Complaints and C Complaints and Compliments ... - York College

Complaints and ComplimentsProcedureCreated byRichard Coultas, Quality ManagerDateFebruary 2010Impact assessed byGraeme Murdoch, Deputy PrincipalDateJune 2010Approved byStaff Recognition GroupDateJune 2010Date of next review June 2012C:\TEMP\notes35D55D\Complaints Complaints and Compliments Procedure June 2010.docx

Complaints and Compliments ProcedureYork College takes all complaints seriously and will act appropriately whenever they arereceived. The college takes the view that a complaint is an opportunity to delight a customer.The College logs all complaints received and then directs a copy to the most appropriate personfor investigation.When any compliment is received it is forwarded to the Quality Assurance (QA) administrationteam for recording and disseminating as appropriate.The College categorises complaints as informal and formal. An informal complaint (A – seeflowchart) is just that. No further action will be taken, but the complaint must be recorded and acopy forwarded to the QA administration team to be logged. If a pattern of a particular type ofinformal complaint begins to emerge, the Quality Manager may initiate an investigation. In allcases, the complainant must be made aware that if they want a resolution to their complaint,then they must follow the procedure for a formal complaint as set out below.A formal complaint will always be investigated and for that reason a detailed note of who madethe complaint and its nature needs to be recorded. The QA administration team monitor thetypes of complaints carefully and prepare reports that indicate the numbers of complaints, andthe category of complainant (by age, gender, level of course) so as to identify emerging trendsand patterns.In order for a complaint to be logged and investigated, a complaints form ought to be completedby the complainant (B1). However, it is recognised that it is not always possible to do so. Forexample, on occasions a letter of complaint will arrive at college. In that case, an e-mail orwritten note ought to be forwarded to the QA administration team, outlining the nature of thecomplaint together with details of the person who made it. The QA administration team will thencomplete the form and pass the details to the Quality Manager who in turn will initiate aninvestigation, if it is warranted. A similar procedure should be adopted in the case of a complaintreceived by telephone. In either case, the QA administration team will acknowledge receipt ofthe complaint to the complainant, within three working days, and keep track of the investigationas it proceeds (B2).The Quality Manager (or QA Administrative Team) will direct the complaint to the mostappropriate manager to investigate (B2); if the complaint comes from a student, then usually thiswill be the student’s Head of Division but on occasions the Quality Manager will take on thisrole. In all cases, that investigating manager will respond directly to the complainant (and copyin the QA administration team). The College will provide the investigating manager with allnecessary specialist support to conduct and conclude an investigation.Once an investigation is initiated, it ought be completed and reported upon within ten workingdays (B3). If that cannot happen, for whatever reason, it is the responsibility of the investigatingmanager to keep the complainant informed as to the reasons why and the anticipatedconclusion date (this information should also be conveyed to the QA administration team, whowill be tracking the process anyway).The complainant will receive a written response to theircomplaint, outlining the actions taken to resolve it and detailing any mitigating circumstancesarising from the investigation. The complainant will be made aware of the appeal procedure atthis stage.C:\TEMP\notes35D55D\Complaints and Compliments Procedure June 2010.docx

The complainant can appeal against the outcome of the investigation (B4). This must be inwriting, and received by the Quality Manager (within ten working days), who will then investigatethe circumstances surrounding the initial investigation or assign an investigating manager to dothis.The outcome of this ‘appeal investigation’ will then be considered by a member of the College’sSenior Management Team (who may be the investigating manager mentioned above).A meeting to consider the appeal, and involving the complainant, will take place within tenworking days of the College receiving a written notice to appeal. Where it is not possible to holdsuch a meeting within this timescale the complainant will be kept informed.The complainant will receive written notification of the appeal decision. This will be within fiveworking days of the appeal hearing.The decision reached, as a result of the appeal hearing, will be final.C:\TEMP\notes35D55D\Complaints and Compliments Procedure June 2010.docx

Complaints and Compliments Procedure - DiagramOur aim is to provide the highest possible standard of service. We take all complaints about College matters very seriously and will deal with theproblem as soon as possible.Informal Complaint (A)The informal complaint procedureis designed to make the Collegeaware of an issue but not to takeit any further. Details are passedtoQuality Assurance administrationto be logged.Formal ComplaintStage 1 (B1)A complaints form must be completed and sent to QualityAssurance administration team This form is available from theInfoZone or can be downloaded from:http://intranet.yorkcollege.ac.uk/intranet/quality/complaints.htmlStage 2 – (B2)An acknowledgement is sent to the complainant, from QualityAssurance administration team, within 3 working days. Thecomplaint is referred from Quality Assurance administrationteam to an appropriate manager.ComplimentsAll compliments/letters of thanksetc should be copied andforwarded to Quality Assuranceadministration team for referencepurposesCompliments, whether written orverbal should be saved andforwarded to Quality Assuranceadministration team for recordingand future use.Stage 3 (B3)An initial response to the complaint should be sent within 10working days. If this is not possible the complainant must bekept informed of the progress regarding their complaint. Theoutcome of the complaint is reported to the complainant and theQuality Manager.C:\TEMP\notes35D55D\Complaints and Compliments Procedure June 2010.docxStage 4 (B4)If the complainant is unhappy with the outcome at the end ofstage 3, an appeal can be made against the decision. Theyhave 10 working days in which to submit their appeal (in writing)to the Quality Manager. The appeal will be heard by a memberof the College’s Senior Management Team.---A meeting to consider the appealwill take place within 10 workingdays of the College receiving awritten notice to appeal.The decision(s) reached will befinal.