Complaint handling code self-assessment

A complaint must be defined as:

'an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf,affecting an individual resident or group of residents'.

Corporate Complaints and Compliments Policy:

A complaint is defined as the concern or dissatisfaction of a customer regarding the service, action or lack of action taken by the Council. Customers are not necessarily required to quote the words complain or complaint in order for the Council to recognise their dissatisfaction as a complaint. A complaint is not a request for service, information or an explanation of Council policy or practice. Complaints will also not be accepted about formal decisions taken by committees or those delegated to staff, where there is an existing right of appeal or where there is active or pending legal action. A customer is able to complain if they believe the Council has not followed its process correctly, these are complaints regarding the process the Council has undertaken and are not about a decision that it has made.

The policy outlines that a complaint is not a request for service, information or an explanation of Council policy or practice. Complaints will also not be accepted about formal decisions taken by committees or those delegated to staff, where there is an existing right of appeal or where there is active or pending legal action.

If a landlord decides not to accept a complaint, a detailed explanation must be provided to the resident setting out the reasons why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process and the right to take that decision to the Ombudsman.

Landlords must make it easy for residents to complain by providing different channels through which residents can make a complaint such as in person, over the telephone, in writing, by email and digitally. While the Ombudsman recognises that it may not be feasible for a landlord to use all of the potential channels, there must be more than one route of access into the complaints system.

Complaints to the Council can be made in the following ways:

• email
• online
• in person
• letter
• phone
• through the tenant's MP and councillor using an agreed third party
• advocate
• solicitor
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• any other reasonable request

Our website includes information on how make comments, complaints and compliments.

Landlords must comply with the Equality Act 2010 and may need to adapt normal policies, procedures, or processes to accommodate an individual's needs. Landlords must satisfy themselves that their policy sets out how they will respond to reasonable adjustments requests in line with the Equality Act and that complaints handlers have had appropriate training to deal with such requests.

Landlords must publicise the complaints policy and process, the Complaint Handling Code and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme in leaflets, posters, newsletters, online and as part of regular correspondence with residents.

The complaints policy is published online. News and Views (tenant magazine) includes articles about complaints. All Housing Ombudsman thematic reviews and calls for evidence are promoted/shared on the Council website.

Landlords must provide residents with contact information for the Ombudsman as part of its regular correspondence with residents.

Landlords must have a person or team assigned to take responsibility for complaint handling to ensure complaints receive the necessary attention, and that these are reported to the governing body. This code will refer to that person or team as the complaints officer.

Complaints are managed by the Corporate Services Team.

The complaint handler appointed must have appropriate complaint handling skills and no conflicts of interest.

Complaint handlers should:

• be able to act sensitively and fairly
• be trained to handle complaints and deal with distressed and upset residents
• have access to staff at all levels to facilitate quick resolution of complaints
• have the authority and autonomy to act to resolve disputes quickly and fairly

Any decision to try and resolve a concern must be taken in agreement with the resident and a landlord's audit trail/records should be able to demonstrate this. Landlords must ensure that efforts to resolve a resident's concerns do not obstruct access to the complaints procedure or result in any unreasonable delay. It is not appropriate to have extra named stages (such as 'stage 0' or 'pre-complaint stage') as this causes unnecessary confusion for residents. When a complaint is made, it must be acknowledged and logged at stage one of the complaints procedure within five days of receipt.

Within the complaint acknowledgement, landlords must set out their understanding of the complaint and the outcomes the resident is seeking. If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, the resident must be asked for clarification and the full definition agreed between both parties.

The complaint handler must:

• deal with complaints on their merits
• act independently and have an open mind
• take measures to address any actual or perceived conflict of interest
• consider all information and evidence carefully
• keep the complaint confidential as far as possible, with information only disclosed if necessary to properly investigate the matter

Landlords must adhere to any reasonable arrangements agreed with residents in terms of frequency and method of communication.

The resident, and if applicable any staff member who is the subject of the complaint, must also be given a fair chance to:

• set out their position
• comment on any adverse findings before a final decision is made

A landlord must include in its complaints policy its timescales for a resident to request escalation of a complaint.

A full record must be kept of the complaint, any review and the outcomes at each stage. This must include the original complaint and the date received, all correspondence with the resident, correspondence with other parties and any reports or surveys prepared.

A complaint should be resolved at the earliest possible opportunity, having assessed what evidence is needed to fully consider the issues, what outcome would resolve the matter for the resident and whether there are any urgent actions required.

Landlords should give residents the opportunity to have a representative deal with their complaint on their behalf, and to be represented or accompanied at any meeting with the landlord where this is reasonable.

Complaints are accepted on behalf of a tenant. Complaint's from third parties who are authorised to act on the customers behalf will be accepted; responses to these complaints will be issued directly to the authorised party. Anonymous complaints will not be accepted.

Where a key issue of a complaint relates to the parties' legal obligations landlords should clearly set out their understanding of the obligations of both parties.

Landlords should seek feedback from residents in relation to the landlord's complaint handling as part of the drive to encourage a positive complaint and learning culture.

Landlords should recognise the impact that being complained about can have on future service delivery. Landlords should ensure that staff are supported and engaged in the complaints process, including the learning that can be gained.

