you, please remember that you are responding as a member of staff and not as an individual. In these circumstances, it is perfectly reasonable to refer the individual to the information contained in section 5 below.

4.3 Clear Communication. If a complaint cannot be resolved immediately, the complainant should be informed about the complaints process, when a response may be expected and the method to be used for communicating this information.

5. How to take a complaint forward

5.1 The governing principle of the complaints handling within the organisation is to resolve complaints quickly when they occur, and we would encourage complainants to make their initial approach to staff in the area of the organisation related to the complaint.

5.2 Dominion Training does recognise that in some instances, the complainant may not be comfortable with this as an initial approach, and in these circumstances complainants are advised to discuss their complaint with the relevant Complaints Officer.

5.3 If the complainant does not feel comfortable with either of the above options or feels that the complaint has not been fully addressed, they can bring their complaint forward in a more official manner by completing the organisation’s complaint form which they can request from the reception.

5.4 The complainant should submit the complaint form to the Training Manager (Complaints Officer) or deposit it in the Complaints Box inside and Envelope. The student may wish to provide further detailed evidence of their complaint in writing along with the form.

5.5 The written complaint should provide as much as possible, including:

5.5.1 Full contact details for the complainant

5.5.2 The date of the incident resulting in the complaint

5.5.3 The impact of the incident upon the complainant

5.5.4 What action the complainant would like to see occur

5.6 Please note that if the complainant requires assistant with the formation of a written complaint, reception staff will be able to direct them to the appropriate support.

5.7 All complaints should be made in within 2 months of the incident. Any complaints submitted after this period may not be accepted unless the student can demonstrate a valid reason (i.e. medical ground) supported by evidence why they have been unable to meet the deadline.

5.8 The Complaints Officer (Training Manager) will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 5 working days, and will normally investigate and respond to the complaint within 15 working days. If the response is anticipated to take longer, the complainant will be informed of the reasons for the delay and the anticipated response time.

5.9 In cases where the complaint cannot be dealt with, the student will be informed of the reasons why the complaint cannot be taken further.

5.10 Should the complainant feel that the complaint has not been resolved to their satisfaction, they can appeal to the decision made by the organisation. If this is the case the complainant should appeal in writing to the Management Team through the Training Manager.

6. Support for those involved in a complaint

6.1 Support is available for all those involved in a complaint:

6.1.1 Representation: Friend, supporter, Welfare Officer

6.1.2 Help with completing the complaint form: Welfare Officer

6.1.3 Guidance with understanding the procedure: Welfare Officer

6.1.4 Support During the Procedure: Welfare Officer If any further help is needed, the Welfare Officer should be contacted.

7. Unresolved Complaints

7.1 If the complainant remains unsatisfied with the outcome from the complaint, provided the steps in point 4 have already been followed, independent external support is available.

7.2 The College’s Awarding body in general will consider each complain on an individual basis and normally will only consider a complaint within 12 months of the problem arising. The complainant should be advised to contact the Accreditation body directly; contact details can be obtained from reception.

7.3 Should the student still remain unsatisfied with the outcome then they may seek legal support through a solicitor or the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

8. Monitoring the Procedure

8.1 It is essential that complaints are resolved promptly. The Training Manager will check the Register of Complaints every two weeks to identify outstanding complaints and ensure that the procedure is following the set time limits.

8.2 The Complaints Officer will present a schedule of complaints received to the Management Team and will produce a report based on the register of complaints analysis, and cover the following items:

8.2.1 Number of complaints of each type

8.2.2 Time taken to process complaints

8.2.3 List of outstanding complaints

8.2.4 Outcomes of complaints

8.2.5 Appeals made and results of appeals

8.2.6 Analysis of complaints and outcomes by age, gender and ethnicity of complainant.

8.3 The Complaints Officer will hold a record of all complaints for 2 years for audit purposes.

9. Review of Policy

This policy will be annually reviewed by the Training Manager and the Internal Verifier and each review will be recorded on this document.

Reviewed January 2017

Dominion Training