Policies

Introduction

In the context of electronic messaging, "spam" means unsolicited, bulk or indiscriminate messages, typically sent for a commercial purpose.

We have a zero-tolerance spam policy.

Spam filtering

1. 1. Our messaging systems automatically scan all incoming email messages and filter out messages that appear to be spam.
   2. We may also report incoming email as spam. This can result in IP addresses and domain names being blacklisted.

Spam filtering issues

No message filtering system is 100% accurate, and from time to time legitimate messages will be filtered out by our systems.

If you believe that a legitimate message you have sent has been filtered out by our systems, please advise the message recipient by another means.

You can reduce the risk of a message being caught by the spam filters by:

• • • sending the message in plain text (instead of, or in addition to, HTML);
    • removing any message attachments;
    • avoiding the terminology and text styling typically used by spammers; and/or
    • ensuring that your messages are scanned for malware before dispatch.

User spam

Users must not use our messaging facility or any of our other services to store, copy, send, relay or distribute spam.

Receipt of unwanted messages from us

In the unlikely event that you receive any message from us or sent using our systems that may be considered to be spam, please contact us using the details below and the matter will be investigated.

Variation

We may amend this policy at any time by publishing a new version on our website.

Our details

This website is owned and operated by bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan
Our registered office address is at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ

You can contact us:

• • • by post, using the address given above;
    • using our website contact form;
    • by telephone, on the contact number published on our website; or
    • by email, using the email address published on our website.

This statement, made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, sets out the approach taken by bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to its business, and the actions undertaken to mitigate any such risks during the financial year ended 31 July 2018.

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan's Exec Board is committed to delivering high standards of corporate governance and a key element of this is managing the Organisation in a socially responsible way. The Organisation aims to employ the highest ethical and professional standards and always to comply with all local laws and regulations applicable to our business; it follows that bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan is absolutely committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in its corporate activities and its supply chains. This commitment is emphasised in our employee training programmes and company policies. bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan also expects the same high standards which we set for ourselves from those parties with whom we engage, such as our suppliers and customers.

Due to the nature of our business and our approach to governance, we assess that there is very low risk of slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chains. However we aim to periodically review the effectiveness of the relevant policies and procedures that we have in place. We do not have key performance indicators in relation to slavery or human trafficking as any instance would be expected to be a breach of law, our supplier standards and/or our company policies.

This statement is approved by the Exec Board and signed on its behalf by:

M A M Umerji
Director, bigBOX Trading Limited,
25 May 2019

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan is committed to responsible procurement and ethical sourcing. We expect, encourage and work with our supply chain to do the same.

As a minimum, we expect our suppliers to comply with our principles of implementation and our standards. These are set out in our Responsible Procurement Policy.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation came into force on 25 May 2018. This new law protects information relating to an identified, or identifiable, individual person. It provides many new personal data rights to UK and EU citizens, including easier access to the information an organisation holds on them and how it is being used, the right to withdraw consent, and the right to know if their personal information has been compromised, lost or stolen.

All our suppliers should please note that:

• • • We expect you to understand your organisation’s obligations and to comply with the GDPR
    • Where we have modified our ways of working to meet the requirements. We expect our supply chain to work with us and embrace any necessary changes
    • Where you are processing personal data on behalf of bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan, you must comply with the our Responsible Procurement Policy

Terms and Conditions ("Terms")

Last updated: May, 25, 2019

Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms", "Terms and Conditions") carefully before using the https://www.just-vegan.co.uk website (the "Service") operated by bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan ("us", "we", or "our").

Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service.

By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms then you may not access the Service.

Content

Our Service allows you to post, link, store, share and otherwise make available certain information, text, graphics, videos, or other material ("Content"). You are responsible for the Content that you post to the Service, including its legality, reliability, and appropriateness.

By posting Content to the Service, you grant us the right and license to use, modify, perform, display, reproduce, and distribute such Content on and through the Service. You retain any and all of your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Service and you are responsible for protecting those rights.

You represent and warrant that: (i) the Content is yours (you own it) or you have the right to use it and grant us the rights and license as provided in these Terms, and (ii) the posting of your Content on or through the Service does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person.

Accounts

When you create an account with us, you must provide us information that is accurate, complete, and current at all times. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our Service.

You are responsible for safeguarding the password that you use to access the Service and for any activities or actions under your password, whether your password is with our Service or a third-party service.

You agree not to disclose your password to any third party. You must notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorised use of your account.

You may not use as a username the name of another person or entity or that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trade mark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than you without appropriate authorisation, or a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene. You expressly agree that we cannot be held liable for any loss or damage arising out of any misrepresentations you make in this regard.

Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content (excluding Content provided by users), features and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan and its licensors. The Service is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United Kingdom and foreign countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan .

When you upload content, you give to bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence (with right to sub-licence) to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform that Content in connection with the provision of the Service and otherwise in connection with the provision of the Service and bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan 's business.

Links To Other Web Sites

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan .

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services.

We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that you visit.

Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach the Terms.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. If you wish to terminate your account, you may simply discontinue using the Service.

All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan and its licensee and licensors, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees), resulting from or arising out of a) your use and access of the Service, by you or any person using your account and password; b) a breach of these Terms, or c) Content posted on the Service.

Limitation Of Liability

In no event shall bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan nor its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers, or affiliates, be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the Service; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the Service; (iii) any content obtained from the Service; and (iv) unauthorised access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.

Disclaimer

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. The Service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance.

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan or its subsidiaries, affiliates, and its licensors do not warrant that a) the Service will function uninterrupted, secure or available at any particular time or location; b) any errors or defects will be corrected; c) the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components; or d) the results of using the Service will meet your requirements.

Exclusions

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing and notwithstanding any other provision of these terms, under no circumstances will bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan ever be liable to you or any other person for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive or exemplary loss or damage arising from, connected with, or relating to your use of the Service, these Terms, the subject matter of these Terms, the termination of these Terms or otherwise, including but not limited to personal injury, loss of data, business, markets, savings, income, profits, use, production, reputation or goodwill, anticipated or otherwise, or economic loss, under any theory of liability (whether in contract, tort, strict liability or any other theory or law or equity), regardless of any negligence or other fault or wrongdoing (including without limitation gross negligence and fundamental breach) by bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan or any person for whom bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan is responsible, and even if bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan has been advised of the possibility of such loss or damage being incurred.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service, and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have between us regarding the Service.

Changes

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material we will try to provide at least 30 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.

By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, you must stop using the service.

Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy

Please refer to our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. You agree that they constitute part of these terms. You must read our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy before you use the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.

Version: 1.0

Date: 25/05/2019

We take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to administer your account and to provide the products and services you have requested from us. We will never sell, share or use your personal information other than as described here.

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan is a online vegan food delivery company..

About This Privacy Policy

This policy sets out how we will use and share the information that you give us. This policy describes your relationship with just-vegan.co.uk and how we process your data

Who We Are And How To Contact Us

Just Vegan is a trading name of bigBOX Trading Limited that is registered in England and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act 1998. The data controller is: bigBOX Trading Limited. You can get in touch with us in any of the following ways:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0333 
Website: just-vegan.co.uk
Post: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ

How to change your Preferences

You can visit the Just Vegan website (https://www.just-vegan.co.uk) to contact us to change your preferences at anytime. You can also call or email us using the details listed above.

How we Operate

We operate in line with EU GDPR (May 2018) data protection guidelines. We are committed to maintaining your personal rights and allow all users to change or withdraw their opt-in options at anytime. We will also advise you on how to complain to the relevant authorities, namely the Information Commissioner’s Office.

We should be grateful if you would contact us first if you do have a complaint so that we can try to resolve it for you.

Who this privacy policy applies to

just-vegan.co.uk is an online platform. This policy relates to users of just-vegan.co.uk and associated suppliers. Processing of your data is required in order to offer you these services. This policy applies to individuals who have registered with just-vegan.co.uk as either a customer, user, administrator, or in any other capacity.

Sensitive Data

We do not collect any Sensitive Data about you. Sensitive data refers to data that includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data. We do not collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

What this policy applies to

This section describes the lawful basis for processing your data and applies to the information about yourself that you choose to provide us with or that you allow us to collect. This includes (as a customer):

• • • Information you provide during the registration process
    • Information you provide when you create campaigns
    • Information you provide in the form of number data, messages or meta-data
    • Information we collect about how you use the website
    • Information relating to purchases and other transactions
    • Information given and stored as part of our ongoing relationship

Scope of Consent

By submitting your personal data on this site, you are affirming your explicit consent for such information to be used in accordance with this privacy policy.  You will be able to withdraw that consent at any time by the methods described.

Opting out at a later date

Once you have given your consent, you can amend or withdraw your consent at anytime.  You can also choose to object to processing at anytime. We respect all user rights as defined in GDPR.  If you have any comments or wish to complain please visit just-vegan.co.uk or contact us anytime.

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. These include the right to:

• • • Request access to your personal data
    • Request correction of your personal data
    • Request erasure of your personal data
    • Object to processing of your personal data
    • Request restriction of processing your personal data
    • Request transfer of your personal data
    • Right to withdraw consent.

You can see more about these rights at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

How we store and process your data

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

By law we have to keep basic information about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial and Transaction Data) for six years after they cease being customers (for tax purposes). In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see below for further information. We may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Your account data will be collected stored and processed within the UK & Ireland only.  Your data will be stored as described here or until you request removal of your personal data from our system.  Please note that we will be unable to carry out your request to be removed if there is still an open transaction against your account. In order to provide updates and offers that may be of interest to you we use recognised third parties to take payment, manage our company accounts and provide banking services.  We will store transactions, payment (this does not include payment card data) and order data for up to 7 years or for as long as required by UK financial and company regulations. These third parties may operate outside the EU.