Any restrictions placed on a resident's contact due to unacceptable behaviour should be appropriate to their needs and should demonstrate regard for the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

Landlords must respond to the complaint within 10 working days of the complaint being logged. Exceptionally, landlords may provide an explanation to the resident containing a clear timeframe for when the response will be received. This should not exceed a further 10 days without good reason.

A complaint response must be sent to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue, are completed. Outstanding actions must still be tracked and actioned expeditiously with regular updates provided to the resident.

Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage one in clear, plain language:

• the complaint stage
• the decision on the complaint
• the reasons for any decisions made
• the details of any remedy offered to put things right
• details of any outstanding actions
• details of how to escalate the matter to stage two if the resident is not satisfied with the answer

If all or part of the complaint is not resolved to the resident's satisfaction at stage one it must be progressed to stage two of the landlord's procedure, unless an exclusion ground now applies. In instances where a landlord declines to escalate a complaint it must clearly communicate in writing its reasons for not escalating as well as the resident's right to approach the Ombudsman about its decision.

On receipt of the escalation request, landlords must set out their understanding of issues outstanding and the outcomes the resident is seeking. If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, the resident must be asked for clarification and the full definition agreed between both parties.

Landlords must only escalate a complaint to stage two once it has completed stage one and at the request of the resident.

The person considering the complaint at stage two, must not be the same person that considered the complaint at stage one.

Landlords must respond to the stage two complaint within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated. Exceptionally, landlords may provide an explanation to the resident containing a clear timeframe for when the response will be received. This should not exceed a further 10 days without good reason.

Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage two in clear, plain language:

• the complaint stage
• the complaint definition
• the decision on the complaint
• the reasons for any decisions made
• the details of any remedy offered to put things right
• details of any outstanding actions

and

• if the landlord has a third stage, details of how to escalate the matter to stage three
• if this was the final stage, details of how to escalate the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service if the resident remains dissatisfied

Two stage landlord complaint procedures are ideal. This ensures that the complaint process is not unduly long. If landlords strongly believe a third stage is necessary, they must set out their reasons for this as part of their self-assessment. A process with more than three stages is not acceptable under any circumstances.

Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage three in clear, plain language:

• the complaint stage
• the complaint definition
• the decision on the complaint
• the reasons for any decisions made
• the details of any remedy offered to put things right
• details of any outstanding actions
• details of how to escalate the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service if the resident remains dissatisfied

Effective dispute resolution requires a process designed to resolve complaints. Where something has gone wrong a landlord must acknowledge this and set out the actions it has already taken, or intends to take, to put things right.

The Council's aim is to resolve the majority of issues as early as possible and preferably even before they reach a (stage one) complaint. However, it is acknowledged that this may not always be possible.

Any remedy offered must reflect the extent of any service failures and the level of detriment caused to the resident as a result. A landlord must carefully manage the expectations of residents and not promise anything that cannot be delivered or would cause unfairness to other residents.

In awarding compensation, a landlord must consider whether any statutory payments are due, if any quantifiable losses have been incurred, the time and trouble a resident has been put to as well as any distress and inconvenience caused.

Landlords should look beyond the circumstances of the individual complaint and consider whether anything needs to be 'put right' in terms of process or systems to the benefit of all residents.

In some cases, a resident may have a legal entitlement to redress. The landlord should still offer a resolution where possible, obtaining legal advice as to how any offer of resolution should be worded.

Accountability and transparency are integral to a positive complaint handling culture. Landlords must report back on wider learning and improvements from complaints in their annual report and more frequently to their residents, staff and scrutiny panels.

A member of the governing body should be appointed to have lead responsibility for complaints to support a positive complaint handling culture. This role will be responsible for ensuring the governing body receives regular information on complaints that provides insight to the governing body on the landlord's complaint handling performance.

As a minimum, governing bodies should receive:

• regular updates on the volume, categories and outcome of complaints, alongside complaint handling performance including compliance with the Ombudsman's orders
• regular reviews of issues and trends arising from complaint handling, the annual performance report produced by the Ombudsman, where applicable Individual complaint outcomes where necessary, including where the Ombudsman made findings of severe maladministration or referrals to regulatory bodies. The implementation of management responses should be tracked to ensure they are delivered to agreed timescales.The annual self-assessment against the Complaint Handling Code for scrutiny and challenge.

Six monthly reports are to be provided to the Council's Executive Leadership Team and the Cabinet Member responsible for the Housing Assets Service following the establishment of new Regulatory Compliance Board in relation to:

• Housing Asset Service complaints, themes, trends and learning
• Housing Ombudsman determinations.

In addition annually, the following will be reported:

• Annual Housing Ombudsman performance report
• Complaint Handling Code Self Assessment

Landlords should have a standard objective in relation to complaint handling for all employees that reflects the need to:

• have a collaborative and co-operative approach towards resolving complaints, working with colleagues across teams and departments
• take collective responsibility for any shortfalls identified through complaints rather than blaming others act within the Professional Standards for engaging with complaints as set by the Chartered Institute of Housing

Landlords must carry out an annual self-assessment against the code to ensure their complaint handling remains in line with its requirements.

Following each self-assessment, a landlord must:

• report the outcome of their self-assessment to their governing body; in the case of local authorities, self-assessment outcomes should be reported to elected members
• publish the outcome of their assessment on their website if they have one, or otherwise make accessible to residents
• include the self-assessment in their annual report section on complaints handling performance