Bisley Parish Council
Complaints Policy – including vexatious complaints.
1. The Importance of Complaints 1.1 Complaints are valuable because they provide a chance
to put things right if there has been an error, and to make sure that the same mistake is not
repeated. 1.2 It is essential that complaints are dealt with positively. The Council is anxious to
hear people’s comments and is committed to making full use of complaints information to
contribute to continuous service improvement. Important information about areas for
improvement can be obtained both from a single complaint and from patterns of complaints,
highlighted by detailed monitoring.
2. Definition of A Complaint 2.1 A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, however
made, about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by the Council or its staff which
affects an individual customer or group of customers. 2.2 What the complaints procedure will
deal with: – The complaints procedure will deal with matters of maladministration, which is if
the Council does something the wrong way, fails to do something it should do or does
something it should not do. Some examples include: • neglect or unjustified delay • malice,
bias, or unfair discrimination • failure to tell people their rights • failure to provide advice or
information when reasonably requested • providing misleading or inaccurate advice •
inefficiency, ineffectiveness, bad and unprofessional practice, or conduct. 2.3 What the
complaints procedure will not deal with: – • complaints for which there is a legal remedy or
where legal proceedings already exist. • complaints about employment matters – the Council
operates alternative procedures to deal with grievances or disciplinary matters against staff.
3. Equal Opportunities 3.1 The Council is committed to equal opportunities. Complaints
feedback will be used to highlight discriminatory practices, and to promote equality of
opportunity. 3 3.2 Complaints by members of the public of discrimination and/or harassment
against the Council will be dealt with through the complaints procedure unless it is a complaint
that should be dealt with through a statutory procedure.
4. Complaints Officer 4.1 The Complaints Officer for the Council is the Clerk. Their main
duties are: (i) The day-to-day operation and management of the procedure, including providing a
reference point for staff queries on informal complaints. (ii) To oversee, and undertake where
necessary, the investigation of formal complaints at the first stage, within the relevant time
scales. (iii) To maintain a record of all complaints received including details of the nature of the
complaint, action taken, outcome, and time taken to resolve. (iv) To identify improvement points
arising from any complaints. (v) To identify staff training issues.
5. Stages of The Procedure
5.1 The stages of the procedure are designed to provide the complainant with a thorough and
fair means of redress and to provide a framework for officers to work within. However, there may
be occasions when a complainant makes an approach in a different manner, and it is important
that the procedure does not in itself become a barrier to effective communication.
5.2 The Council receives queries, problems, and comments as part of its day to day running,
and they should not all be regarded as complaints. These are routine and expected and are
generally resolved quickly to the customer’s satisfaction. If someone is dissatisfied with the
original service or response they received and wishes to take the matter further, then the issue
should be recognised as a complaint.
5.3 Informal Complaint During the course of daily business, minor complaints can be made to
officers about the services we provide. These will usually be dealt with by the relevant officer as
appropriate. It is not appropriate for every comment to be treated as a formal complaint. Every
effort should be made to deal with these problems immediately, either by providing information,
instigating the appropriate action, or explaining a decision.
5.4 Formal Complaint (First Stage) A customer may wish to make a formal complaint directly or
may be unsatisfied with the outcome of an informal complaint and may wish to take the matter
further. This will be recorded as a complaint and passed to the Clerk to investigate. If the
complainant remains unsatisfied with the response, they should be informed of their right to
take the matter further. Timescales Acknowledgement – by return of post Investigation
completed – 14 days or Progress Reports Issued – 14-day intervals Investigating Officer: Clerk
5.5 Review of Investigation and Complaint (Second Stage) If the complainant is not satisfied
with the Clerk’s response, they should be advised of their right to have the complaint referred to
the Councillors’ Panel who will review the complaint. Timescales Response by the Clerk – 14
days Panel (if thought necessary) – Convened within 14 days Review completed – 14 days
thereafter Investigating Officer: Clerk
5.6 Councillors’ Panel If the issue still remains unresolved, the complainant should be notified
of his or her right to have the matter referred to a panel consisting of the Chair (or the Vice Chair
if the complaint refers to the Chair), and two other Councillors appointed by the Council who
have not had previous involvement with the complaint or are referred to in the complaint. There
will also be a note-taker, nominated by the panel, who will also not have had previous
involvement in the complaint. The outcome of all formal complaints dealt with by the panel will
be advised to the Council.
5.7 Unreasonable and Vexatious Complaints There will be circumstances when a complainant
persists in wishing to pursue a complaint when it clearly has no reasonable basis, or when the
Council has already taken reasonable action in response, or where some other process,
whether through the courts or some other recognised procedure, should or has been taken.
These matters should be referred to the Clerk with a summary of the issues and of the attempts
made to resolve the complaint. They may, in such circumstances, decide that no further action
can usefully be taken in response to the complainant, and inform the complainant so, making it
clear that only new and substantive issues will merit a response. 5.8 Anonymous Complaints
Anonymous complaints should be referred to the Clerk, and may be acted on at their discretion,
according to the type and seriousness of the allegation. 6 Resolution and Remedies The aim in
dealing with all complaints is to reach a resolution or remedy that satisfies the complainant,
whether it is the remedy they were originally seeking or not.
Where a complaint is found to be at all justified, consideration may need to be given to the
question of an appropriate remedy. An explanation or an apology will always be needed.
Policy reviewed and adopted April 2024 Due for review April 2026