We will only use your personal data when legally permitted. The most common uses of your personal data are:

• • • Where we need to perform the contract between us
    • Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests
    • Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation

Generally, we do not rely on consent as a legal ground for processing your personal data, other than in relation to sending marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.

Set out below is a description of the ways we intend to use your personal data and the legal grounds on which we will process such data. We have also explained what our legitimate interests are where relevant.

We may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground, depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please email us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data.We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to find out more about how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please email us.

If we need to use your personal data for a purpose unrelated to the purpose for which we collected the data, we will notify you and we will explain the legal ground of processing.

We may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law.

Marketing Communications

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have:

• • • Requested information from us or purchased goods or services from us; or
    • If you provided us with your details and ticked the box at the point of entry of your details for us to send you marketing communications; and
    • In each case, you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

You can ask us, or third parties, to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by emailing us. Where you opt out of receiving our marketing communications, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a product/service purchase, warranty registration, product/service experience or other transactions.

Our Obligations

We are a data controller.  In relation to the information that you provide to us, we are legally responsible for how that information is handled. We will comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the GDPR (2018) in the way we use and share your personal data.  Among other things, this means that we will only use your personal data:

• • • Fairly and lawfully
    • As set out in the legislation and this policy
    • To the extent necessary for these purposes

We will process your personal data ourselves as the data processor.  We will take reasonable precautions to safeguard the personal information that you supply.

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan will from time to time use your information for marketing, account management or relationship management purposes.  The main purpose of this is to provide you with information about goods and services which we think may be of interest to you and/or to maintain any existing relationship we may have with you.

Third Parties

Your data is not shared with any third parties other than as described here.

• • • The data you submit during the purchase of your product
    • By giving consent during the purchase of your product to send you marketing information about goods and services that they think you may be interested in, as well as account management or relationship management purposes

In addition we may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table above:

• • • Service providers who provide IT and system administration services
    • Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services
    • HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities based in the United Kingdom and other relevant jurisdictions who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances

We require all third parties to whom we transfer your data to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We only allow such third parties to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.

Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know such data. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so. We will report any breaches or potential breaches to the appropriate authorities within 24 hours and to anyone affected by a breach within 72 hours.

This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.

If you have any queries or concerns about your data usage please contact us.

Legitimate Interests

Under the Data Protection Act, we are also permitted to share some information with third parties who use such data for non-marketing purposes (including credit and risk assessment and management, identification and fraud prevention, debt collection and returning assets to you).

Contacting us, exercising your information rights and Complaints

If you any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your information rights in connection with the personal data you have shared with us or wish to complain, please contact: The Data Protection Officer at bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan.  We will process SARs within 20 days, SAR responses are usually free but we reserve the right to charge for excessive or unfounded requests. We fully comply with Data Protection legislation and will assist in any investigation or request made by the appropriate authorities.

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan hereby confirm that information and personal data submitted by you in relation to accessing our website www.just-vegan.co.uk shall be collected, processed and stored in accordance with the requirements of personal data protection laws of the European Union as defined in the GDPR.

By submitting your data you agree that the data shall be processed and stored for the duration of the purpose indicated herein and in cases provided for by applicable laws after initial processing as long as it would be required.

The data collected will not be transferred to third parties.

You shall be entitled at any time to require an update of your data, information regarding use of your personal data, to object to processing, to request transfer of your data as well as to require deletion of your data by contacting us on the details provided.

We must process personal data fairly and lawfully in accordance with individuals’ rights. This generally means that we should not process personal data unless the individual whose details we are processing has consented to this happening.

In most cases where we process sensitive personal data we will require the data subject's explicit consent to do this unless exceptional circumstances apply or we are required to do this by law (e.g. to comply with legal obligations to ensure Health And Safety at Work). Any such consent will need to clearly identify what the relevant data is, why it is being processed and to whom it will be disclosed.

We will ensure that any personal data we process is accurate, adequate, relevant but not excessive, given the purpose for which it was obtained. We will not process personal data obtained for one purpose for any unconnected purpose unless the individual concerned has agreed to this or would otherwise reasonably expect this.

bigBOX Trading Limited T/A Just Vegan believes that if a service user wishes to make a complaint or register a concern they should find it easy to do so. It is each establishment’s policy to welcome complaints and look upon them as an opportunity to learn, adapt, improve and provide better services. This policy is intended to ensure that complaints are dealt with properly and that all complaints or comments by service users and their relatives and carers are taken seriously.

The policy is not designed to apportion blame, to consider the possibility of negligence or to provide compensation. It is NOT part of each establishment’s disciplinary policy.

