Introduction
This Policy has been created to control the approach of Gipping OH when handling complaints.
Scope
The scope of this policy includes any complaints received by Gipping OH.
Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of a director to ensure that this policy is up – to – date and available on the company website.
It is the responsibility of a director to ensure that complaints are responded to, resolved within a reasonable time frame and logged within the complaints log.
It is the responsibility of a director to identify where a serious complaint has been made which may require reporting to authorities. In this instance, only a Gipping OH Director may make such a report.
It is the responsibility of all Gipping OH employees to refer complaints to a director without delay, should they receive them directly.
Policy
It is the policy of Gipping OH to deliver services which meet and exceed customer expectations but accept that from time to time there may be a reason for which a customer or worker may wish to make a complaint.
Gipping OH aim to address complaints within a reasonable timeframe and to work with the customer or worker to achieve an agreeable resolution.
Those who wish to make a complaint about Gipping OH services may do so using the complaints email address complaints@gipping.co.uk to provide details of the complaint.
Gipping OH will assess the complaint and categorise into one of 3 levels:
Level 1 – Response within 2 weeks
Level 2 – Response within 1 week
Level 3 – Response within 24 hours
Gipping OH will need to assess the following:
- The nature of the complaint
- The organisation or person who is making the complaint
- The time / date of the issue arising
- The location of the issue
- Contact details so that Gipping OH may maintain a high level of communication during the investigation and correction of the complaint.
Procedure
When a complaint is received, a director will ensure that it is immediately logged within the complaints log. If the complaint is not made using the complaints email address, employees / workers are required to notify a director of the complaint immediately and provide all details.
The complaints log will be populated with the following information:
- Name of person making the complaint
- Organisation making the complaint
- Date complaint was raised
- Full details of the complaint including date and time of the issue arising, who was involved, location of the issue
If required, a director will contact the person making the complaint and gather more details as necessary and log within the complaints log.
A Gipping OH director will work with the organisation / individual making the complaint to understand the expected outcome and reason for the complaint.
The relevant director will conduct a full and thorough investigation into the complaint and will carry out actions as necessary to meet a satisfactory close. Actions may include:
- Interviews with employees / contractors
- Review of the workspace
- Review of OH records and reports
- Reviewing the complaint with those who are named
- Investigating the root cause of the complaint
A Director will update the complaints log with progress including:
- Logging the root cause of the complaint
- Logging any corrective actions taken
- Logging communications between Gipping OH and the person / organisation who made the complaint
- Logging complaint resolution details
- Confirmation from the organisation / person making the complaint that they are satisfied with the resolution
- Logging the date of complaint closure
The organisation / person who made the complaint may not be satisfied with the proposed resolution, where this occurs, Gipping OH will work with them to ensure that a satisfactory resolution can be found. This will be logged within the complaints log.
Gipping OH aim to resolve all complaints within 14 days, on some occasions this may take longer. In this instance, a Director will advise of the expected extension.
Extensions to the 14 days may be required where the investigation of the complaint is taking longer than expected.
Where the complaint concerns a contracted worker – a Director will liaise with the contracted worker or their employer and include them in the investigation of the complaint.
Closing out the Complaint
Once the investigation has been completed and the interested parties have been informed of the investigation result and proposed corrective action, an agreement will be sought for the closure of the complaint.
The complaint will be updated with all relevant information and closed within the complaints log.
Complaints are reviewed for trends and lessons learned to identify how Gipping OH could have prevented the complaint or actions which may be taken to reduce the impact of the complaint.
Reporting to Authorities
Where a serious complaint is received, which may require reporting to authorities or governing bodies, a director will gather all relevant information and will contact the relevant authority or governing body.
Where a complaint is made to an authority, Gipping OH will work with the authority to work towards a resolution.
Where a complaint has been made to an authority, it may take longer to resolve the complaint and close it on the complaints log. The extension may be communicated to the organisation / person who made the complaint, but there may be a valid reason not to inform them of the complaint referral to an authority until the investigation is completed.
Monitoring, Measurement and Improvement
Complaint rates, trends and measures will be reviewed as part of management review with a view to implement improvements moving forward.