1. Our Complaint Policy

Apprenticeships & Training Services Consortium Ltd aims to provide a high standard of care and support to all staff, learners and work placement employers. Our staff, learners and employer views are important to us and helps to ensure our services are consistently meeting people’s needs.
When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it, if you are unhappy with any of our services it is important that you let us know. This will help us to improve our standards.
If a complaint alerts us to possible abuse, neglect or breach of the Prevent anti- radicalisation strategy we will immediately notify the safeguarding team. The safeguarding team will decide how to investigate, report and monitor outcomes.

2. Making a suggestion

Often people feel more comfortable about suggesting improvements rather than complaining formally. Any member of staff, learner or employer on a programme may make a suggestion.
First you should speak to your Line Manager.
A suggestion box is available if you would rather make your suggestion that way.
If the suggestion is something that Apprenticeships & Training Services Consortium as a company needs to consider you can send it to:
ï‚· Quality & Curriculum Manager Cathy Vincini Cathy.Vincini@tempdent.co.uk

3. Making a complaint

We aim to handle complaints quickly, effectively and in a fair and honest way. We take all complaints seriously and use valuable information from investigating to help us improve as a business. We treat all complaints in confidence.

Apprenticeships & Training Services Consortium assures staff, learners and employers that it will not treat people differently because someone makes a complaint in good faith.

4. Who can complain

Anyone can make a complaint.
A representative may complain on behalf of a person if they:
ï‚· cannot make a complaint themselves, or
ï‚· have given consent for the representative to act on their behalf

5. How you can make a complaint

You can complain:
ï‚· in person
ï‚· by telephone
ï‚· through a member of our staff
ï‚· through an advocate or representative
Where someone complains orally we will make a written record and provide a copy of it within 3 working days
ï‚· by letter
ï‚· by email

6. Anonymous complaints

We deal with anonymous complaints under the same procedure; however it is better if you can provide contact details so we can tell you the outcome of our investigation.

7. Responsibility

The Quality & Curriculum Manager has overall responsibility for dealing with all complaints.
We will provide as far as is reasonably practical:
ï‚· any help you need to understand the complaints procedure; or
ï‚· advice on where you may get that help.

8. How we handle complaints

The Quality & Curriculum Manager Cathy Vincini or Apprenticeships & Training Services Consortium may ask one of the management team to investigate the complaint. That person will have enough seniority and experience to deal with the issues raised by the complaint.

We will acknowledge a complaint within 3 working days and give you the name and contact details of the person investigating it.
We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation. We aim to have all complaints finished within 28 working days unless we agree a different time scale with you.

When we have finished investigating, we will arrange to meet with you to discuss the outcome, and write to you with:
ï‚· details of the findings;
ï‚· any action we have taken; and
ï‚· our proposals to resolve your complaint.

9. Time limits

You should complain as soon as you can after the date on which the event occurred or came to your notice. If you complain more than twelve months later, we may not be able to investigate properly. But we shall also consider whether you had good reason for not making the complaint sooner and whether, despite the delay, it is still possible to investigate the complaint effectively and fairly.

10. Further steps

At any stage during the process, if you are not happy with the way the service is dealing with your complaint you can contact the Quality & Curriculum Manager Cathy Vincini Cathy.Vincini@tempdent.co.uk
Once we have dealt with your complaint, if you are not happy with the outcome you can refer your complaint to the Apprenticeships & Training Services Consortium Managing Director Lorraine Nadel and ask for it to be reviewed.

Lorraine Nadel, Managing Director

6th June, 2019
Review Date: 6th June, 2020