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Guidance for Public Sector Bodies
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- The Ombudsman's Guide to Developing a Complaint Handling System
- Six Rules for Getting it Right - The Ombudsman’s Guide to Good Public Administration (Published February 2013)
- The Ombudsman's guide to the provision of redress
- The Ombudsman's Guide to Standards of Best Practice for Public Servants
- The Ombudsman's Guide to Making a Meaningful Apology
An effective complaint handling system provides significant benefits to any organisation. It resolves issues raised in a timely and cost effective way, it provides valuable information that can lead to service improvement and it can improve the reputation of and strengthen confidence in an organisation.
This downloadable booklet contains the following documents:
- Model Complaints System
- Model Complaints Policy
- Model Complaint Form
These documents will be of assistance in developing complaint handling systems.
Six Rules for Getting it Right - The Ombudsman’s Guide to Good Public Administration
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"The purpose of this guide is to help service providers to provide a first-class service to their customers. The guide draws on my Office’s experience of examining complaints against the public service, and highlights the key elements of good public administration."
This guide sets out six basic rules:
1. Get it right
2. Be customer oriented
3 Be open and accountable
4. Act fairly and proportionately
5. Deal with errors effectively
6. Seek continuous improvement
In doing so, it:
- proposes a clear framework within which service providers should operate;
- describes the standards against which services may be judged;
- clarifies the grounds on which the Ombudsman will judge the performance of a service provider.
The guide should be read in conjunction with Redress: Getting it wrong and putting it right.
Peter Tyndall
Ombudsman
These rules are not a checklist to be applied mechanically. Public bodies should use their judgement in applying the rules to produce reasonable, fair and proportionate results in each circumstance. The Ombudsman will adopt a similar approach in deciding whether maladministration or service failure, causing adverse effect, has occurred.
This can be achieved by:
(i) Acting in accordance with the law and with due regard for the rights of those concerned
(ii) Acting in accordance with the public body’s policy and guidance
(iii) Taking proper account of established good practice
(iv) Providing effective services, using appropriately trained and competent staff
(v) Making reasonable decisions, based on all relevant considerations
(vi) Avoiding undue delay
This can be achieved by:
(i) Ensuring people can access services easily, including those with a disability or special needs
(ii) Informing customers what they can expect and what the public body expects of them
(iii) Keeping to commitments, including any published service standards
(iv) Dealing with people helpfully, promptly and sensitively, bearing in mind their particular individual circumstances
(v) Responding to customers’ needs flexibly including, where appropriate, co-ordinating a response with other service providers
This can be achieved by:
(i) Being open and clear about policies and procedures, and ensuring that information and any advice provided is clear, accurate and complete
(ii) Stating the criteria for decision making and giving reasons for decisions
(iii) Handling information properly and appropriately
(iv) Keeping proper and appropriate records
(v) Taking responsibility for your actions
This can be achieved by:
(i) Treating people impartially, with respect and courtesy
(ii) Avoiding unfair discrimination or prejudice, and ensuring no conflict of interests
(iii) Dealing with people and issues objectively and consistently
(iv) Ensuring that decisions and actions are proportionate, appropriate and fair
(v) Ensuring that rules are applied equitably
This can be achieved by:
(i) Acknowledging mistakes and apologising where appropriate
(ii) Putting mistakes right quickly and effectively
(iii) Providing clear and timely information on how and when to appeal or complain
(iv) Operating an effective complaints procedure, which includes offering a fair and appropriate remedy when a complaint is upheld
This can be achieved by:
(i) Reviewing policies and procedures regularly to ensure they are effective
(ii) Asking for feedback and using it to improve services and performance
(iii) Ensuring that the public body learns lessons from complaints and uses these to improve services and performance
(iv) Identifying systemic problems and correcting them
(i) Acting in accordance with the law and with due regard for the rights of those concerned
Service providers should;
- comply with the law and have regard for the rights of those concerned
- act according to their statutory powers and duties and any other rules governing the service they provide
- follow their own policy and procedural guidance, whether published or internal
- use their powers only for the specific purpose for which they are given
- apply their powers with objectivity and impartiality
- disregard factors which are not relevant to a particular case
