Policy details
Whitstable Beauty School views complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future, as well as a chance to put things right for the person or organisation that has made the complaint.
Our policy is:
- To provide a fair complaints procedure which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint
- To publicise the existence of our complaints procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint
- To make sure everyone at Whitstable Beauty School knows what to do if a complaint is received
- To make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way
- To make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired
- To gather information which helps us to improve what we do
Definition of a Complaint
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any aspect of Whitstable Beauty School.
Where Complaints Come From
Complaints may come from any person or organisation who has a legitimate interest in Whitstable Beauty School. A complaint can be received verbally, by phone, by email or in writing. This policy does not cover complaints from staff, who should use Whitstable Beauty School’s Discipline and Grievance policies.
Confidentiality
All complaint information will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to
know and following any relevant data protection requirements.
Responsibility
Overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation lies with the Director.
How to complain
If you have a complaint about our service, please contact us in order that we can investigate this using our complaints procedure. When making a complaint, please give us the following information if you have it:
what the complaint is about.
your full name and learner name if different.
the qualification or unit title that you are studying.
copies of any relevant supporting documents.
We promise to:
acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days of receiving it.
give you a full response within 5 working days. If this is not possible, we will let you know after 10 working days.
Review
This policy is reviewed annually and updated as required.
Complaints Procedure of Whitstable Beauty School
Publicised Contact Details for Complaints:
Written complaints may be sent by email using the centrally managed contact details below.
Verbal complaints may be made by telephone or in person to any Whitstable Beauty School staff member.
Receiving Complaints
Complaints may arrive through channels publicised for that purpose or through any other contact details or opportunities the complainant may have. Complaints received by telephone or in person need to be recorded in writing.
The person who receives a phone or in-person complaint should:
- Write down the facts of the complaint
- Take the complainant’s name, address and telephone number
- Note down the relationship of the complainant to Whitstable Beauty School (for example: client, student)
- Tell the complainant that we have a complaints procedure
- Tell the complainant what will happen next and how long it will take
- Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send a written account by email so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.
Resolving Complaints
Stage One
- In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they may be able to resolve it swiftly and should do so if possible and appropriate.
- Whether or not the complaint has been resolved, the complaint information should be passed to Whitstable Beauty School Management Staff within one week.
- On receiving the complaint, it will be recorded in the complaints log.
- If it has not already been resolved, the management staff will delegate an appropriate person to investigate it and to take appropriate action.
- If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a fair opportunity to respond.
- Complaints should be acknowledged by the person handling the complaint within a week. The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint and when the person complaining can expect a reply. A copy of this Complaints Procedure should be attached.
- Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks. If this is not possible because, for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.
- Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.
Stage Two
- If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, they can request that the complaint is reviewed at Director level. At this stage, the complaint will be passed to Charlotte Waugh or Donna Waugh.
- The request for Director level review should be acknowledged within a week of receiving it. The acknowledgement should say who will deal with the case and when the complainant can expect a reply.
- The person who receives Stage Two complaints may investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person to do so. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage One.
- If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond.
- The person who dealt with the original complaint at Stage One should be kept informed of what is happening.
- Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.
- Whether the complaint is upheld or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.
- The decision taken at this stage is final, unless the Director decides it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution.
Variation of the Complaints Procedure
The management may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about the Director should not also have the Director as the person leading a Stage Two review.
Monitoring and Learning from Complaints
Complaints are reviewed annually to identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action.
Whitstable Beauty School recognises that sometimes things may go wrong for a learner, who then wishes to make a complaint or an appeal. This procedure explains how to make a complaint.
An appeal is specifically related to a matter of academic decision, for example where a learner does not agree with the decision for a piece of assessed work. The procedure for that is detailed separately in the Appeals Policy.
Other matters of concern, which are not related to assessment decisions, can be raised as a complaint, for example, against a member of staff, a learner, or about facilities. This is the procedure for this type of complaint.