The company welcomes compliments and suggestions and recognise their importance in celebrating and recognising the success of our service and opportunities for improvement. We will engage with a wide range of stakeholders in addition to Service Users to support service development and improvement. We will share feedback with our staff. 

 

The company’s formal complaints procedures do not cover complaints that relate to matters of academic judgement. Complaints on such grounds are therefore not likely to be accepted and will be ordinarily dismissed or otherwise deemed ineligible for consideration. Complainants of this nature should refer to the Appeals Policy & Procedure. 

 

About the complaints process 

 

If you are dissatisfied with the company’s educational or support services (other than in respect of which the Academic Appeals Procedure applies) you should follow the procedure as detailed below. 

 

FST aims to handle complaints in a way which is sympathetic, fair, and efficient, which encourages informal conciliation, facilitates early resolution, maintains individual privacy and confidentiality and permits useful feedback. The complaints process has three stages, and it is anticipated that most problems will be resolved in the first two stages. The three stages are: 

 

1. Discussion and advice 
2. Informal process 
3. Formal process 

You may withdraw a complaint or stop the process at any time in stage 1 or 2 and, in stage 3, with the consent of the Reviewer. Personal privacy will be respected. 

 

If you are contemplating making a complaint relating to the Company’s educational or support services, you may wish to contact the Managing Director Julie Duckett-Day.  She cannot advise you on the merit or otherwise of your complaint or act on your behalf but will guide you through the process and provide procedural advice at each stage. Please note that communication with the MD may be shared within FST to enable your complaint to be handled more effectively.  

 

Stage 1: Discussion and advice 

 

It is very important to voice concerns or to register the nature of a complaint as soon as possible, and to seek informal resolution and conciliation, if possible, as this facilitates early resolution. Raising an issue can often resolve a problem quickly and informally; a complaint (which may, for instance, be founded on a misunderstanding or disagreement) can sometimes simply require a calm, balanced and non-prejudicial discussion between parties, without the need for any further action. 

 

At the earliest stages, a complaint may be resolved quickly and efficiently by simple consultation or discussion with the right person – such as those listed below: 

 

• Tutor / Trainer 
• Quality Manager 
• Head of Operations
• Managing Director 

Where possible you should raise your concern with the person to whom the complaint refers. The person you contact might be able to solve the problem directly, to intervene, or at least offer suitable advice about how to proceed or where to go for assistance or advice. They may be able to advise about what would constitute an appropriate remedy, and an opportunity to consider whether there is indeed a complaint to be addressed. You will then be in a position to decide whether to proceed further, and how. 

 

If, however, you feel that a complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily at the initial, local level or if the problem is of a more serious nature, then you should follow the formal procedures set out below. 

 

Stage 2: Informal process  

 

Before making a complaint under stage 2 of the process, you should have exhausted informal routes, as outlined under stage 1. If informal routes seem not to have been exhausted, then the complaint may be referred to informal resolution under stage 1.  

 

To submit a formal complaint, you should contact the Head of Operations in writing to the Head Office address or by completing the Complaints Form on the company website which asks you to explain the nature of, and grounds for, the complaint. The Head of Operations will acknowledge the complaint when received. A complaint should normally be made within three months of the occurrence of the matter complained about. If there is a delay, you should explain the reason.  

 

If the complaint concerns the Head of Operations, you should continue directly to Stage 3 of the complaints process. 

  

If the Head of Operations, on inquiry, judges that the complaint appears to be unjustified, misconceived or vexatious, the Head of Operations may write to you to invite withdrawal of the complaint. The complaint will proceed only if you respond, in writing, within 10 working days and request the complaint to proceed.  

 

In the event the complaint has not been resolved by informal discussion or does not appear capable of informal resolution, the Head of Operations will proceed to consider the complaint formally in consultation with those concerned in the provision of the service, e.g. the Course Tutor/Trainer, Quality Manager, Head of Operations, or other Service Manager. You will be informed at this stage that formal procedures have been initiated.  

 

Where a complaint puts in issue a matter of academic freedom and/or the professional judgement and/or reputation of the person about whom you are complaining s/he will have a right to put their case to the Head of Operations.  

 

The Head of Operations will provide you with a provisional response in writing as soon as reasonably practicable, and normally within 20 working days of the initiation of the formal procedure. You will be invited to comment on the provisional response in writing within 15 working days or longer, where appropriate.  

 

 

The Head of Operations will review the provisional response in light of any observations made by you, and then provide you with a final written response normally within 15 working days after the date by which you were invited to comment on the provisional response.  

 

If the Head of Operations upholds the complaint, s/he will procure so far as possible such remedy as they consider fair and equitable in all the circumstances, which may include: 

 

• A full explanation 
• An apology (which is not an admission of liability) 
• The matter put right if possible 
• If appropriate, some kind of financial recompense (for example if you have paid for something which you did not receive) 
• If appropriate, disciplinary action may be taken 

 

If you are not satisfied with the outcome, whether the complaint is upheld or not, you may consider whether to pursue the complaint through stage 3. 

 

Stage 3. Formal process 

 

If you decide to pursue your complaint, you should contact the Managing Director in writing to the Head Office address or by completing the Complaints Form on the company website (quoting stage 3) within 20 working days of learning the outcome of the investigations under stage 2.  

 

On receiving a complaint form, the Managing Director will request the Head of Operations to provide, normally within 15 working days, a full written report covering all the circumstances leading to the complaint, the investigation and the outcome, a copy of which will be sent to you. The Managing Director will invite you to make representations in writing on the written report within a further 15 working days, or longer where appropriate, and will then appoint a Company Reviewer, with no prior involvement in the case. 

 

The Reviewer will be appointed by the Managing Director and will be a senior member of a FST. The appointment of a Reviewer is a formal procedure that will normally be completed within 30 working days. 

 

The Reviewer will consider all documents relating to the case, including the report of the Head of Operations, your representations and the results of any further enquiries they may make, at their discretion. All documents considered by the Reviewer will be made available to you. If the Reviewer agrees that the matter has been considered fully and appropriately and that there are no grounds for a hearing, you will be informed that your complaint has been dismissed and the reasons for the decision. If, however, it appears that you may have grounds for making a complaint, the Reviewer will arrange a hearing to which you will be invited and you may, if you wish, be accompanied by the FST Appeals and Complaints Procedures Advisor or another appropriate person.  

 

Others involved in the case may also be invited to appear before the Reviewer and will be provided with the same documents as you and the Reviewer. 

 The Head of Operations will assist the Reviewer and will be present throughout the whole proceedings of any hearing and will prepare the draft report. 

 The Reviewer will issue a report containing findings about the complaint and may make recommendations as to remedies, if any, to be adopted or other action recommended to be taken. If the complaint is dismissed, the Reviewer will provide reasons for their decision. 

 The Reviewer may terminate the proceedings, determine that a complaint is rejected as vexatious or frivolous, or refer the complaint for informal resolution. 

 

The Managing Director will communicate the decision of the Reviewer to you, normally within 15 working days of the meeting or hearing. When the recommendations of the Reviewer are completed, FST will send a completion of procedures letter to you. 

 

The decision of the Company Reviewer is final within the Company.  All decisions reached by a Company Reviewer will be reported to the Company’s Managing Director 

 

If you remain dissatisfied following completion of the Company’s formal internal review and complaints procedures and after receiving a ‘completion of procedure letter’, you may appeal the decision in writing within 15 days to the Managing Director at the address below: 

 

Company Contact Details: 

 

You should address your complaint, in writing, to the company Head Office : 

 

77-87 Newtown Row 

Birmingham 

B6 4HG