(ii) Acting in accordance with the Service providers policy and guidance
Service providers should;
- act in accordance with relevant codes of practice, government circulars and established good practice
- ensure that decision making criteria are clear and relevant and can be applied objectively so that decisions are not made on an inconsistent, ad hoc or subjective basis
(iii) Taking proper account of established good practice
Service providers should;
- take proper account of recognised quality standards, established good practice and their own guidance
- record the reason(s) when they decide to depart from these standards
(iv) Providing effective services, using appropriately trained and competent staff
Service providers should;
- provide effective services with appropriately trained and competent staff who understand and fulfil the legal requirements relevant to their area of activity
- plan carefully when introducing new policies and procedures
- plan and prioritise their resources to meet their statutory duties, published service standards or both
(v) Taking reasonable decisions, based on all relevant considerations
Service providers should:
- take account of all relevant considerations, ignore irrelevant ones and balance the evidence appropriately when making decisions
- ensure that discretionary powers are exercised in a reasonable manner
- operate fairly and reasonably when assessing risk
(vi) Avoiding undue delay
Service providers should avoid undue delay - particularly in cases where practical difficulties may arise for the individual as a result or where uncertainty may be created.
(i) Ensuring people can access services easily, including those with a disability or special needs
Service providers should;
- provide services and information that are easily accessible to their customers
- have policies and procedures which are clear
- provide accurate, complete and understandable information about their services
- communicate effectively, using language that people can understand and that is appropriate to them and *their circumstances
(ii) Informing customers what they can expect and what the service providers expects of them
Service providers should;
- inform customers about their entitlements
- ensure that clients understand what they can and cannot expect from the organisation
- ensure that customers understand their own responsibilities
(iii) Keeping to commitments, including any published service standards
Service providers should;
- do what they say they are going to do
- keep a commitment or explain why they cannot, if that is the case
- meet their published service standards, or let customers know if they cannot
(iv) Dealing with people helpfully, promptly and sensitively, bearing in mind their particular individual circumstances
Service providers should;
- behave helpfully, dealing with people promptly, within reasonable timescales and within any published time limits (Under the Ombudsman Amendment Act 2012 there is an obligation on public bodies to give reasonable assistance and guidance to people, and provide information to people on any rights of appeal or review)
- avoid undue delay
- tell people if things may take longer than originally stated
- treat people with sensitivity, bearing in mind their individual needs
- respond flexibly to the circumstances of a case, by having regard to the individual's age, to their capacity to understand often complex rules, to any disability they may have and to their feelings, their privacy and convenience
(v) Responding to customers’ needs flexibly, including, where appropriate, co-ordinating a response with other service providers
Service providers should;
- where appropriate, deal with customers in a co-ordinated way with other service providers to ensure their needs are met
- refer them to any other sources of assistance, if they are unable to help
(i) Being open and clear about policies and procedures and ensuring that information, and any advice provided is clear, accurate and complete
Service providers should;
- handle information as openly and transparently as the law allows
- give people information and, if appropriate, advice. This should be clear, accurate, complete, relevant and timely
- simplify procedures, forms and information on entitlements and services
(ii) Stating the criteria for decision making and giving reasons for decisions
Service providers should be open and truthful when accounting for their decisions and actions
(iii) Handling information properly and appropriately
Service providers should;
- handle and process information properly and appropriately in line with the law
- respect the privacy of personal and confidential information, as the law requires (See the provisions of the Data Protection Act for example)
(iv) Keeping proper and appropriate records
Service providers should;
- create and maintain reliable and usable records as evidence of their activities
- manage records in line with recognised standards to ensure that they can be retrieved
- retain records for as long as there is a statutory duty and / or business need
(v) Taking responsibility for actions
Service providers should take responsibility for the administrative and business related actions of their staff.
