COMPLAINTS POLICY AND PROCEDURE

Introduction

Grosvenor House Associates (Cornwall) Limited makes every effort to ensure that whatever service we are carrying outforyou is done in a professional, effective and efficient manner.  Unfortunately, but rarely, mistakes do occur.  We want all our clients to feel that they are able to make a complaint without fear of feeling intimidated and without the worry that your complaint will not be taken seriously.

We are committed to giving you the best possible service at all times.  If we get it wrong then please let us know in order that we may rectify any errors and learn for the future. If you would like a copy of this policy then please do not hesitate to ask.  The Employment Law advice and training given by GHA (Cornwall) Limited are covered by professional indemnity insurance which is renewed annually in October.


Generally

If you feel that you have any complaint against the Company at any time then please let us know as soon as possible. We have set outfor you in this document the complaints procedure that should be followed for each type of service that we offer. You are welcome to submit your complaint by any means; by telephone, by email, by fax, by letter or in person.


Employment Tribunals and Employment Law Advice

Grosvenor House Associates (Cornwall) Limited is Regulated by the Claims Management Regulator in respect of regulated claims management activities. The Company's details and regulation number may be found on the Claims Management Regulation register of authorised businesses. To access this information go to http://www.justice.gov.uk/claims-regulation and click on 'Authorised Business Register'. The Company's authorisation number is 5863. The authorisation is renewed annually in February.

These 'activities' refer to advice that the Company might give you in relation to Employment Tribunals. This advice may take the form of advising you on the compensation that you are likely to receive if you win an Employment Tribunal or it might be advice given to you and your organisation about what compensation you may have to pay to an employee who is taking you to an Employment Tribunal.

It may also be advice that we give you regarding possible compensation in order for you make the decision as to whether to take legal action or, in the case of an organisation, whether to settle the matter out of Court.  The procedure in any case is the same.


The Procedure

  1. As soon as you feel that you have a complaint that you wish to put to the Company then please let us know, preferably in writing.  You may contact us by email, telephone, fax or by post. (Please see contact details)
  2. If you have cause to make a complaint to the Company then your complaint will be dealt with by a person who has not been directly involved in the matter of which you are complaining.  This person will either be a Director of the Company or a person appointed by the Company who is independent from the Company and has the full authority to make decisions relating to any complaints against the Company.
  3. Where a complaint is received by the Company and it is considered to be a genuine complaint which is upheld by the investigator then the Company will offer you redress.  You have the right to make a claim against the Company's professional indemnity policy should you wish to do so and the Company will co-operate in giving you full details of the policy in order that you should make your claim. Any decision as to compensation will be made by the Insurance Company and its decision will be final.

What Happens Next?

  1. The Company expects that if you have reasonable cause to make a complaint then this will be done in a timely manner.  Complaints about matters of which you were aware six months or more before you issued your complaint will be declined unless there is a genuine reason why you were unable to bring the complaint to our attention at an earlier date.
  2. Any complaint received from a Client will be acknowledged in writing (either by email, fax, or post) within five working days of receipt of the complaint. You will be notified at that time of the name, title, and contact details of the person investigating your complaint. You will also be provided with details of how the complaint will be dealt with.
  3. Within a maximum of four weeks after receipt of your complaint the investigator will write to you sending out details of his/her findings or,ifit has not been possible to resolve the matter in that time, he/she will inform you of that fact and let you have details of the investigation to date.
  4. Within eight weeks of any complaint you will be issued with a final response from the investigator.

If your complaint is about the management of any claim that the Company has advised you upon in relation to Employment Law and compensation and you are unhappy at any time with the way in which your complaint has been handled then you have the right to refer your complaint to the Claims Management Regulator.


I.T. Consultancy, Health and Safety and Management and I.T. Training

Should any individual, Firm, Partnership, Organisation, or Company who has legally employed the services of GHA have any reason for complaint about any or all of the services that have been provided then please write in confidence to the Company Secretary. GHA pledges that any complaints will be thoroughly investigated and the findings communicated to the complainant at the earliest opportunity. If your complaint is about advice relating to Employment Law, Training or IT Consultancy the Company has a professional indemnity policy renewed annually in October and the policy relating to complaints in this area is set out in the previous section of this document.

Should any candidate who is being assessed as part of their training programme have reason to feel that their assessment procedure has been in any way unfair or biased then they have a right of appeal. Appeals made against assessments for GHA's own Certificates will be referred to an independent Tutor for re-assessment, as will those for external Lead Bodies.

Candidates who wish to appeal should use the following procedure:

  1. Write to GHA with an explanation as to why they feel the assessment was unfair or biased.  Please include any back up evidence or witness statements if these are available.
  2. GHA will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and will investigate the matter and will, as a matter of course, refer the assessment to an independent external Tutor.
  3. GHA will receive the report from the external Tutor and will relay its findings, in confidence, to the candidate.
  4. If the candidate is still not content with the result, in the case of an external Lead Body then they should appeal directly to that Lead Body.  GHA will abide by the findings of the external body.
  5. Reports from the external Tutor about GHA assessments will be final.
  6. GHA will bear the cost of the initial appeals procedure provided that the appeal is proved to be genuine.  Any candidate making a frivolous or malicious appeal will be liable to a charge for the costs of external assessment and time.
  7. Appeals to Lead Bodies will be made at the expense of the candidate.

GHA will undertake that the findings of all appeals that do not involve Lead Bodies will be communicated to the candidate within one calendar month.  Complaints relating to IT and Health and Safety Consultancy services will be dealt with in accordance with the policy set out for complaints relating to Employment Law Advice and Consultancy.


CONFIDENTIALITY

GHA will hold all data relating to its customers and clients in a locked office or on a computer protected by passwords. It undertakes not to divulge to any other party any trade secrets, financial records or other information relating to its clients to any third party except where it is necessary to do so to carry out the requirements of the contract or where it is required to do so by law or by disclosure to a regulator.


DATA PROTECTION

GHA has a single Data Protection registration that allows it to hold records on candidates, staff, suppliers and customers. This registration allows the company to hold records on individuals within the above categories providing that the principles of Data Protection are applied as follows:

Personal data shall be:

  • Obtained and processed fairly and legally
  • Used only for the lawful purposes described in the register entry
  • Used only for those purposes and only be disclosed to those people described in the register entry
  • Adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which they are held
  • Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
  • Held no longer than is necessary for the registered purpose
  • Be surrounded by proper security