Complaints Policy
Introduction
1 218 Strand Limited (‘218 Strand’) is committed to providing high quality services for all our delegates. Taking account of users’ views enables 218 Strand to promote and develop capacity for sustainable improvement.
2 218 Strand operates a staged complaints procedure through which it aims to resolve concerns as quickly as possible. This document details that Complaints Procedure. A complainant may be a training delegate, prospective training delegate, employer, or any other interested party who indicates dissatisfaction with the current level of service. All complaints will be taken seriously and dealt with impartially.
3 Academic Appeals are not a part of this policy or procedure. Please refer to 218 Strand’s Academic Appeals Policy in this regard.
4 Stage 1 of the procedure differs slightly for training delegates and other users/members of the public.
5 Employees or former employees should use 218 Strand’s Internal Grievance Policy and Procedure. Further details and advice on this can be obtained upon request.
Policy Statement
1 218 Strand will ensure that training delegates will not be treated less favourably following their complaint. If this is found to be the case, staff disciplinary procedures will be followed.
2 218 Strand will identify actions from complaints received to improve and develop its services.
3 218 Strand will ask for Equality and Diversity information, for example, Gender and Ethnicity, to help to ensure sure that all people are treated fairly.
4 A Complaints Form should be completed with as much detail as possible, but most importantly full name, date of birth and contact details. If the form is completed on behalf of a complainant, then the form must include full contact details of the complainant’s representative. We regret that 218 Strand is unable to accept or act upon anonymous complaints.
5 Faculty Members must send complaints to the 218 Strand Administrator to record on the Complaints Log.
6 On receipt of a formal complaint by the 218 Strand Administrator, an Investigation Lead will be allocated within two working days of receipt. The 218 Strand Administrator will then liaise with the Investigation Lead to investigate the issues which have been raised. They will be provided with details so that they have all the information required to undertake the investigation effectively.
7 218 Strand’s decision will be communicated to the complainant by 218 Strand using the complainant’s preferred method of contact.
8 The 218 Strand Administrator will continuously monitor a complaint until the issue has been resolved.
9 The complaint will be closed on the Complaint Log only when the issue has been resolved.
10 Malicious complaints (e.g. complaints that are not true or are intended purely to cause trouble) received in any form will result in disciplinary action and or expulsion from the 218 Strand Training Programme this shall include the removal of the delegate’s account and training records.
11 In order to help us to investigate and resolve any area of dissatisfaction, the complainant should notify 218 Strand of their concern at Stage 1 immediately and no later than 3 months of its occurrence.
12 Complaints made at Stage 2 must be made within 3 months of exhausting Stage 1 of the Complaints Procedure and complaints made at Stage 3 must be made within 3 months of exhausting Stage 2 of the Complaints Procedure.
13 Complainants should be aware that our staff have the right to work in a pleasant and safe environment and any violent or abusive behaviour towards staff will not be tolerated.
Monitoring of Complaints
14 218 Strand monitors complaints carefully. An annual report on complaints is produced and shared with the Directors, detailing issues raised, timeliness of resolution and any subsequent actions
Responsibility
15 Overall responsibility for this policy and procedure lies with the Director of Training.
16 Day-to-day responsibility for the implementation of this procedure lies with the 218 Strand Administrator.
17 All staff have a responsibility to try to resolve informal complaints prior to invoking the Complaints Procedure.
18 All staff have a responsibility to forward formal complaints to the 218 Strand Administrator, including copies of correspondence prior to being issued in response to the complainant.
19 The Lead Investigator has a duty to maintain a central file for the complaint which contains a copy of the original complaint, records of meetings, correspondence and other evidence used to resolve the complaint at Stage 2.
218 Strand Complaints Procedure
Stage 1 – Informal
Rather than let an issue of concern or an area of dissatisfaction become a complaint, we hope that you will try to resolve your issue promptly by:
• raising your concerns directly with the person who, in your opinion, is responsible, or directly with your Course Leader/Tutor, or directly with the Training Director for your course, or;
• raising concerns through the 218 Strand Administrator.