(i) Treating people impartially, with respect and courtesy
Service providers should;
- deal with people fairly and with respect
- be prepared to listen to their customers
- avoid being defensive when things go wrong
- understand and respect the diversity of their customers
- ensure equal access to services and treatment regardless of background or circumstance
(ii) Avoiding unfair discrimination or prejudice, and ensuring no conflict of interest
Service providers should;
- ensure that actions and decisions are free from any personal bias or interests that could prejudice those actions and decisions
- declare any conflict of interest
- not act in a way that unlawfully discriminates against or unjustifiably favours particular individuals or interests
(iii) Dealing with people and issues objectively and consistently
Service providers should;
- treat people fairly and consistently, so that those in similar circumstances are dealt with in a similar way
- justify any difference in treatment by the individual circumstances of the case
(iv) Ensuring that decisions and actions are proportionate, appropriate and fair
Service providers should;
- ensure that the measures taken are proportionate to the objectives being pursued, appropriate in the circumstances and fair to the indivuiduals concerned
- avoid penalties which are out of proportion to what is necessary to ensure compliance with the rules
(v) Ensuring that rules are applied equitably
Service providers should;
- accept that rules and regulations, while important in ensuring fairness, should not be applied so rigidly or inflexibly as to create an inequity
- address any unfairness, if, in applying (a) the law, (b) regulations or (c) procedures strictly would lead to an unfair result for an individual
(i) Acknowledging mistakes and apologising where appropriate
Service providers should acknowledge when mistakes happen, apologise, explain what went wrong and put things right quickly and effectively.
(ii) Putting mistakes right quickly and effectively
Service providers should;
- correct any decisions found to be incorrect
- review and amend any policies and procedures found to be ineffective, unworkable or unfair
- give appropriate notice before changing rules
(iii) Providing clear and timely information on how and when to appeal or complain
Service providers should;
- provide clear and timely information about methods by which people can appeal or complain (Under the Ombudsman Acts there is a duty on public bodies to provide information to people on any rights of appeal or review)
- provide information about appropriate organisational or independent ways of resolving complaints
- consider providing information about possible sources of help for the customer, particularly for people who may find the complaints process daunting
(iv) Operating an effective complaints procedure, which includes offering a fair and appropriate remedy when a complaint is upheld
Service providers should;
- operate effective complaints procedures which investigate complaints thoroughly, quickly impartially and meet the principles of fair procedure and natural justice
- provide an appropriate range of remedies to the complainant and any others similarly affected when a complaint is upheld. A remedy might include:
1. an explanation and apology from the public body to the complainant,
2. remedial action by the service provider,
3. financial compensation for the complainant, or
4. a combination of these.
The remedy offered should seek to put the complainant back in the position they would have been in if nothing had gone wrong. Where this is not possible , as will sometimes be the case, the remedy offered should fairly reflect the harm the complainant has suffered.
(i) Reviewing policies and procedures regularly to ensure they are effective
Service providers should review their policies and procedures regularly to ensure they are effective.
(ii) Asking for feedback and using it to improve services and performance
Service providers should actively seek and welcome all feedback, both compliments and complaints.
(iii) Ensuring that the public body learns lessons from complaints and uses these to improve services and performance
Service providers should use feedback to improve their public service delivery and performance. They should capture and review lessons learned from complaints so that they contribute to developing services. Service providers should also provide the necessary follow-up and guidance to staff where appropriate.
(iv) Identifying systemic problems and correcting them
Where systemic problems are identified, they should be corrected. Other public bodies who provide similar services and who would benefit from a similar correction should also be alerted.
Where a person has been wronged by a public body, that body should provide appropriate redress. This leaflet gives very broad proposals on the provision of redress to help public servants develop a consistent approach towards remedies.
Public bodies deliver a vast range of services and benefits to the public. Even where people are not entitled to a particular service or benefit, they are entitled to be told the reasons why they do not qualify and be informed of alternative services, where possible. Where they may be entitled to the service or benefit but a delay in the decision cannot be avoided, they should be told when the decision is likely to be made. In cases of need, other possibilities for short-term relief may have to be examined. Public service providers must always bear in mind that members of the public usually do not have the option of taking their business elsewhere. Members of the public are entitled to proper, fair, impartial and expeditious treatment by public bodies. Where there is a shortfall in these standards, and the fault lies with the public body, it should remedy the shortfall through the provision of redress. The general rule of thumb should be to put the person back into the position he/she would have been in if the public body had acted properly.
