COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE POLICY 2025

Policy Statement

1. Summary

This policy outlines the procedures that Safety-Zone Ltd follows when a customer lodges a complaint, either in writing or by telephone, concerning training that has either been completed or is currently underway.  The policy applies whether the training is provided directly by Safety-Zone Ltd or through agents or subcontractors acting on its behalf.

 

2. Terms/Definitions

Complaint Register – The Complaint Register is maintained in either written (hard copy) form or electronically, depending on operational requirements.  Full details of the Complaint Register are given in section 3.1 below.

Complaints Manager – Point of contact for resolving and administrating customer complaints.

The appointed Complaints Manager for Safety-Zone Ltd is Robin Clark.

 

3. Initial contact

3.1. Recorded in Complaint Register

Immediately following the receipt of a complaint from a customer, the complaint shall be recorded in the designated Complaint Register which is maintained within the organisation's digital records management system and retained in accordance with applicable data protection retention policies.  The Complaint Register is a Documents folder established for the express purpose of keeping an accurate and chronological record of any complaints received, correspondence and communications that have taken place between Safety-Zone Ltd and the client, any actions taken by Safety-Zone Ltd to resolve the issues concerned and the outcome of said actions.

The Complaint Register incorporates the following elements:

• Date-indexing – All complaints are filed in ‘date of receipt’ order – that is, in order of the date that the complaint was received, not the date that the training was initiated/completed
• Full complainant details - Name, telephone number and address of the person concerned.  Where the complaint is being made on behalf of someone else, the full name, address and contact details of the complainant are recorded as well as the relevant details of the customer in question
• Brief summary of training conducted
• Brief summary of nature of complaint
• Complaint reference number.

The above information is documented on a ‘Customer Complaint Cover Sheet’ contained within the Complaint Register with a separate cover sheet assigned to every complaint.  All relevant correspondence and communication (including those that may have taken place prior to an official complaint being made between Safety-Zone Ltd and the client) is filed alongside the complainant’s cover sheet including copies of correspondence issued by Safety-Zone Ltd.

 

3.2 First Response

Upon receipt and registration of a complaint in the Complaint Register, the Complaints Manager is responsible for initiating contact with the complainant within 24-48 (business) hours to address the concerns raised.  The initial attempt will be made via telephone.  If direct contact is not possible, a voicemail notification will be made (provided a messaging service is available), and a letter of acknowledgement will be sent to the complainant's postal address.

At the initial point of contact, where communication with the complainant is established, the Complaints Manager will begin by acknowledging and apologising for the issues raised.  A constructive discussion shall then take place to clarify the particulars of the complaint.  It is anticipated that most complaints will be resolved at this stage, with appropriate actions proposed that designed to address the concerns and achieve customer satisfaction.  Where resolution is not possible at this point, the complaint will proceed through the formal investigation and escalation process outlined below.

All contact is documented and dated within the Complaint Register.

 

4. Resolution

As previously stated, it is hoped that the initial communication and subsequent resolution action outlined in agreement with the complainant is sufficient to resolve the complaint.

Within 24-48 (business) hours of completing any required rectification, the Complaints Manager will contact the complainant to review the resolution and confirm that the matter has been resolved to their satisfaction. If the complainant agrees, the complaint will be closed.  

A confirmation letter outlining these discussions will be despatched to the complainant and the Complaint Register is subsequently updated to reflect this.

If the complainant is still not satisfied, then it will be necessary to escalate the complaint.

 

5. Escalation 1 – Further Resolution

In cases where the complainant is not satisfied with the suggested outcomes, they must provide a written account of their grievances for the matter to proceed.

Once the Complaints Manager has thoroughly re-examined all aspects of the complaint, they will re-establish contact with the complainant to discuss possible next steps. The Complaints Manager will propose further actions deemed appropriate and aligned with the nature of the complaint, including any potential accountability on the part of Safety-Zone Ltd.

If the actions proposed by the Complaints Manager are agreed by the complainant, this will again be confirmed in writing and documented in the Complaint Register.  However, if the complainant remains dissatisfied with the actions proposed by the Complaints Manager and the manager determines the complainant's demands are unreasonable, or that the issues raised fall outside of the responsibility of Safety-Zone Ltd - despite the complainant's insistence and both initial and follow-up resolution attempts are unsuccessful, the complainant will be advised to contact an external party (mediation services) directly.

 

6. Escalation 2 - External Party

A complaint is to be referred to an external party in the following circumstances:

If after initial contact and resolution attempts, the complainant is unwilling to agree to any further actions by Safety-Zone Ltd.

Safety-Zone Ltd will fully cooperate with the external party in working towards a satisfactory resolution for all parties involved.  This may include providing copies of the relevant document entries from the Complaint Register should it be requested.

 

A copy of our Complaints Procedure can be downloaded here: 

 

Robin Clark  -  Managing Director       

Date:   1st Aug 2025