Once you have raised an issue of concern, 218 Strand will respond in a timely manner.
Employers
If you are dissatisfied, or have any concerns with the service provided by 218 Strand, you can raise the issue:
• directly with the Course Leader or 218 Strand Administrator;
General
If you are a member of the public, member, ex-delegate or prospective delegate of 218 Strand and you are dissatisfied or have concerns about the service provided, you should in the first instance:
• raise the issue directly with the 218 Strand Administrator.
If you are dissatisfied with the informal resolution, then the issue should be raised formally using 218 Strand’s Complaints Form.
Our feeling is that the majority of issues are capable of being resolved at Stage 1 within ten working days. If your concern is not satisfactorily resolved at Stage 1, you have the opportunity to take your complaint to Stage 2 of 218 Strand’s Complaints Procedure.
Stage 2 – Formal
218 Strand appreciates that there may be occasions where the above process is inappropriate and that a more formal approach is necessary. Where it has not been possible to resolve matters to your satisfaction under Stage 1, you should submit your complaint to the 218 Strand Administrator. The Training Director oversees the complaints process.
You should complete a complaints form identifying both the nature of the complaint and, if appropriate, the individual against whom the complaint is being made. Any complaint against an individual will be dealt with in a confidential manner.
The complaints form is available from the 218 Strand Administrator or can be downloaded from our website here.
Contact Details
218 Strand Administrator
2nd Floor
218 Strand
London
WC2R 1AT
Tel: 0207 353 3936
Upon receipt of the Complaints Form, we will write to you and/or to your representative within 5 working days, acknowledging receipt of your complaint.
If you write to us, please outline your concerns as clearly and in as much detail as you can. Please include your name and address, dates, locations and witnesses as appropriate. You should outline any previous unsuccessful attempts at resolution and what reasonable steps should be taken to resolve the complaint.
The 218 Strand Administrator will approach the relevant Course Leader / Tutor / Assessor on your behalf.
You will receive a response within 10 working days and we will tell you how we plan to investigate and when you might expect a detailed answer. It is our aim that most complaints under Stage 2 should be resolved within 28 days. You will be informed if there is likely to be any delay in the process.
The 218 Strand Administrator will notify you in writing of the result of your complaint and the reasons for the decision. Alternatively, a meeting can be arranged for feedback to be given.
If your complaint is about the 218 Strand Administrator, you can contact the Training Director, Jonathan Dingle, via the above contact address and telephone number. He will then designate another manager to resolve the issue.
Stage 3 – Appeal
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your Stage 2 complaint, you have the right to escalate your complaint to Stage 3. You should put your appeal in writing, detail the reason for your dissatisfaction, what you have done to try to remedy the complaint informally and what you would like us to do next. Any complaint against an individual will be dealt with in a confidential manner.
Stage 3 appeals should be sent to the office of The Training Director at the above address. You will receive a response within 10 working days and we will tell you how we plan to investigate and when you might expect a detailed answer.
Stage 4 – Students, General and Employers
If your concern is not resolved at Stage 3 and you are still not happy you can appeal to the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) which regulates providers of accredited mediation training or The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).** Before you can do this, you must have exhausted all three stages of 218 Strand’s Complaints Procedure. If your concern reaches this stage, we will give you full information on how to proceed. You should note that any complaint made to the CMC or CIArb must be made in writing within 3 months of exhausting the above Complaints Procedure.
The address for the CMC is:
The CMC Registrar
Civil Mediation Council
The International Dispute Resolution Centre
70 Fleet Street
London
EC4Y 1EU
The address for the CIArb is:
The Director of Training & Education
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators 12 Bloomsbury Square
London
WC1A 2LP
Complaints made via Social Media
Please note where a complaint is received via social media, 218 Strand will respond advising the complainant to follow the Complaints Procedure.