When it turns out that the service or benefit has been wrongly denied or delayed, the public body should always give a detailed explanation and/or apology. Explanations and apologies should include the following:
- the reasons why the public body got it wrong;
- an apology for any hurt, inconvenience or hardship caused;
- an acceptance of responsibility for the fault which has occurred;
- an undertaking to make good any loss which may have resulted;
- an acceptance that, where time limits apply, any undue delay on the part of the public body will be discounted where possible.
In some cases an action (including an inaction) of a public body wrongly taken may affect a person in a manner which can easily be quantified and payment of financial redress may be appropriate.
Complaints can be made to the Ombudsman about breaches of contract or negligence of public bodies. However, the Ombudsman cannot award compensation in the same way as a court. These claims for compensation must be taken in the appropriate court. The Ombudsman may recommend that the public body take an action to correct the wrong into the future and apologise for any error. Financial redress may be considered for:
- Financial Loss - where there is a specific amount of money denied to a person as a result of the action, financial redress should make good the specific loss which has occurred.
- Loss of purchasing power - where refunds or payments of benefits have been delayed or withheld over an unduly extended period of time as a result of an error, misinterpretation, oversight or other similar action on the part of a public body.
- Loss of a non-monetary benefit or service - where costs are incurred by a person in securing alternative services for non-monetary benefits or services normally provided by public bodies, e.g. school transport, housing repairs, refuse and water supply, hospital services, facilities for people with disabilities etc. and where these are initially denied or delayed and subsequently restored or granted.
- Loss of opportunity - where the action of a public body has the effect of preventing an eligible person from taking advantage of special arrangements or participating in a particular scheme or has resulted in the loss of an opportunity to exercise a right of appeal.
- Costs incurred - where a person complains or appeals he/she may need to seek professional advice, for example, from a solicitor, accountant, architect or engineer in order to vindicate his or her position. If, at the end of this process, the decision of the body is reversed or varied, the question of refunding costs incurred in obtaining professional advice should form part of the public body’s redress proposals. The key consideration should be whether the costs arose as a result of an unreasonable attitude by the public body.
- Time and trouble - where writing letters, making telephone calls, carrying out interviews, research and getting legal or other professional advice are integral parts of the complaint/appeal process, these and other related activities involve time and trouble on the part of the complainant. Where it becomes clear that the complainant had to go to unusual lengths or suffered distress in making his/her case, financial redress in the form of payments for time and trouble reasonably expended in pursuing the complaint, and associated vouched costs, should form part of the redress proposals.
An effective complaints system which offers a range of timely and appropriate remedies will save the public body time and money in the long run. It will enhance the quality of service to its clients, it will have a positive effect on staff morale and improve the body’s relations with the public. It will also provide useful feedback to the body and enable it to review procedures and systems which may be giving rise to complaints.
Guidance for public service providers: Guide to the provision of redress
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(The Guide was originally published by the Ombudsman with his Annual Report for 1996, and this updated version was published as an insert to the 2002 Annual Report.)
In my 1996 Annual Report I published a guide to standards of best practice for public servants. The guide consisted of a checklist of rules of behaviour for public servants and was based on my experience of dealing with individual complaints over the years. It emphasised that, in delivering services to their clients, public servants should do so in a proper, fair and impartial manner. The guide was also published in leaflet form and was distributed widely among public bodies.
I have decided to publish an updated version which takes account of developments in the interim such as the enactment of freedom of information, ethics and equal status legislation. Also relevant is the publication of the Principles of Quality Customer Service (QCS) by the SMI Cross-Departmental QCS Working Group. And following on from the central theme of my 2001 Annual Report, I have put an added emphasis on the issue of appropriate redress by public bodies in instances where people have been adversely affected as a result of maladministration.
