Complaints

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

  1. The Centre for Military Justice (CMJ) undertakes to deal with all complaints promptly, thoroughly and fairly.
  2. If a client (be they a caller to the helpline, a user of the online enquiry service or someone on whose behalf the CMJ is acting or with whom they are working) wishes to complain about any aspect of the CMJ’s services, they will be encouraged to do so.

Complaints not involving the Director

  1. In the first instance, if the complaint concerns a trustee, volunteer or a member of staff other than the Director, the complaint should be directed to the Director of the CMJ. This can be done in any format and no formal process is required to be followed at this stage. For the direct contact details of the Director, please email information@centreformilitaryjustice.org.uk
  2. The Director will investigate the complaint by listening to or considering carefully the information provided by the client and considering any additional relevant material, speaking to member of staff/volunteer involved, investigating the matter for herself and will come to a decision on whether the complaint should be upheld. Every effort will be made to complete this process within a fortnight.
  3. The client will be informed.
  4. If the Director decides that the complaint should not be upheld, there is a right of appeal to the chair of trustees (or another trustee acting on the chair’s behalf, if they are not available).
  5. The chair of trustees will consider all of the available material to date and, if appropriate, discuss the matter with the client and the person who is the subject of the complaint.
  6. The chair will decide whether or not to uphold the decision of the Director.
  7. The decision of the chair of trustees (or a trustee acting on their behalf) is final.
  8. The Board of Trustees will always be notified by the Director of all complaints and their outcome. Full details will be provided on request to the Board of Trustees.

Complaints involving the Director

  1. If the complaint concerns the Director herself, the client will be directed to the chair of trustees directly, who will take the steps described at para 4 above.
  2. The chair will discuss the complaint with all other members of the trustee board.
  3. The chair will decide whether or not to uphold the complaint and their decision is final.
  4. If the complaint concerns the Director in her capacity as a solicitor, the Law Society has published guidance on what to do in this situation and the client’s attention will be brought to this information here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/for-the-public/using-a-solicitor/complain-about-a-solicitor/
  5. The Legal Ombudsman oversees complaints against solicitors (including complaints about bills) and the client will also be informed of that and referred to the Legal Ombudsman’s website here: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/helping-the-public/

Psychological services

  1. If the complaint concerns an aspect of the psychological assessment and support services offered by or via the CMJ, in the first instance the concern should be raised with the Director.
  2. However, as any mental health professional referred by or through the CMJ will be licensed by their own professional body, they will be subject to their own separate complaints and regulatory processes. It is important that these are followed.
  3. The CMJ will therefore facilitate the client to contact and access the correct process, which is likely to be any of the following (depending upon who the complaint concerns):

The Nursing and Midwifery Council: https://www.nmc.org.uk/

The Health and Care Professions Council: https://www.hcpc-uk.org

The British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy: https://www.bacp.co.uk

Fundraising complaints

  1. If the complaint concerns charitable fundraising undertaken by or on behalf of the charity, then the matter should be raised with the Director as soon as possible, who will inform the trustees of the complaint.
  2. The chair of trustees will decide how the complaint should be investigated and who should be appointed to lead the investigation. The chair or appointed person will investigate the complaint by listening to or considering carefully the information provided and considering any additional relevant material, speaking to those involved, investigating the matter for him/herself and will come to a decision on whether the complaint should be upheld. Every effort will be made to complete this process within a fortnight.
  3. If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, then the matter may be referred to the Fundraising Regulator, which considers complaints about charitable fundraising.