Complaints Procedure

CUSTOMER COMPLIMENTS, COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS POLICY

For the consistency and ease of understanding the policy will be as per displayed Customer Charter information. 

Customer Charter

Portull Training Services Ltd is committed to building excellent relationships with customers, clients, and external partners and to the continuous improvement of the services we provide. This charter sets out the quality of the service you can expect from us.

Mission statement

Our mission is to work with local businesses to help build prosperous and safe business. We will support local people to fulfil their potential by offering a range of opportunities and services relating to advice and guidance, employment, training, and enterprise. We will continuously develop and promote our services which directly help to improve local businesses and communities

We value our customers, clients and colleagues and treat others with respect and integrity. All staff of the organisation will accept responsibility and accountability for their actions.

Our Commitment to You

We are committed to providing effective and efficient services in a professional manner. We have a commitment to providing services free from discrimination on the grounds of ethnic or social origin, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, or nationality. Our staff operates within and adheres to our policy and procedure relating to Equality of Opportunity.

As one of our customers you can expect:

• To be dealt with promptly and efficiently.
• To be treated with respect and courtesy.
• To enjoy a safe, clean, and healthy environment in all Portull Training Services Ltd premises.
• To be offered impartial information, Advice & Guidance as stated in our Code of principles
• To be assured that we will operate in line with our Confidentiality Policy and Code of principles at all times.
• To be able to give feedback on our services by making suggestion, comments and /or complaints.

Standards of Service

As part of our commitment to a high standard of customer care we aim to:

• Respond to customer telephone calls in a timely manner.
• Provide an initial response to letters within 5 days.
• Ensure that personal written correspondence will be signed by a normal individual.
• Ensure that staff remain courteous and helpful and make every effort to explain things clearly and in terms you understand, keeping jargon to a minimum.
• Use customer feedback to review and improve our services

Customer Feedback & Comments

Portull Training Services Ltd welcomes comments and suggestions about our service. We appreciate hearing about the service that you have received; you may choose to give us verbal or written feedback. You can do this by addressing your comments to the relevant manager/director or completing a feedback card.

Complaints Procedure

Most people have a good experience of working with us, but from time to time customers will be dissatisfied with the standard of service they have experienced. Such issues need to be addressed in order to ensure that our normally high standards are maintained throughout our business. We hope that our customers never have cause to make complaint, but any complaint we do receive will be dealt with promptly and effectively in order to achieve a satisfactory resolution.

Oral Complaints

• All oral complaints, no matter how seemingly unimportant, should be taken seriously. There is nothing to be gained by staff adopting a defensive or aggressive attitude.
• Front line care staff who receives an oral complaint should seek to solve the problem immediately if possible.
• If staff cannot solve the problem immediately, they should offer to get the manager to deal with the problem.
• All contact with the complainant should be polite, courteous, and sympathetic.
• At all times staff should remain calm and respectful.
• Staff should not accept blame, make excuses, or blame other staff.

If the complaint is being made on behalf of the service user by an advocate it must first be verified that the person has permission to speak for the service user, especially if confidential information is involved. It is very easy to assume that the advocate has the right or power to act for the service user when they may not.

If in doubt it should be assumed that the service user’s explicit permission is needed prior to discussing the complaint with the advocate.

After talking the problem through, each manager or the member of staff dealing with the complaint should suggest a course of action to resolve the complaint.

If this course of action is acceptable then the member of staff should clarify the agreement with the complainant and agree a way in which the results of the complaint will be communicated to the complainant (i.e. through another meeting or by letter).

If the suggested plan of action is not acceptable to the complainant then the member of staff or manager should ask the complainant to put their complaint in writing to the establishment and give them a copy of the complaints procedure and form for completion.

In both cases details of the complaints should be recorded on a complaints form and handed to the Manager.

Written Complaints

When a complaint is received in writing it should be passed on to the named complaints manager who should record it in the complaints book and send an acknowledgment letter within five working days. The complaints manager will be the named person who deals with the complaint through the process.

If necessary, further details should be obtained from the complainant. If the complaint is not made by the service user but on the service user’s behalf, then consent of the service user, preferably in writing, must be obtained from the complainant.

A leaflet detailing the procedure should be forwarded to the complainant.

If the complaint raises potentially serious matters, advice should be sought from a legal advisor to the establishment. If legal action is taken at this stage any investigation by the establishment under the complaint’s procedure should cease immediately.

If the complainant is not prepared to have the investigation conducted by the establishment, he or she should be advised to contact the Commission for Social Care Inspectorate/Supporting People (whichever is relevant) and be given the contact details.

Immediately on receipt of the complaint the establishment should launch an investigation and within 28 days should be in a position to provide a full explanation to the complainant, either in writing or by arranging a meeting with the individuals concerned.

If the issues are too complex to complete the investigation within 28 days, the complainant should be informed of any delays.

If a meeting is arranged the complainant should be advised that they may, if they wish, bring a friend or relative or a representative such as an advocate.

At the meeting a detailed explanation of the results of the investigation should be given and also an apology if it is deemed appropriate (apologising for what has happened need not be an admission of liability).

Such a meeting gives the establishment the opportunity to show the complainant that the matter has been taken seriously and has been thoroughly investigated.

After the meeting, or if the complainant does not want a meeting, a written account of the investigation should be sent to the complainant. This should include details of how to approach the Commission for Social Care Inspectorate/supporting People if the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome.

The outcomes of the investigation and the meeting should be recorded on appropriate documentation and any shortcomings in the establishment’s procedures should be identified and acted upon.

Each establishment should discuss complaints and their outcome at a formal business meeting and the establishment’s complaints procedure should be audited by the manager every six months.

All complaints are taken very seriously. A letter acknowledging your complaint will be sent within 5 working days of receipt, and you will be advised of any outcome following the investigation of your complaint within 28 working days.

In the first instance, please speak to a member of Staff. However, if this is not a suitable option, you can either email info@portull.com or write to.

Portull Training Services Ltd
Unit 1 Trackside Business Park
Hawthorne Avenue
Hull
Hu3 5EN
Tel 01482 221233