Disciplinary and complaints procedure

Index

Introduction

Complaints may concern all the activities of the NRAC including:

Complaints may be made by members of the public, clients of individual Members, the staff of clients of individual Members, or from a Member or Affiliate regarding the activities of another Member or Affiliate.
All complaints will be considered with due diligence by the NRAC Management Board, the NRAC Register Manager, and any Panels set up to investigate and address the complaint. Details of decisions taken will be made available to relevant parties.
For a complaint to be upheld against a Member or Affiliate his or her actions must have been in breach of the Code of Practice relevant to their status and to which each Member or Affiliate will have given a written commitment to abide by. Codes of Practice are available from the NRAC website www.nrac.org.uk
Failure to uphold or adhere to the Code of Practice relevant to their status may bring disciplinary proceedings against the Member or Affiliate by the NRAC Management Board even if a complaint from a third party has not been received.
 

 

2.0      Complaints against Members and Affiliates
2.1      Complaints Process
Upon receipt of a written complaint concerning a Member or Affiliate of the NRAC, the NRAC Register Manager shall:

Note:   It may be possible for straightforward complaints or those that are not disputed to be settled at this point.  A decision on whether the complaint may be settled at this point will be made by the Chair of the NRAC Management Board and the Chair of the NRAC Professional Standards Committee within 14 working days of receipt of the initial response from the Member or Affiliate.
If the complaint cannot be settled at this stage, a Complaints and Disciplinary Panel will be formed to investigate the matter further. The Panel shall comprise three members of the NRAC Management Board and usually be chaired by either the Chair of Management Board or the Chair of the Professional Standards Committee. The NRAC Register Manager will support and assist the NRAC Complaints and Disciplinary Panel in the administration and running of the disciplinary process but will not contribute to any decisions made by the Panel.
The Member or Affiliate concerned may be required to attend a disciplinary hearing.  


Note:   Codes of Practice for Members and Affiliates require them to fully comply with any reasonable requests from the NRAC Management Board or those acting on its behalf for information and/or attendance at any hearings necessary in pursuance of any complaint or action against the Member or Affiliate.


2.2      Reporting of Decisions
Decisions made by the Complaints and Disciplinary Panel shall be formally confirmed in an appropriate format to all relevant parties within 14 working days of the Panel meeting.
Should a decision not be possible within this time frame, perhaps because of a need for the Panel to gather further information or evidence or arrange additional meetings, all relevant parties will be informed accordingly and a new deadline for a decision will be set.


           
3.0      Complaints against the NRAC Management Board
3.1      Complaint Process
For complaints against the NRAC Management Board or its members, the complainant should notify the NRAC Manager in writing of the nature of the complaint. Complaints may be in relation to any administrative or procedural roles or activities undertaken by the NRAC Management Board in pursuance of the business and affairs of the NRAC or related to the professional conduct of any or all members of the NRAC Management Board.
The NRAC Register Manager shall inform The Chair of the Independent Review Panel
(See also Section 7.4) of the complaint within 14 working days of receipt of the complaint and the Management Board shall respond to the complaint within 28 working days of the complaint being forwarded by the Review Panel.


3.2      Reporting of Decisions
The Independent Review Panel will investigate the complaint and take any necessary action should the complaint be upheld. The Panel shall inform the complainant in an appropriate format of the outcome within 21 working days of reaching their decision.
Should a decision not be possible within this time frame, perhaps because of a need for the Panel to gather further information or evidence or arrange additional meetings, all relevant parties will be informed in an appropriate format and a new deadline for a decision will be set.


 

4.0      Complaints against the NRAC Register Manager
4.1      Complaint Process
For complaints against the NRAC Register Manager, the complainant should notify the Chair of the NRAC Management Board in writing of the nature of the complaint. Complaints may be in relation to any administrative or procedural roles or activities undertaken by the NRAC Register Manager in pursuance of the business and affairs of the NRAC or related to the professional conduct of the NRAC Register Manager.
The Chair of the Management Board shall inform the NRAC Register Manager of the complaint within 14 working days of its receipt and the Register Manager shall respond to the complaint within 28 working days of the complaint being forwarded by the Management Board.
The NRAC Management Board shall set up a Complaints and Disciplinary Panel to investigate the complaint (see Section 2.0 earlier) and shall take appropriate action should the complaint be upheld.


4.2      Reporting of Decisions
The decision made by the Complaints and Disciplinary Panel will be confirmed in writing to the NRAC Register Manager and the complainant within 28 working days of the complaint being received by the NRAC Management Board. Should a decision not be possible within this time frame, perhaps because of a need for the Panel to gather further information or evidence or arrange additional meetings, all relevant parties will be informed in an appropriate format and a new deadline for a decision will be set.
           

5.0      Complaints against the conduct of an Admissions Panel or its individual members


Note:   An applicant wishing to challenge the decision of an Admissions Panel, as opposed to how the admissions process was administered and executed or the professional conduct of the Admissions Panel or members of it, should follow the Appeals procedure described in Section 7.2 later.
                       

