Complaints Policy

1) Introduction

The quality and standard of service that Murray’s Initiative provides to the individuals who use our services are at the centre of the organisationﾕs activities. The views of our users are essential in helping us to maintain and improve our services. Any complaint or dissatisfaction with the service we have provided must be dealt with swiftly and satisfactorily, and treated as a high priority. Complaints are distinct from Feedback. Feedback is when service users do not expect a personalised response. A formal complaint is one where a complainant expects a response.

Murray’s Initiative will display the Complaints Policy and Procedures on noticeboards within Murray’s Initiative premises and make them known to all service users, including those who receive counselling, wellbeing and employability services, training and supervision. The complaints policy is also available publicly on the Murray’s Initiative website. Documents will be made available in other languages and formats upon request, where possible.

Complaints by third parties will be considered where the third party can evidence any direct and adverse effects on them. Third parties are those who have not directly received services from us.

Anonymous complaints are acceptable. As we will be unable to provide written responses directly to anonymous complainants, any actions taken will be displayed at the reception within the Head Office.

Complainants must represent themselves. Complaints will not be accepted from third parties acting on behalf of complainants, e.g., professionals such as solicitors, accountants, or claims management companies.

This policy applies to complaints against members of staff, individuals (paid, volunteer, or on placement), and groups carrying out work related to counselling and psychotherapy on behalf of Murray’s Initiative by a service user or member of the public.

All complaints should be submitted by letter, email or by proforma to a Manager or to the Head of Client Services, who will forward it to the appropriate member of staff:

Post or In Person - Head of Client Services, Murray’s Initiative, 14 North Claremont Street, Glasgow G3 7LE
Telephone - 0141 353 1800
Email - complaints@murrays.scot

2) Principles

In dealing with complaints and concerns, the Murray’s Initiative approach will be open and transparent, and the consideration of the issues will be fair and reasonable.

Murray’s Initiative staff will:

  1. Assist the complainant in any way possible to have the complaint communicated and understood clearly.

  2. Provide a written response to the complaint.

  3. Establish clearly what is essential to the complainant(s).

  4. Ensure that issues are resolved promptly within agreed time scales.

  5. Be consistent and impartial in dealing with responses.

  6. Communicate effectively with all concerned.

  7. Advise complainant of local advocacy services upon request.

  8. Advise the Head of Client Services in writing of all service user concerns, whether they are resolved at the local level or not.

  9. Record all and every complaint, concern.

3) Resolution

It is expected that most complaints will be resolved at the local or service level by the staff member who receives them. If this fails to satisfy the complainant, a formal complaint can be made to the organisationﾕs Head of Client Services based at Head Office. For further practical guidance, please see Complaints Procedures in Appendix 1.

APPENDIX 1

1. Informal processes

1.1 It is expected that most concerns can and will be resolved informally at local level without the complainant needing to resort to the formal complaints procedure. Please see Appendix 2 for an informal complaints form. Anyone raising concerns should be provided with a copy of the complaints leaflet. Please see Appendix 3 for a formal complaints leaflet.

1.2 If the complainant is not satisfied following this local approach, then they should be advised that there is a formal complaints procedure, and it should be confirmed that they have been provided with a copy of the complaints leaflet.

1.3 All concerns raised should be recorded in some form. If the issue does not warrant a complaint form, it should still be logged in the complaints log, which is held on the company drive. For example, comments regarding unanswered phone calls to offices may be offered as feedback rather than an actual complaint.

2. Formal complaints procedure

2.1 All complaints will be dealt with in accordance with Murrayﾕs Initiative Complaints Policy and Procedures.

2.2 Complaints will be handled and resolved locally as far as possible.

2.3 Any service user or member of the public wishing to make a formal complaint should be sent a copy of the complaint form, please see Appendix 3. Any other relevant documentation should also be made available on request.

2.4 Complainants can submit the complaint in person, in writing, by telephone or by email.

2.5 The initial contact from the complainant will be acknowledged in writing within 14 working days. They will then be kept informed, as appropriate, of the progress being taken to address the issues.

