Complaints Procedure

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Policy Statement

At Macildowie we pride ourselves on the quality of the service that we offer to our customers, developing strong, ongoing relationships with our clients and candidates ensuring they trust us to meet their needs.

We have built our reputation as one of the UK's leading independent recruitment business becoming the go-to recruitment brand in the East Midlands then expanding into Milton Keynes and the Home Counties in 2015

Both negative and positive feedback is recognised as a valuable resource to enable us to improve the quality of our services and develop ongoing relationships. We strive to provide the highest quality services and to be responsive to concerns or complaints from any of our customers.

In order that Macildowie can learn and improve on feedback given; accurate and complete records of all complaints received, resulting correspondence, interviews and actions taken will be maintained. These are reviewed quarterly to help to improve customer service throughout the business. Effectiveness of the complaints procedure will be evaluated on an annual basis.

The purpose of this complaints procedure is to enable anyone interacting with Macildowie to raise matters of concern to our attention, so that they can be investigated and resolved in the clearest and fairest way possible. In most cases this will be achieved without having to conduct the formal complaints procedure; which should be seen as a last resort in reaching a solution.

What Is a Complaint?

The complaints procedure covers any expression of dissatisfaction or concern about:

Provisions of Macildowie affecting our candidates and clients
Actions or lack of actions by Macildowie or its staff
Standards of service provided by Macildowie.

The procedure does not cover the following:

Matters covered by separate policies or procedures; including Appeals Procedure, Equal Opportunities, Grievance procedure.

This procedure is for use by any existing or prospective candidate or client who seeks or receives a service from us. It also extends to anyone who may be directly affected by our services or activities.

Anonymous complaints will be logged and monitored but not investigated under normal circumstances.

Complaint Management

We recognise that many concerns may be raised informally and can be dealt with quickly and simply.

We aim to resolve early and promptly, preferably keeping it as close to the source of the problem as possible and dealing with it by informal means. By encouraging complainants to come forward with concerns at an early stage, matters can be discussed, and any misunderstandings resolved by telephone conversation, face to face meeting, email or letter to the appropriate person.

Stage 1 – Informal

An informal approach is appropriate in some cases; these complaints will be responded to by the appropriate person, usually within 7 days receipt of the complaint.

If the problem is not resolved satisfactorily at this stage, please see stage 2.

Stage 2 – Formal

Macildowie recognises that informal mechanisms may not resolve all problems and that some problems may be too serious or sensitive to be dealt with by raising the issue directly with the member of staff involved. In these circumstances, the formal complaints procedure should be used.

A formal complaint should be submitted to complaints@macildowie.com

The statement of complaint should be as thorough and complete as possible and include any supporting documentation
The complaint will be logged and receipt acknowledged, usually within 2 working days
A complaint owner will be identified (in most cases this will be the relevant Divisional Manager or Regional Managing Director). It is the complaint owner’s responsibility to fully investigate the complaint
The complaint owner will ensure the central complaints log is updated with the agreed outcome
The complaint owner will update the complainant of the outcome of their complaint
If the complainant is not satisfied with the response received as a result of Stage 2, the complaint may be taken to Stage 3 of the procedure.

Confidentiality

All complaints will be treated seriously, handled sensitively and with due consideration to all parties involved. In line with our equal opportunities policy, all complainants will be treated fairly and not suffer any recrimination or disadvantage as a result of making a complaint. Any person named in a complaint, however will be informed and have a right of reply as part of the investigative process.

Complaints must be made by complainants themselves.

Recording a Complaint

Complaints received are logged onto a central complaints log which will be password protected and only kept for the duration of the complaint. The reason for the complaint and all progress made during the life of a complaint is recorded on the log until it is resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant or to a point at which Macildowie can reasonably be expected to do no more.

Ownership of a Complaint

Once a complaint has been received and recorded it will be assigned to the appropriate person within the business to resolve e.g. Divisional Manager, Associate Director, Director. The complaint owner will usually be the one who is most closely aligned to the area of the business against which the complaint has been raised. The owner of the complaint will then be responsible for ensuring the complaint is investigated and resolved. The owner will also be responsible for updating regarding the outcome.

Progressing a Complaint

The complaint owner will ensure the complaint is fully investigated and that regular communication is maintained with the complainant throughout the life of the complaint. Under the normal process, we will acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and aim to resolve them as soon as possible, but inevitably some issues will be more complex and may take longer than others. Where this is the case, we will contact the parties within 15 days by phone and in writing with an interim response describing our investigation and when it is expected to be complete. Correspondence will be retained and attached with the complaint log for our records.

Closing a Complaint

Once the complaint has been investigated and resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction – or to the point where Macildowie can reasonably do no more – the central complaint log will be updated with the time, date and name of person closing the complaint.

Reviewing a Complaint

Once a complaint has been defined by the owner as resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant or to the point where Macildowie can reasonably do no more, the central complaints log will be updated with all details of the outcome and the complaint marked as resolved. All documentation will be kept for future reference to defend any potential legal challenge.

Complaints will be reviewed quarterly and consideration will be given to whether an opportunity exists to avoid a recurrence of a similar complaint and to support with implementing any service improvement actions. This information will be shared with the Executive Leadership Team.

Monitoring and Reporting

The Business Support function will maintain the central complaint log for Macildowie and provide quarterly updates to the Executive Leadership Team.

Complaint Management – Stage 3 – Complaint to REC

If you are not fully satisfied with our response or handling of a complaint then you may wish to contact the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) is our recruitment industry professional body. All members must abide by a Code of Professional Practice (REC Code). Above all, the REC is committed to raising standards and highlighting excellence throughout the recruitment industry.

The REC is unable to deal with certain issues, such as obtaining compensation for complainants. We recommend that you read the ‘WHAT WE CANNOT DEAL WITH’ section on the REC website which details the areas that fall outside of the REC complaints process.

If after completing stage 2 of our complaint process, you think there are unresolved issues that come under the REC remit (the FAQs on the REC website may also assist you in clarifying this), you can refer the matter to the REC by completing the REC complaint form also located on their website:

https://www.rec.uk.com/membership/compliance/complaints

Complaints Procedure

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