It is recognised that grievances can arise when a student, trainee, trainer, member of MIP or staff member is unhappy about their personal situation regarding their course, or in their dealings with students, or with staff, trainers or the organisation, and that a speedy resolution of such grievances is in the interests of all concerned.
This procedure aims to bring about the rapid resolution of grievances, without recourse to formal proceedings wherever possible. Nothing in this procedure impinges on the legal rights or obligations of staff, members of the public, trainers or students.
Grievances will be regarded as confidential but all individuals concerned will need to be interviewed if the grievance is to be resolved.
Grievances which are anonymous or based on rumour cannot be investigated.
The Institute reserves the right to take disciplinary action against any person whose grievance is found to be based on false allegations.
Decisions and actions taken in relation to a grievance are not influenced by the person’s background or situation, and each case is dealt with on its own merits.
Informal procedure
If a grievance exists, before invoking the formal procedure every effort should be made to resolve the issue informally by raising your concerns with the person(s) involved or with the clinical director, or your personal tutor. If this does not lead to a satisfactory outcome, or if you feel unable to discuss the matter with the person(s) involved, you may opt to invoke the formal grievance procedure.
If the grievance has been resolved informally, no record will be kept on file unless both parties wish to have a note made of what has been agreed.
Formal Procedure
Students
If the matter has not been resolved informally to everyone’s satisfaction, a member of the tutorial team will be appointed to establish the nature of the grievance and will make a written record on the Grievance Form to be signed by those concerned confirming this is an accurate representation. The form will be passed to the Quality & Ethics Committee at the Manchester Institute for Psychotherapy for action, who may convene an extraordinary meeting, and investigate the matter through the Institute’s complaints procedure.
If the grievance is against another student, the Grievance Form will be submitted within two working days to an appropriate tutor. The tutor will send a letter of acknowledgement within five working days and instigate an investigation.
Following investigation, written notification of the outcome will be given as soon as possible, normally within 15 working days of the grievance having been notified. The written notification will include reasons for the outcome, any right of appeal and an explanation of the appeal procedure.
If the grievance is against a member of staff or trainer, it will be referred immediately to the Quality & Ethics Committee who will follow the Institute’s complaints procedure.
If a conflict of interest exists, the complaint will be passed to an external moderator.
Trainers and Members of Staff
Trainers and members of staff are required to follow the above procedure and report the grievance to the Trainers meeting and the Quality & Ethics Committee.
Members of the Public
Members of the public can forward their grievance to the Quality & Ethics Committee and there will be an extraordinary meeting by the committee within four weeks of receiving the written grievance. They will be informed of the outcome within four weeks of the aforementioned meeting.
Appeals
If an appeal is to be made against the outcome of a grievance this should be done in writing within ten working days of the decision being notified.
The outcome of the appeal will be notified in writing within a further ten working days.
A complainant has the right to seek advice from outside the Institute at any stage of the proceedings
Monitoring
The outcome of investigations and responses to grievances will be
reported quarterly to the Director of MIP. All those involved with the grievance will also be notified.
This policy is regularly reviewed every 18 months.
Last revision December 2018
GRIEVANCE FORM
Incident Date: …………………………… Incident Time: …………………………..
Reported to: ………………………………………………
Complainant’s Details:
Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Address: …………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Tel: ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Course Title (if applicable): ………………………………………………………………..
Trainer (if applicable): ………………………………………………………………………
Complainant given information about procedure: Y N
Full details of the complaint including date and time and place.
I agree that this is an accurate record.
Signed………………………………. ……………..
(complainant
Action
What complainant wants to do next:
Steps that have been taken to resolve this informally:
What we have done/will do:
Sent to: ………………………………………………….
Signed (Recorder)……………………………………..
Date: ……………………………………………………
Signed …………………………………………………..
(Member) ………………………………………………..
Signed ……………………………………………………
(Member) ………………………………………………..
Signed ……………………………………………………
(Quality & Ethics Committee): …………………………
Follow up:
Signature……………………………………….. Date………………………..
