Members: Complaints Procedure#
The College is committed to providing high-quality accommodation and an exceptional life experience for all Members, including quality work, timely delivery, professional behaviour, excellent customer service and a satisfying intellectual, social and cultural programme.
However, even in the most efficient organisations, things can occasionally go wrong and services may fall short of reasonable expectations. This complaint procedure can be used by College Members and their resident family Members, Alumni (past Members) and those in the local neighbourhood and the public. For the purposes of this Procedure a ‘current Member’ is defined as permanently resident at the College and ‘past Member’ is a recognised alumnae of the College. This procedure cannot be used by applicants to the College, applicants applying for Scholarships or funding from the College or former Members of the College who have been excluded following disciplinary procedures or a breach of the College’s Terms and Conditions or other policies.
Complaints from groups of Members can be considered under this Procedure. Group complaints should be submitted as a single complaint signed by all complainants, with one individual nominated to act as the point of contact for the process. The College will communicate with the nominated Member, who will be responsible for keeping the group informed about the progress of the complaint.
The following matters cannot be considered under this Procedure:
- complaints about the Members’ Council;
- complaints from third parties (with exceptions under certain circumstances as detailed below)
- complaints about bullying and/or harassment by members of the College staff. Allegations of this nature should be submitted to HR and will be dealt with within the staff policies
- complaints about other College Members. Where appropriate, evidence of misconduct, harassment or some other personal dispute or treatment between members by other Members will be considered under the College’s Disciplinary Procedure
- anonymous complaints.
Complaints about sexual misconduct, are dealt with under a separate Harassment and Sexual misconduct and sexual harassment policy. Other forms of complaint such as bullying or harassment are dealt with under the Disciplinary Policy.
The College’s objective is to work with complainants to solve problems quickly and fairly and the emphasis of this procedure, therefore, is on informal resolution. It is hoped that the great majority of issues can be settled courteously at an early stage. For the purposes of this procedure a complaint is defined as any serious and formal expression of dissatisfaction that requires action or redress. This includes repetitive failure to resolve or address a reported issue; serious failure of agreed service or arrangement; serious breach of service agreement; serious inconvenience caused as a result of our actions (or inaction) and inappropriate behaviour by a member of Goodenough College staff or contractors.
Routine maintenance fault reporting is treated as a service request and does not fall under this procedure. Complaints about standards or response times of maintenance will be treated under this procedure.
Members are welcome to seek advice or clarification on the operation of the Procedure from the Registrar or their nominee. The Registrar or their nominee however is not in a position to provide support with the drafting of complaints as this would conflict with their role in the process.
The College always welcomes constructive criticism as an aid to monitoring and raising service levels and Members’ opinions are valued. The College seeks feedback from Members during the year, normally in the form of surveys, with the aim of continually improving the services and the facilities that the College offers. Feedback will occasionally also be sought by other means such as working groups, open fora and comments forms. General, non-personal issues or ideas for enhancements should be raised through the Members’ Council.
A record is kept of all complaints. This record will include the complainant’s name, details of the complaint and how it has been resolved or concluded.
Informal Complaint#
Many complaints can be resolved at an informally. The most effective approach is usually for the Member to take the matter directly to the member of staff with relevant expertise and/or responsibility.
Members are generally expected to have pursued appropriate informal resolution prior to bringing a formal complaint.
Formal Complaint: First Stage#
If, following attempts to resolve the matter informally, a Member wishes to pursue a formal complaint about a service or facility (e.g. cleaning, maintenance, catering or another service or member of staff) in person during office hours, or in writing, and ask for an appointment with the Registrar, Dean or Deputy Registrar.
Members are encouraged to submit a complaint as soon as possible after the event in question, as this facilitates timely investigation and enables the College to take prompt corrective action where necessary. If the complaint is about a specific incident the complaint must be made within one month of the incident. If the complaint is received after this time the Registrar, Dean or his\her Deputy will exercise discretion as to whether or not the matter in question is to be investigated. Where a complaint is deemed out of time, the College will issue a Completion of Procedures Letter on request, noting the reason why the complaint was not considered and advising the Member that they may be able to make a complaint to the National Code of Standards for Larger Developments if appropriate.
