Customer Complaints Policy and Procedure
We are committed to providing a high standard of service to you every time you contact us. We do recognise however, that occasionally we will not live up to your expectations or our promises. If this happens we want to hear from you so that we can explore what went wrong and try to find a solution.
If you want to make a complaint about any aspect of our services you will find contact details below. Please note that any complaint must be made within six months of the date on which the incident happened. Your feedback is important to us as it helps us to improve our services.
Contacting the Agency
You can make a complaint by completing our online Customer Complaints Form: https://www.lra.org.uk/customer-complaints#no-back
If you prefer, you can telephone, email or write to our Customer Complaints Officer: Telephone: 03300 552 220 Email: customercomplaints@lra.org.uk Postal address: James House 2-4 Cromac Avenue, Belfast BT7 2JA
Special assistance with communication
We consider requests for information in alternative formats and will provide an interpreter if necessary. If you are unable to submit your complaint online or in writing due to, for example, a disability, please ring our Customer Services team on 03300 552 220.
Information you need to provide
To help us investigate and resolve the complaint as quickly as possible, you will need to provide the following information:
· your name and address;
· your email address;
· a daytime telephone number where we can contact you;
· a clear description of your concern or complaint, with dates;
· details of what you would like us to do to put it right;
· copies of any relevant documents, such as letters or policies.
How we will handle it
We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within three working days and to provide a response within ten working days. If you are dissatisfied with our response you can appeal (the process or outcome) to the Chief Executive of the Agency within one month of receipt of the initial response.
You should use the following address and give details about what is being appealed and why:
Chief Executive
Labour Relations Agency
James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue,
Belfast
BT7 2JA
This is the final stage in the process and we will aim to respond within ten working days. The Agency will not normally respond further unless new information is available.
If you are dissatisfied with the Chief Executive’s response you may refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (the Ombudsman). Contact details for the Ombudsman are:
Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman
Progressive House
33 Wellington Place
Belfast
BT1 6HN
Telephone: 028 9023 3821 Freephone: 0800 34 34 24
e-mail: nipso@nipso.org.uk
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All information relating to your complaint will be kept confidential and will not be shared with any other organisation or person. Full details of our privacy policy can be found here https://www.lra.org.uk/privacy. This information will be deleted in line with our Data Retention Policy.
Customer feedback
Customer feedback is important to us and we evaluate our services to make sure we are meeting customers’ needs. When we have dealt with your complaint, we will contact you to ask for feedback on your experience of how we handled it. We will use feedback to help us ensure that we are handling complaints effectively.
Customer Complaints Procedure
Informal complaints
If you contact us about some aspect of our service that you are unhappy with, the Manager of that service will contact you and offer to quickly resolve the issue informally.
Where you are not happy with the informal outcome or you prefer to proceed formally we will follow the steps given below.
Formal complaints
The Agency follows a 2-stage complaints process which seeks to resolve complaints as quickly as possible.
Stage 1 – completion within ten working days
If you make a formal complaint the Complaints Officer will refer it to the appropriate Director for investigation. We will create a record of your complaint on our Case Management Record System (CMRS). The Director will investigate your complaint, decide on an outcome and inform the Complaints Officer. The Complaints Officer will respond to you giving the outcome of the investigation and explaining how the issue will be resolved. The Complaints Officer will complete the complaint record on CMRS.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint at Stage 1, you may progress to Stage 2 of our complaints procedure.
Stage 2 – completion within ten working days
At Stage 2 your complaint will be investigated by the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive will:
· summarise the main issues to be resolved, and agree these with you
· investigate your complaint
· provide a detailed response to you setting out the findings and the reasons for the findings
· inform the Complaints Officer of their findings.
The Complaints Officer will update the complaint record on CMRS. This is the final stage in the process and the Agency will not normally respond further unless new information is available.
External Appeal
If, following a Stage 2 investigation you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you may refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman.
Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman
Progressive House
33 Wellington Place
Belfast
BT1 6HN
Telephone: 028 9023 3821 Freephone: 0800 34 34 24
e-mail: nipso@nipso.org.uk
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