The checklist has grown in length and in breadth - it now includes guidance on how to deal with people in a proper, fair, open and impartial manner. Nevertheless, I have tried to keep it as practical as possible.
I have said many times that the relationship between public bodies and the citizen is an essential element in the quality of our society and democracy and I see this guide as helping to reinforce that relationship. At one level the guide can be viewed as a series of steps towards avoiding maladministration, i.e. administrative actions of the kind specified in the Ombudsman Act, 1980 as being contrary to fair or sound administration. But, I hope public servants will also view it as a useful support in their efforts to reach the highest standards of administration in their dealings with their clients.
The updated version of the guide is again being published in leaflet form for distribution to public bodies and the general public.
Public bodies should strive for the highest standards of administration in their dealings with people. And public servants should ensure that people are dealt with properly, fairly, openly and impartially. The following checklist, although not exhaustive, is a guide to standards of best practice for public servants. I hope that public bodies will find it useful in their efforts to provide a better service to their clients.
- promptly, without undue delay and in accordance with published time limits;
- correctly, in accordance with the law or other rules governing their entitlements and published quality standards;
- sensitively and by giving reasonable assistance, having regard to their age, to their capacity to understand often complex rules, to any disability they may have and to their feelings, privacy and convenience;
- helpfully, by simplifying procedures, forms and information on entitlements and services, maintaining proper records, and providing clear and precise details on time limits or conditions which might result in disqualification;
- carefully, where more than one public body is concerned, by ensuring proper communications between the bodies to prevent a person?s needs being overlooked;
- courteously, including communicating in Irish (both written and oral) where it is clear a person wishes to do so;
- responsibly, by not adopting an adversarial approach as a matter of course where there may be a fear of litigation and by being prepared to explain why an adverse decision has been given.
- treating people in similar circumstances in like manner;
- accepting that rules and regulations, while important in ensuring fairness, should not be applied so rigidly or inflexibly as to create inequity;
- avoiding penalties which are out of proportion to what is necessary to ensure compliance with the rules;
being prepared to review rules and procedures and change them if necessary;
- giving adequate notice before changing rules in a way which adversely affects a person's entitlements;
- having an internal review system so that adverse decisions can be looked at again and reviewed by someone not involved in the first decision;
- informing people of how they can appeal, co-operating fully in any such appeal and being open to proposals for redress including apologies, explanations and payment of appropriate compensation;
- making appropriate redress which puts the person back into the position he/she would have been in if the public body had acted properly in the first place;
- adopting a policy for dealing with the small number of people who act in a vexatious manner or in bad faith, which strikes a balance between the interests of the public body, its staff and the person concerned.
- putting people in contact with the officials of the public body with responsibility for dealing with them and, if appropriate, referring them to alternative sources of assistance;
- making available and keeping up to date, comprehensive information on the rules and practices which govern public schemes and programmes;
- giving people full information on the reasons for a decision which adversely affects them including details of any findings of fact made in the course of the decision;
- ensuring people know what information is available, where to get it and know of their right to access it in accordance with Freedom of Information legislation and otherwise;
- assisting people, where necessary, to prepare their requests for access to information;
- providing accessible public offices and using information and communications technologies to ensure maximum access and choice in service delivery.
- making decisions based on what is relevant in the rules and law and ignoring what is irrelevant;
- avoiding bias because of a person?s gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race, membership of the Travelling Community, language, attitude or reputation or because of who they are or who they know;
- ensuring, where a service is based on a scheme of priorities, that the scheme is open and transparent; being careful that one's prejudices are not factors in a decision;
- declining any involvement with a decision where one has a conflict of interests, a potential conflict of interests, or where there may be a perceived conflict of interests.
The Ombudsman’s Guide to Standards of Best Practice for Public Servants
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When it turns out that a service or commitment has been wrongly denied or delayed, the public service provider should always give a detailed explanation and/or an apology. This guidance note describes what an apology is and what you need to do for an apology to be meaningful.