2.6 Where an office has received a formal complaint, the Line Manager will be advised immediately. They will pass the complaint onto the Head of Client Services, who will then determine whether there is a case to answer, how the complaint will be investigated and who will manage the complaints procedure. The Head of Client Services will be informed on every occasion of a formal complaint from a dissatisfied service user.

2.7 Appropriate, impartial investigators will be appointed to investigate the complaint confidentially. Consideration will be given, when an investigator is selected, to whether they can investigate a complaint impartially. The investigators will hear the evidence from each party separately, not together. A lay person may also be appointed to the investigation team.

2.8 The party complained against and the complainant has the right to attend any investigative meetings and to be accompanied but not represented by a supportive person of their choice at the meeting.

2.9 All parties involved in the complaint can, where relevant, declare a conflict of interest to the Head of Client Services, who will assess and deal with that conflict.

2.10 Steps will be taken to ensure that the complainant and the person complained against, and/or their representative, will not come into contact at any time as a result of the investigation.

2.11 The individual identified to manage the complaints procedure can halt the complaint at any stage should it emerge that legal action is underway, pending or intended and can stop the procedure until any legal process is complete.

2.12 Complaints should be raised within six months of the incident giving rise to the complaint. Where there is an alleged breach of COSCAﾕs Statement of Ethics and Code of Practice, complaints will be accepted for investigation up to three years following the date of the alleged violation. Complaints will only be accepted outside of this limit if they are deemed to be in the public interest.

2.13 We aim, as far as possible, for the complaint to be investigated and the results of the investigation communicated to the complainant and the person complained against in writing within 14 working days. If, for any good reason, it will take longer than 14 days, the complainant will be advised accordingly, including the expected completion date.

2.14 If a complaint is specifically about a member of staff or volunteer, then the staff member/volunteer will be advised of the nature and status of the complaint and offered support where appropriate.

2.15 Depending on the seriousness of the complaint against a member of staff or volunteer, it may be appropriate to follow the steps laid out within Murrayﾕs Initiative Disciplinary Policy.

2.16 If the complaint is against a member of staff, volunteer or placement student who has left the organisation, the complaints procedure will still be followed. It will, wherever possible, allow the individual who is complained against the opportunity to represent their own interest. The outcome report will be submitted to COSCA, who may take further steps to investigate.

2.17 Complaints received directly at the Head Office will usually be recorded and acknowledged by the Head of Client Services and forwarded to the appropriate service for action.

2.18 The complaint may be discontinued if the complainant refuses to cooperate with the complaint investigation without good reason or if the complainant withdraws the complaint. All relevant parties will be informed of the decision to discontinue a complaint in writing.

2.19 The complaint process may be adjourned at any time at the discretion of the Head of Client Services with due regard to time constraints and confidentiality. The process will recommence within a reasonable time at the point where it was stopped.

2.20 Murrayﾕs Initiative reserves the right to seek legal advice or advice from other specialist organisations, such as COSCA, at any point in the process.

2.21 If the investigation team upholds the complaint, various sanctions may be applied against the person complained about. Recommendations for appropriate sanctions from the investigating team will be considered. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, disciplinary action, appropriate training or suspension from practice. The commencement date and the duration of the sanction will be communicated to all relevant parties in writing. The Murrayﾕs Initiative Quality Assurance group will be responsible for monitoring the status of ongoing sanctions by communicating with all relevant parties. The Head of Client Services will be responsible for notifying the sanctioned party when a sanction has been lifted.

2.22 If the complainant is not satisfied with the response, then they will be entitled to appeal. The letter advising the result of the complaint will detail the appeals process to be followed.

2.23 If a complaint is received in relation to a counselling or counselling-related activity, the Head of Client Services will complete the proforma ﾔOutcome Report to COSCA at Conclusion of Complaints Proceedingsﾕ and submit it to COSCA within one month of the conclusion of the complaints process. COSCA will publish upheld complaints and their sanctions regarding COSCA Individual Members or Member Organisations.