Each establishment believes that failure to listen to or acknowledge complaints will lead to an aggravation of problems, service user dissatisfaction and possible litigation. Each establishment supports the concept that most complaints, if dealt with early, openly and honestly, can be sorted out at a local level between just the complainant and each establishment. If this fails due to either the establishment or the complainant being dissatisfied with the result the complaint will be referred to the Commission for legal advice.

Aim

The aim of each establishment is to ensure that its complaints procedure is properly and effectively implemented, and that service users feel confident that their complaints and worries are listened to and acted upon promptly and fairly.

Goals

The goals of each establishment are to ensure that:

• • • Service users are aware of how to complain, and that each establishment provides easy to use
    • Opportunities for them to register their complaints
    • A named person will be responsible for the administration of the procedure
    • Every written complaint is acknowledged within two working days
    • Investigations into written complaints are held within 28 days
    • All complaints are responded to in writing by each establishment
    • Complaints are dealt with promptly, fairly and sensitively with due regard to the upset and worry that they can cause to both staff and service users.

Each establishment believes that, wherever possible, complaints are best dealt with on a local level between the complainant and the establishment. If either of the parties is not satisfied by a local process the case should be referred to the Commission.

Complaints Procedure

Oral Complaints

• • • All oral complaints, no matter how seemingly unimportant, should be taken seriously. There is nothing to be gained by staff adopting a defensive or aggressive attitude.
    • Staff who receive an oral complaint should seek to solve the problem immediately if possible.
    • If staff cannot solve the problem immediately they should offer to get the manager to deal with the problem.
    • All contact with the complainant should be polite, courteous and sympathetic.
    • At all times staff should remain calm and respectful.
    • Staff should not accept blame, make excuses or blame other staff.
    • If the complaint is being made on behalf of the service user by an advocate it must first be verified that the person has permission to speak for the service user, especially if confidential information is involved. It is very easy to assume that the advocate has the right or power to act for the service user when they may not. If in doubt it should be assumed that the service user’s explicit permission is needed prior to discussing the complaint with the advocate.
    • After talking the problem through, each manager or the member of staff dealing with the complaint should suggest a course of action to resolve the complaint. If this course of action is acceptable then the member of staff should clarify the agreement with the complainant and agree a way in which the results of the complaint will be communicated to the complainant (ie through another meeting or by letter).
    • If the suggested plan of action is not acceptable to the complainant then the member of staff or manager should ask the complainant to put their complaint in writing to the establishment and give them a copy of the complaints procedure and form for completion.
    • In both cases details of the complaints should be recorded on a complaints form and handed to the Manager.

Written Complaints

• • • When a complaint is received in writing it should be passed on to the named complaints manager who should record it in the complaints book and send an acknowledgment letter within two working days.
    • The complaints manager will be the named person who deals with the complaint through the process.
    • If necessary, further details should be obtained from the complainant. If the complaint is not made by the service user but on the service user’s behalf, then consent of the service user, preferably in writing, must be obtained from the complainant.
    • A leaflet detailing the procedure should be forwarded to the complainant.
    • If the complaint raises potentially serious matters, advice should be sought from a legal advisor to the establishment. If legal action is taken at this stage any investigation by the establishment under the complaints procedure should cease immediately.
    • If the complainant is not prepared to have the investigation conducted by the establishment he or she should be advised to contact the Commission and be given the contact details.
    • Immediately on receipt of the complaint the establishment should launch an investigation and within 28 days should be in a position to provide a full explanation to the complainant, either in writing or by arranging a meeting with the individuals concerned.
    • If the issues are too complex to complete the investigation within 28 days, the complainant should be informed of any delays.
    • If a meeting is arranged the complainant should be advised that they may, if they wish, bring a friend or relative or a representative such as an advocate.
    • At the meeting a detailed explanation of the results of the investigation should be given and also an apology If it is deemed appropriate (apologising for what has happened need not be an admission of liability).
    • Such a meeting gives the establishment the opportunity to show the complainant that the matter has been taken seriously and has been thoroughly investigated.
    • After the meeting, or if the complainant does not want a meeting, a written account of the investigation should be sent to the complainant. This should include details of how to approach the Commission if the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome.
    • The outcomes of the investigation and the meeting should be recorded on appropriate documentation and any shortcomings in the establishment’s procedures should be identified and acted upon.
    • Each establishment should discuss complaints and their outcome at a formal business meeting and the establishment’s complaints procedure should be audited by the manager every six months.

Training

The Manager is responsible for organising and co-ordination training.
All staff should be trained in dealing with, and responding to, complaints. Complaints policy training should be included in the induction training for all new staff and in-house training sessions on handling complaints should be conducted at least annually and all relevant staff should attend.

NEXT REVIEW DATE : MAY 2019