Many people tell us that what they are looking for by making a complaint is for the service provider to acknowledge that something went wrong and to receive a meaningful apology. An apology is much more than an expression of regret. It can be relatively simple to say sorry that someone had a 'bad experience'. It is much harder to apologise for your mistakes or for those made by your organisation. An apology is an exchange between two people (or groups), so getting the process right is as important as saying the right things.
A meaningful apology can help both sides calm their emotions and move on to put things right. It is often the first step to repairing a damaged relationship. An apology can help restore trust and avoid future disputes. It acknowledges that you did not behave in line with your responsibilities or rules.
Our experience is that people who make a complaint want and expect many different things from an apology.
They may want you to:
- accept that you have done wrong
- confirm that they were right
- understand why things went wrong
- accept responsibility
- reassure them that the problem has been dealt with and will not happen again
- try to repair the relationship between you and them or
- help restore their reputation.
To make your apology meaningful you should:
- Accept that you have done something wrong. This means identifying what went wrong. Your apology must describe the offending action or behaviour, whether or not it was intentional. Your description must be specific to show that you understand the offence you have caused. It must also acknowledge the effects of the offence on the person who has made a complaint.
- Accept that you are responsible for the offence and the harm done. This includes setting out who was responsible for the offence.
- Clearly explain why the offence happened. Your explanation should show that the offence was not intentional or personal. Although most people will want or need an explanation, you should understand that this is not always the case. Also, if there is no valid explanation, then don't offer an explanation at all. You might just say that there is no excuse for the offending behaviour.
- Show that you are sincere in your apology. This shows that you understand the effect your action has had on the person who has made a complaint. It can be difficult to communicate how sorry you are in writing. You should take into account the nature of the harm done and the needs of the person who has made a complaint to decide whether you should say sorry in person and then back it up by repeating it in writing, or just make it in writing.
- Assure them that you will not repeat the offence. This may include stating the steps you have taken, or will take, to deal with the complaint and the steps you will take to make sure that the harm does not happen again (where possible).
- Make amends - put things right where you can. See Redress - Getting it Wrong and Putting it Right.
It is important that, when you are making an apology, you understand:
- how and why the person making the complaint believes that they were wronged and
- what they want in order to put things right.
You cannot put together a meaningful apology without understanding these things. We recommend that you ask the person making the complaint what they want and involve them in deciding the content of the apology and how it should be made.
Each complaint is unique, so your apology will need to be based on the individual circumstances.
- The timing of an apology is very important. You should make an apology as soon as possible after you find out something has gone wrong. A delay can increase the damage done and an opportunity may be lost.
- To make an apology meaningful, do not distance yourself from the apology and do not let there be any doubt that you are owning up to your mistake (for example, say 'It was my fault' rather than 'If mistakes have been made...').
- Use clear, plain and direct language.
- Be natural and sincere in your apology.
- Your apology should not question whether the person who has made a complaint has been harmed (for example, by saying 'I am sorry if you were offended').
- Your apology should not make the offence seem unimportant (for example by saying 'no-one else has complained').
- It is also very important that you apologise to the right person or people.
As a general rule, where you are willing and able to apologise, you should be supported in doing so.
If you are employed by, or have been contracted by, a public service provider and are unsure whether you should make an apology or whether someone else should make an apology on your behalf, you should ask your colleagues for advice. Your organisation may have guidelines you can use. In some cases, the leader of your organisation may want to make a personal or official apology on your behalf.
In other cases, you may feel that the leader of your organisation is more responsible for the offence and should make the apology. If your organisation is apologising on your behalf, the apology should be made by the person who takes overall responsibility for the services provided by that organisation, such as the manager or owner.
It is important to remember that an apology is not a sign of weakness or an invitation to be sued. It can be a sign of strength and it can show that you are willing to learn when something has gone wrong.
It can also show that you are committed to putting things right. To apologise is good practice and is an important part of effectively managing complaints. This guidance note on 'Making a Meaningful Apology' has been adapted from guidance provided by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).