2.24 Vexatious or malicious use of the complaints procedure will not be tolerated. Where a complaint is deemed to be vexatious or malicious, Murrayﾕs Initiative may seek legal advice and take appropriate action if necessary.

3. Appeals procedure

3.1 The complainant should write to the person handling the appeal within 28 days of receiving the complaint response letter, supplying contact details.

3.2 The person handling your appeal will write to you acknowledging receipt of your appeal letter within 14 days.

3.3 The person handling the appeal will review the original complaint and relevant documentation to ascertain whether it was handled correctly. An appeal will only be heard if Murrayﾕs Initiative has failed to follow our procedure, new evidence is available, the decision was not warranted, or the sanction was disproportionate.

3.4 The person handling the appeal will ensure that no one involved in investigating the complaint will be involved in the appeal process.

3.5 The person handling the appeal, or an independent person appointed by the person handling the appeal, may contact the complainant to provide or clarify information.

3.6 The person handling the appeal will consider whether the findings and recommendations of the investigation into your original complaint were reasonable. The complainant will receive a written response to their appeal within eight weeks of its receipt.

4. Criminal offence

4.1 In some cases, the original complaint, or the results of an investigation, may suggest that a volunteer or member of staff has committed a criminal offence. A senior member of staff should generally decide whether to breach confidentiality.

Please see Murray’s Initiative Confidentiality Policy and Procedures for further information on reporting criminal offences.

5. Records and reports

5.1 A record must be kept of all complaints, listing:

  • Date the complaint was received

  • Time the complaint was received

  • Name and address of complainant

  • Description of the nature of the complaint

  • To whom the complaint was addressed

  • Who dealt with the complaint

  • Action taken

  • Outcome

  • Reasons for decisions taken

  • Any future action required

  • Initial and final response to complainant

5.2 Copies of complaints and associated correspondence/notes must be kept for six years. For young people, records should be kept for 6 years or until they turn 21, whichever is longer.

5.3 A report of the number and nature of the formal complaints received and dealt with will be provided to the Board as part of the quarterly performance reporting arrangements. The Heads of Services will routinely report to the Chief Executive Officer on all received complaints.

5.4 The Heads of Service can, if so deemed necessary (or beneficial) and following discussions with the Chief Executive Officer, direct a staff member (or members) outside the department receiving the complaint to lead any investigation. However, Murray's Initiative generally adopts the approach of dealing with complaints at the level where the dissatisfaction was experienced.

5.5 Counselling service and counselling-related activities

Murray;s Initiative is an organisational member of COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland).

If an individual is unable to resolve their complaint with Murrayﾕs Initiative and it relates to the above service, they can contact COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland).

COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland)
16 Melville Terrace, Stirling FK8 2NE
T: 01786 475140
E: info@cosca.org.uk
www.cosca.org.uk

This must be done within one month of the conclusion of Murrayﾕs Initiative complaints process.

Any complaint must be made in writing using the Proforma for Submitting a Complaint to COSCA and within the procedures laid down in the COSCA Complaints Procedure (see www.cosca.org.uk under Complaints).

The proforma can be obtained from COSCA. This must be completed and sent, signed, dated and marked “private and confidential” to the Chief Executive, COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland), 16 Melville Terrace, Stirling FK8 2NE.

On receipt of the complaint, COSCA will verify that the member’s complaints procedure has been followed and the outcome of the complaint was lawful, reasonable and adequately explained.

6. Confidentiality

6.1 Confidentiality must be respected at all times. Information concerning complaints should be shared only with those engaged in the process on a ﾔneed to knowﾕ basis. The complainant is required to permit confidential for all relevant confidential information to be disclosed by all parties cited in the complaint to those involved in handling the complaint.

Please see the Confidentiality Policy and Procedures for further information. Any breach may result in disciplinary action.