The Leicester Counselling Centre aims to provide a fair and equal service, which is of a high standard, and we hope people will be satisfied with the service they receive. However, if you are not satisfied and wish to make a complaint, The Leicester Counselling Centre encourages you to do so. You have the right to be accompanied for support by someone of your choice, who must respect the confidentiality of the investigation. You can decide whether you or your supporter speaks for you, however only one of you may speak.
The Leicester Counselling Centre’s Complaint Procedure is for current or former Clients, Volunteers, Staff and Executive Committee, who is unhappy about the way they have been treated and may be used to complain about any aspect of the Centre including the services, staff, volunteers, or the Executive Committee. A complaint cannot be made by a third party on behalf of any of the above. By making a complaint no one should feel they will lose the support of the Centre.
The Chair of the Executive Committee will be informed of the issue and outcome and convey this to the Executive Committee omitting all identifiable details.
Those taking part in the Complaint Procedure are required to act in a manner that does not breach confidentiality or in such a way that might prejudice or influence the outcome of the investigation and must not make any derogatory or adverse comments including on social media or other networking sites. If the complainant breaches confidentiality, the complaint procedure may be halted by the Chair of the Executive Committee.
For the purpose of this document the party(ies) making the complaint will be known as the Complainant(s), and the party(ies) being complained about will be known as the Respondent(s).
The Complaints Procedure comprises three stages. If you feel unhappy with the outcome of the investigation of the complaint, or the way that it has been investigated, then you can take it to the next stage for someone different to look at.
Please note, TLCC also has a Harassment and Bullying Policy for issues which are not about complaints. If you wish to raise an issue, you should specify whether or not it concerns harassment or bullying. Any matters already addressed under the Complaint Procedure cannot be raised under the Harassment and Bullying Policy and vice-versa.
How to make a Complaint
It may help to talk to someone who is not involved with The Leicester Counselling Centre. This can help in sorting out what you want to do and why you want to do it. A complaint can be made verbally (Stage One) or in writing (Stage Two) by letter or email only.
Stage One: Informal Discussion
This stage involves you making known your complaint verbally to the Director on an informal basis with a view to seeing if the matter can be resolved quickly.
It is anticipated that the problem will be resolved with the person concerned within ten working days. It is hoped that the majority of complaints will be dealt with at this informal stage.
If agreement cannot be reached between the complainant and the member of staff or person concerned and you feel dissatisfied with the outcome of Stage One, you can request investigation at Stage Two by writing to the Director within ten days of receiving a response from Stage One.
If the complaint is about the Director, then the complaint will be referred to the Executive Committee who will nominate an Investigating Officer who is neither its Chair nor its Vice-Chair, to proceed as above.
Stage Two: Formal Complaint
Stage Two will involve the Director carrying out a more formal investigation of the complaint.
The Director will acknowledge receipt of a written complaint in writing within five working days.
The Director will investigate the complaint, including interviewing the complainant and others to establish the relevant facts.
A written response by the Director will be made to the complainant within twenty-eight days of the complaint being made or as soon as possible thereafter. The Chair of the Executive Committee will also be informed about the complaint and the outcome.
If the Complainant is not satisfied with the response, then an appeal can be made in writing to the Chair of the Executive Committee detailing any new information which was not available to the complainant at the time of the original hearing, within five days of receiving a written response from Stage Two. Any appeal outside of this time limit will not be entertained unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Stage Three: Review Panel
The Review Panel’s role is to consider the grounds of appeal and to decide whether or not to uphold the decision of the Director or to allow the appeal.
The Chair will acknowledge the appeal within seven days of receipt. The Review Panel will investigate the complaint within thirty working days of the Chair receiving notification or as soon as possible thereafter.
The Review Panel will consist of no more than two people, none of whom have been involved with the procedure or complaint beforehand. The panel will comprise:
- The Chair or another member of the Executive Committee
- A member of the Executive Committee (who should be a counsellor if the Chair is not)
The complainant will be given the opportunity to submit details of any grounds of appeal with any supporting evidence to the panel.
Between fourteen and twenty-eight days written notice will be given of the review meeting.
The complainant and the respondent may bring a supporter with them who is not a solicitor provided prior notice is given.
If the complainant fails to attend the review meeting, the complaint will be withdrawn.
The Review Panel then considers its action in private and writes to the complainant and the respondent outlining its decision within twenty-eight days of the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter.
The decision of the Panel is final and there will be no further right of appeal.
All written records relating to the complaint and the action taken will be kept by The Leicester Counselling Centre.
Vexatious Communication and Unreasonable Behaviour
All complaints will be dealt with in accordance with this policy. However, vexatious communication and unreasonable or abusive complaint behaviour does happen from time to time.
Difficulties in handling such situations can place strain on time and resources and can be stressful for staff who have to deal with these complex and challenging issues.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Commissioner defines unreasonably persistent complainants as “those who, because of the frequency or nature of their contact with an authority, hinder the authority’s consideration of their or other people’s, complaints”.
The Leicester Counselling Centre has a policy which sets out how we will respond to these situations. Please refer to:
- Vexatious Communications Policy