Complaints Policy

Purpose and scope of policy 

At Paradigm Shift Consulting Ltd, we will always deal with individuals fairly and properly. If you feel that we have not met that standard, please let us know. Where there is reason to believe our standards have fallen short, we want to be able to resolve any concerns and learn from what has happened, so that we can continuously improve. 

This policy explains how Paradigm Shift Consulting Ltd will deal with complaints about its conduct from all external parties, such as customers, associated third parties and members of the public. 

What is a complaint?  

We will treat any expression of dissatisfaction about our service or quality as a complaint. However, we ask you to contact us in writing, highlighting the key points of your complaint, as explained in the next section, so that we can consider the matter properly. 

This policy covers complaints about: 

• How you or others have been treated.
• Our conduct in performing our functions in line with our obligations under GDP Guidelines 2013/C 343/01 and Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
• Our conduct and compliance with our own procedures, processes, and policies.
• The behaviour of our staff, our consultants, or individuals representing us.
• The quality of products you have received from us.
• The quality of training materials or experiences we have provided.

It may be the case that we receive correspondence that in our view does not fall under our definition of a complaint or does not raise any issue that calls for in depth investigation. This may apply, for instance, to: 

• Objections to certain steps, recommendations, or decisions we have taken in compliance with a legal requirements.
• Disapproval of our refusal to act in a matter where we have no legal power to act.
• Anonymous complaints, or
• Malicious, repetitive, or vexatious claims such as harassment of staff or repeated submissions of a complaint to which a response under stage two of our complaints procedure has been provided. We will not reply to rude or abusive emails, calls or letters. In all other cases we will give brief reasons for our views but having done so once will not normally engage in further correspondence on the merits of the position we have taken. 

The policy does not cover matters that are subject to separate procedures, which include the following: 

• Requests, or refusals for requests, for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Data Subject Access Requests under the Data Protection Act 2018.
• Concerns raised by workers which are dealt with under our Whistleblowing policy. 

How to complain 

A complaint may be emailed to complaints@paradigmshiftconsulting.co.uk, or sent by post to: 

Paradigm Shift Consulting Ltd 
44a Griffith Street 
Rushden 
Northamptonshire 
NN10 0RL 

It will help us to deal quickly and fully with your complaint if you can state that you are making a complaint, set out your concern in writing as clearly as possible, and provide your contact details. 

Stage One

If you have supplied your contact details, we will send an acknowledgment of your complaint within five working days of receipt. Your complaint will then be passed to an appropriate person who was not involved in the events which led to the complaint and who is in a position and has the relevant experience to consider the complaint. We will aim to respond as soon as possible, and in any event within 20 working days. We may need to contact you to ask for more information or clarity before making a final response. 

When we provide you with a final response, we will clearly set out the steps we took in investigating the complaint along with our views and reasons for this. Where we identify mistakes in our approach we will acknowledge those mistakes, set out details of remedial steps or changes we think are appropriate in the circumstances, and explain what we will do to prevent the problem from reoccurring. We will also indicate your right to request a review of your complaint if you are not satisfied with our response. 

In complaints involving a Director of the business, the Senior Management Team will independently consider if there is a sufficiently serious case and, if so, shall call a consultation meeting to review the complaint, or incident, and consider appropriate action.  

Stage Two

We expect most complaints to be resolved at stage one. However, if you consider the response you have received is not fair or appropriate, you may contact us to request a review of your complaint by the Director, or Senior Management Team if the complaint involves the Director. You should do this within 20 working days of receiving a stage one response unless there is special reason for doing so later. 

We will acknowledge your request to review the complaint within five working days of receipt. Again, we may need to contact you to ask for more information or clarity before making a final decision. We will aim to respond within 20 working days of receipt. 

Extending time limits 

We aim to complete all complaints within the timescales above; however, if a complaint is overly complex it may occasionally be necessary to extend the time limit. If this is the case, we will keep the complainant informed of progress with the investigation, the reasons for the delay, and the new deadline. 

If you remain dissatisfied 

If, having followed the 2 stages of our complaints procedure, you remain dissatisfied, you may wish to seek legal advice and we are committed to cooperating with mediation activities.

Other information 

The Senior Management Team are informed of any complaints received about Paradigm Shift Consulting Ltd or its staff at monthly meetings. We welcome any comments or suggestions about our complaints procedure, to make sure it operates as efficiently and effectively as possible. Please send any comments to us by email or post.