1. All complaints given to us will be handled in a timely fashion.
2. All complaints will be handled by appropriate staff members.
3. Complaints will be treated as private and confidential only being viewed by the
appropriate people i.e. staff members, legal consultants and any other affected parties.
4. Any details disclosed in complaints will be kept private as disclosed in detail by our
privacy policy.
5. HIP staff undertake to try and resolve any complaints or issues arising in a timely,
professional and fair way.
6. We treat as a complaint any expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for
a response. We listen to your complaints, treat them seriously, and learn from them so
that we can continuously improve our service.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not. Our policy
covers complaints about:
• the standard of service you should expect from us
• the behaviour of our staff in delivering that service
• any action, or lack of action, by our staff or others engaged on HIP business
We refer to these complaints as “service complaints”.
Our complaints policy does not cover:
• comments about our policies or policy decisions
• dissatisfaction or complaints expressed with our policies
• matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaints procedure
• anonymous complaints
Our standards for handling complaints
• We can receive complaints by letter or email, or alternatively if required by virtue of
reasonable adjustments. We treat all complaints seriously
• You can expect to be treated with courtesy, respect and fairness at all times. We
expect that you will also treat our staff dealing with your complaint with the same
courtesy, respect and fairness
• We will treat your complaint in confidence within Happy Ireland Productions
We will deal with your service complaint promptly. We will acknowledge receipt of a
written complaint within five working days where we have a return address and you can
expect to have a full reply within 20 working days. In a few cases we will not be able to
send a full reply within 20 working days of receipt, for example if your complaint is very
complex. If this happens, we will tell you the reason why and let you know when we will
be able to reply in full, keeping you fully informed of progress.
We will not treat you less favourably than anyone else because of your: • sex or legal
marital or samesex
partnership status: this includes family status, responsibility for
dependants, and gender (including gender reassignment, whether proposed,
commenced or completed)
• sexual orientation
• colour or race: this includes ethnic or national origin or nationality
• disability
• religious or political beliefs, or trade union affiliation
• any other unjustifiable factors, for example language difficulties, age, pregnancy and
maternity.
Third Party Reporting
Complainants may wish to have a third party act on their behalf. A third party is any
person or organisation acting on behalf of or making enquiries for the complainant. For
example, third parties may include:
• advice organisations
• professionals such as social workers, community psychiatric nurses or doctors,
solicitors
• family members or friends
Where a third party is helping a complainant with a particular complaint, we need written
consent to that effect. Where we have this authority, we will endeavour to take all
possible steps to keep the third party informed of progress on the complaint.
We do not need written consent if a MP or elected Councillor is helping a constituent
with a complaint, and we can disclose information to them in response to their enquiries.
Also, some lawyers and attorneys are legally empowered in certain circumstances to
act on behalf of a complainant, and consent to disclose information is not required.
Confidentiality
All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the
requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998, subject to the need to disclose
information as required by statutory authorities, and/or as a result of statutory, legal or
parliamentary obligations placed on Happy Ireland Productions.