Policies and Procedures

SCOPE

This procedure describes how all complaints received from learners and apprentices, clients, employers and visitors should be progressed.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about an act, omission, decision, or a service provided by us. A dissatisfaction may arise from the actions of a member of DFA staff, or from an area or programme of work that we are involved in. Complaints provide an opportunity to listen, learn and act on the feedback of our stakeholders

DFA aims to consider complaints and achieve a fair and timely resolution in all cases.

All complaints should be investigated at the appropriate level, (e.g. for learners and apprentices the first point of contact should be their learning development tutor) and all investigations should be conducted sensitively with due regard to the rights and confidentiality of the complainant and any member of staff involved.

Where a member of staff is named in a complaint s/he should normally be informed of the nature of the complaint and given the opportunity to discuss the issue and where appropriate deal with the complaint directly. Staff named in a complaint will have access to personal support at any point in the process.

The outcome of a complaint should normally be made known to any staff involved and the complainant.

DFA aims to eliminate the causes of complaints by learning from each occasion how we have failed to meet the required standard and by implementing effective corrective/preventive actions.

MAKING A COMPLAINT

A complaint can be made in person, by phone, or in writing (including e-mail) either directly to a member of staff usually our Operations Manager using the following contact details:

E-Mail: Matthew.Hoyle@duttonfisher.com
Tel: 01943 609541
Address: Office 309, Wizu Office Space, Ludgate Hill, Leeds. LS2 7HZ

Anonymous complaints will be processed in a manner as if they had a named complainant and the outcome of the complaint will be recorded.

STAGE 1 COMPLAINTS

It is anticipated that the majority of complaints can be resolved satisfactorily on an informal basis at a local level.

Initial complaints are progressed as a Stage 1 complaint and investigated by the appropriate DFA team member. An acknowledgement will be provided within 3 working days. However, these can be elevated to Stage 2 complaints if they are:

• Of a sufficiently serious nature, e.g. major Health and Safety issues;
• Allegations of misconduct, violence, abuse, etc;

STAGE 1 COMPLAINTS PROCESS

It will be recorded and forwarded the to the Operations Manager.

The Operations Manager confirms the level of complaint and assigns Stage 1 to the most appropriate DFA team member for investigation. Stage 2 complaints are forwarded to one of the Directors (Paul Dutton or Jo Fisher).

The DFA team member investigates the complaint and reports the findings to the Operations Manager.

A full written response to the complainant should be provided within 10 working days.

Where a complainant is asked to attend a meeting to discuss the complaint s/he has the right to be accompanied by one other person of their choice. A note of the meeting should be taken and entered into the record.

All records of the complaint and its outcomes should be recorded and retained.

Where the nature of a complaint is deemed to be of a serious nature and/or may be related to a breach of the law, the complaint should be immediately escalated to the Directors for further guidance.

Care must be taken to ensure all communication is in an accessible form that meets the complainant’s needs.

STAGE 2 COMPLAINTS

It is recognised that some issues cannot be resolved at a local level consequently; there is a need to have a further, more formal procedure.

Stage 2 complaints are initiated when:

• The complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the Stage 1 complaint;
• The complaint is of a sufficiently serious nature or a significant issue, e.g. major Health and Safety issues, allegations of misconduct, violence, abuse, etc.

Stage 2 complaint investigations are co-ordinated by the Directors

STAGE 2 COMPLAINTS PROCESS

A full response should be provided to the complainant within 10 working days.

Where a complainant is asked to attend a meeting to discuss the complaint s/he has the right to be accompanied by one other person of their choice. A note of the meeting should be taken and entered into the record.

Where a complaint is made against a member of the Management Team the complaint will be investigated directly by a senior associate.

Where serious allegations are made against a member of staff, the complaint will be investigated by the Director. In exceptional circumstances the matter may be referred to another appropriate body. Internal investigations and disciplinary action may continue regardless of the outcome.

Care must be taken to ensure all correspondence is in an accessible form that meets the complainant’s needs.

APPEALS

The complainant has the right to appeal if s/he is dissatisfied with the outcome of the Stage 2 complaint.

An appeal against the outcome of a complaint should normally be lodged within 30 days of the conclusion of the formal complaint. An appeal should be made to the Directors in writing, outlining the grounds for appeal including any new information, which was not available at the time of the original complaint.

The appeal should be acknowledged within 3 working days.

The Directors will review the case and may carry out additional investigations if new information merits it, if s/he finds that the formal complaint procedures have not been followed or that the complaint has not been handled fairly.

A full response should be provided to the complainant within 10 working days.

The Director‘s decision is final and brings the DFA investigation of the complaint to a conclusion.

For apprentices or employers of apprentices who do not feel there complaint has been resolved to their satisfaction you can contact the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) via the following email address: complaints.esfa@education.gov.uk

Complaints Team
Education and Skills Funding Agency
Cheylesmore House
Quinton Road
Coventry
CV1 2WT

CORRECTIVE/PREVENTIVE ACTION

For justified/partially justified complaints the investigator must identify, and record, effective corrective/preventive action(s) to prevent recurrenceof the issue/failing. The action(s) must be assigned and have a target date for completion.

MONITORING, REVIEW AND EVALUATION

The Operations Manager monitors frequency and caused of complaints quarterly. An analysis of complaints identifies commonalities and opportunities for improvement. Actions for improvements are reported at Board level and inform the Quality Improvement Plan.

Date Reviewed: 31st January 2022
Reviewed by: Matt Hoyle
Date of next review: 31st January 2023