This Procedure relates both to complaints about Goodenough College (that is, about action or lack of action by the College, or about the standard of service provided), and appeals against decisions on the grounds of procedural irregularity, bias, or decisions being made without awareness of mitigating circumstances.
The College can only consider complaints from third parties such as parents or family members if there is a letter of authorisation for them to act on the Member’s behalf. The College’s consent to such arrangements may be withdrawn at any time if the behaviour of a third party is not appropriate. The College will only communicate with one party at a time.
In submitting a complaint, Members should state clearly their complaint or source of dissatisfaction and what they wish to see done to resolve this issue. The complaint should encompass everything that the Member would like to see addressed; new elements cannot be introduced later in the process. If a complaint relates to several different issues, Members should ensure that these are clearly distinguished. Members are encouraged to submit relevant supporting documentation and evidence with their complaint.
Complaints about members of Staff#
Complaints about a member of staff including contracted staff (catering, maintenance and cleaning in addition to occasional contractors (e.g. window cleaners, painters etc.) and College members with respect to their paid employment at the College (GBar bar tenders, librarians etc.) should be made to the Director of Operations, the HR Manager or his \her nominee. (Complaints about the Director of Operations or HR Manager should be made to the College Director.)
Complaints about members of staff will be dealt with in accordance with their contract of employment and not necessarily as detailed below. The purpose of any investigation under this complaints procedure will be to clarify the reasons for complaint by the Member: the procedure will not constitute or be seen to constitute a disciplinary process against the member(s) of staff concerned.
Resolving a complaint#
The College’s object remains to resolve a problem quickly, simply and with the minimum formality. The College will deal with complaints discreetly and sensitively. Members will be treated without discrimination or disadvantage.
The Registrar, Dean and Deputy Registrar have discretion with regard to how a complaint is investigated and determined. It may be necessary to share the complaint and supporting evidence with another member of staff whose response is required in order to address the complaint fully. In some rare cases, a duty to breach confidentiality may exist, typically where it is necessary for the safety of the Member or of other people. Members will be required, as part of their submission of a complaint, to give explicit consent to disclosure. This Procedure complies with the standards set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Where a complaint is taken forward and concerns the actions of an individual member of the College’s community, that individual will be given the opportunity to respond. That individual will also have the right to be accompanied and/or assisted at any related meeting by a friend, who must be a member of the College community (a current Member of the College, a member of staff of the College, or a member of the Members’ Council). The role of the friend is to provide moral support during a meeting or hearing. They cannot make representations nor cross-examine any other party.
If the College cannot resolve a complaint immediately, or if the notification of the complaint is via email or letter, an initial response to the complaint can be expected within seven working days. This response will include information on how the College intends to resolve the complaint and, where possible, an estimated time of completion.
Formal Complaint: Second Stage#
If the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily at the First Stage, a complainant may request, within three months of the conclusion of stage one, that the Registrar or Deputy Registrar refers the complaint to the College Executive team for further investigation.
Normally, a response will issue within 14 days. The Executive investigator exercises their discretion as to how to investigate the complaint and may decide to interview the Member, Dean/Registrar/Deputy Registrar and any relevant parties. If the College Executive team comes to the conclusion that the complaint has already been settled fairly, or that the complaint is lacking in merit or substance, they may dismiss the complaint.
National Code for Assured Accommodation#
Goodenough College is a Member of the National Code for Assured Accommodation (www.nationalcode.org), specifically the National Code of Standards for Larger Developments. A Member may make a complaint through the National Code about any specific breach of the Code by the College. However, to raise a complaint with the National Code office, a Member must first have raised the issue with the College management and exhausted the College’s internal complaints procedure (including the Appeals Procedure - Second Stage).