General

The Brathay Exploration Group aims to set a high standard of service to all who come in contact with it and are involved in its activities.

Where anyone has cause to complain, we aim to deal with the matter as expeditiously as reasonably possible; bearing in mind that most of the people involved in the organisation are acting in a voluntary capacity.

This document sets out our approach and procedures for handling complaints.

 

Nature of complaints

Complaints can relate to a number of areas, including:

 

• the conduct of expeditions and other activities in the field
• the organisation of expeditions and other activities
• the management and operation of BEG’s base on the Brathay Hall Estate, including bookings and use by external organisations
• BEG’s advertising and communication
• relations with/liaison with other organisations.

 

 

Staged approach to dealing with complaints

Complaints are handled in three stages:

 

1. Stage 1 – where the complaint is made to and dealt with by the relevant volunteer or member of staff promptly and relatively informally
2. Stage 2 – where the response to a complaint at Stage 1 is not considered sufficient, or where a complaint is made in writing without an attempt to resolve it under Stage 1 procedures; these complaints will be handled by someone on the Board or by someone of appropriate standing and experience acting on behalf of the Board
3. Stage 3 – where the response at Stage 2 is not considered sufficient, and a complaint is pursued, the Board will appoint someone appropriate external to BEG to produce a report and any recommendations.

 

None of these procedures takes away the right to make a formal complaint to the Charity Commission at any stage; but if this is done then the internal complaints procedures will not be followed.

These procedures may also be superseded by others which apply in particular circumstances eg the application of terms and conditions on bookings, the application of procedures related to discipline on expeditions/activities, Special Incident and Emergency, Health and Safety, Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults. Where there appears to be a conflict between the Complaints Procedures and these others, then the others will in the first instance be followed rather than these Complaints Procedures. (It may subsequently be a source of complaint that the procedures in question should not have been followed, and/or were followed incorrectly or inappropriately).

 

Stage 1 Complaints

Where anyone has cause to complain about any aspect of BEG’s activities, their first recourse should be to register their complaint with the person most immediately responsible. This will normally be:

 

• in the case of complaints about activities and on expeditions in the field, to the Main Leader or alternatively to any of the Leadership Team
• in the case of complaints about organisation of expeditions, to the Main Leader or to the Administrator as seems most appropriate or accessible
• in the case of complaints about the Shackleton base, to the BEG Main Leader if there is one, otherwise to the Administrator
• in the case of complaints about any aspect of BEG administration, communication, publicity etc, to the Administrator
• in any other case, or if there is any doubt as to whom the complaint should be made, to the Administrator.

 

Complaints of this nature should be made at the earliest opportunity. They may be made in person, over the telephone or in writing. In many cases they will be made orally in person at the time. They may be made in writing via feedback forms, making clear that it is a complaint rather than a comment.

The person to whom the complaint is made should deal with it as follows:

 

• ascertain if necessary that the issue is being raised as a complaint
• if the complaint is made in writing, inform the Administrator as soon as possible, so that an acknowledgement can be sent immediately
• make any enquiries necessary to ascertain facts, details, background etc
• respond to the complaint as quickly as possible and in the most appropriate manner, ideally by personal contact (this would be most likely within the context of an ongoing expedition or activity), telephone, email or letter
• where the response is not in writing, ascertain that the response is satisfactory and that a written response is not required; otherwise ensure that a written response is provided via the Administrator at the earliest opportunity
• irrespective of the nature of the response, written or otherwise, make a note of the details of the complaint, how it was handled and the response made, this to be passed onto the Administrator to place in the Complaints Record.

Even though the person to whom a Stage 1 complaint is made may discuss the matter with others before responding, the response will always come either from them or the Administrator on their behalf.

 

 

Stage 2 Complaints

Stage 2 complaints must always be made in writing to the Administrator or the Secretary, in an envelope marked “confidential”, making clear that it is a matter of complaint. They may be matters which have already been subject to a Stage 1 consideration which the complainant has judged to be unsatisfactory; or they may be the first instance of a complaint. The procedure makes no distinction between these.

The procedure on receipt of such a complaint is as follows:

 

• the Administrator or Secretary will send an acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint and an indication of how it  is being handled if possible
• the Administrator will record details in the Complaints Record
• all executive Committee members will be informed of the complaint and will appoint a Board member or some other appropriate person within BEG to investigate the matter and report back
• the person invited to investigate the matter will make whatever enquiries are appropriate, and will normally contact the complainant directly for clarification, information etc
• on completion of the investigation, the person concerned will report in writing to the executive Committee (who will if considered necessary raise the matter for consideration by the Board), setting out conclusions and recommendations
• the Executive Committee/Board will consider the conclusions and recommendations, and either arrange for an appropriate response to be sent by the Secretary; this will invite the complainant to respond confirming that they are satisfied with the response and/or that they are not taking the matter further
• where the complainant responds saying they are not satisfied, whether or not they are taking the matter further, the person who conducted the investigation will be invited to reconsider and reach any further conclusions/recommendations, to be handled in the same way as above
• in unusual circumstances, and only following consideration of the report on the complaint by the Board, the Board will refer the matter to be considered by an independent person under Stage 3 Complaints procedures.

 

 

Stage 3 Complaints

Stage 3 Complaints are those

 

• where a Stage 2 procedure has been followed and the complainant is still not satisfied and opts to pursue the matter further under these procedures
• where the Board itself is concerned that an independent review is needed following an investigation under Stage 2 procedures
• in exceptional cases, where the complaint is clearly very serious, the Board may opt to conduct an independent review without following the Stage 2 procedure first.

 

The Stage 3 procedures involve the engagement of an external person to conduct an investigation. This will in most cases involve BEG in some expense. For this reason, the Board itself must make the decision to move to Stage 3 of the procedures. BEG reserves the right not to conduct a Stage 3 external review even though this is requested by a complainant; but if this happens it will provide a full explanation of its reasons for so doing.

When the Board decides to treat a complaint under Stage 3 of the procedures, it will:

 

• inform the complainant of its intention
• appoint a suitable independent person to conduct an investigation of the whole matter, for any remuneration and other terms to be agreed; and inform the complainant of the person invited to carry out this work
• cooperate fully with the independent person’s investigations and encourage the complainant to do the same.

 

The independent person will make a draft report which will be made available to the Board and to the complainant for comments. Once comments have been considered, a final report will be produced and submitted to the Board with any recommendations. The Board will accept these recommendations unless there is exceptionally good reason not to do so. It will then make a full response to the complainant, setting out its actions and enclosing a copy of the independent report.

The Board will review actions taken as a result of this procedure at an appropriate point, at the latest within a year.

In any case where there is a potential for litigation or an insurance claim, the handling of a complaint under Stage 3 of the procedures, including any reference to an external investigator, will only take place on the basis of advice from BEG’s solicitors and/or insurers.

 

Timescale for dealing with complaints

It is not possible to set out inflexible timeframes for dealing with complaints. However, as a guideline:

 

• Stage 1 complaints should be dealt with either “on the spot” or, if further consideration and investigations are involved, within a month
• Stage 2 complaints should be dealt with within 3 months of them becoming Stage 2 complaints.
• Stage 3 complaints should be dealt with within 3 months of them becoming Stage 3 complaints

 

 

Recording and monitoring

A record of all formal complaints at each stage will be maintained by the administrator and details reported to each Board meeting.

 

Compliments

BEG gets many compliments – thanks, appreciation, congratulations etc.

These will not be subject to any formal action. However, where compliments are received in writing (electronic or letter) they will be:

 

• referred to the Administrator and acknowledged appropriately
• included in the Complaints Record and reported to the Board alongside complaints.