5.1      Complaints Process
For complaints against the conduct of an Admissions Panel or an individual member of an Admissions Panel, the complainant should notify the NRAC Register Manager in writing of the nature of the complaint.
Complaints may be in relation to any administrative or procedural roles or activities undertaken by the Admissions Panel in the interview or decision making process or in the professional conduct of any or all members of the Admissions Panel.
The NRAC Register Manager shall inform the NRAC Management Board of the complaint within 14 working days of its receipt.


Note:   It may be possible for straightforward complaints or those that are not disputed to be settled at this point.  A decision on whether the complaint may be settled at this point will be made by the Chair of the NRAC Management Board and the Chair of the NRAC Professional Standards Committee within 21 working days of the complaint being received from the NRAC Register Manager.


If the complaint cannot be settled at this stage, the NRAC Management Board will set up a Complaints and Disciplinary Panel (see Section 2.0 earlier) to investigate the complaint and take any action necessary should the complaint be upheld.


5.2      Reporting of Decisions
The decision made by the Complaints and Disciplinary Panel will be confirmed in writing to all relevant parties within 28 working days of the complaint being received by the NRAC Management Board. Should a decision not be possible within this time frame, perhaps because of a need for the Panel to gather further information or evidence or arrange additional meetings, all relevant parties will be informed in an appropriate format and a new deadline for a decision will be set.

6.0      Outcomes of the Disciplinary Process
If the Complaints and Disciplinary process undertaken identifies that a Member or Affiliate has breached the content and intent of the Code of Conduct that is relevant to their status, appropriate action will be taken. Whilst punitive actions will vary according the circumstances of each individual case, serious and deliberate breaches of the relevant Code of Practice may result in suspension or expulsion of a Member or Affiliate from the NRAC.
Details of all complaints received together with any information gathered in investigating the claims and the decisions arrived at will be held on record by the NRAC.

7.0      Appeals
7.1      Against a Decision of the Complaints and Disciplinary Panel
Appeals against decisions of a Complaints and Disciplinary Panel may be made to an Independent Review Panel (see Section 7.4 later).  The NRAC Register Manager shall inform the Independent Panel of the appeal within 14 working days of receiving an appeal or notice of an appeal from the Appellant.
           

The Appellant may be requested to attend a Review hearing.
Any costs reasonably incurred in completing the Review process will be borne by the losing party and the decision of the Independent Review Panel will be final and binding.

7.1.1    Reporting of Decisions
The decision made by the Independent review panel will be confirmed in an appropriate format to the Appellant and the NRAC Register Manager within 28 working days of the full documentation for the appeal being received by the Review Panel from the Appellant.
Should a decision not be possible within this time frame, perhaps because of a need for the Panel to gather further information or evidence or arrange additional meetings, all relevant parties will be informed in an appropriate format and a new deadline for a decision will be set.

7.2      Against the Decisions of an Admissions Panel
Appeals against the decisions of an Admissions Panel shall be made in writing to the Register Manager. Upon receiving the Appeal, the Register Manager will inform the Chair of the Management Board and an Appeal Panel will be constituted comprising 3 members of the NRAC.
The appellant will usually be required to attend an Appeal interview.
For an Appeal relating to an unsuccessful application for Consultant status, the Appeals Panel will comprise three Consultant Members of the NRAC. For an appeal relating to an unsuccessful application for Auditor status, the Appeal Panel will comprise at least one and no more than two NRAC members of Auditor status.

Note:   The Appeal Panel will not comprise any members of the original Admissions Panel although the Chair of the Appeals Panel will be made aware of any documentation relating to the original interview.

This will assist in ensuring the Appeal Panel are able to focus on those issues for which the applicant failed to demonstrate an appropriate level of competence and experience during the original interview process.

7.2.1    Reporting of Decisions
The decision of the Appeal Panel will be confirmed in an appropriate format to the Applicant within 28 working days of the appeal interview.
Should a decision not be possible within this time frame, perhaps because of a need for the Panel to gather further information or evidence or arrange additional meetings, all relevant parties will be informed in an appropriate format and a new deadline for a decision will be set.

An appeal made against the decision of the Appeals Panel shall be in writing and directed to the NRAC Register Manager.
Upon receipt of such an appeal the NRAC Management Board will convene a Management Board Panel (Appeals) of three NRAC Management Board members. This Panel will usually be chaired by either the chair of the NRAC Management Board or the Chair of the NRAC Professional Standards Committee.
The Management Board Panel (Appeals) will consider the application and the decisions made by the Admissions Panel and the Appeal Panel. The Panel may re-interview the applicant if they feel it would assist the process.
           
7.3.1    Reporting of Decisions
Any decision made by the Management Board Panel (Appeals) will be conveyed to the Appellant within 28 working days of the appeal being lodged in writing with the Register Manager.
Should a decision not be possible within this time frame, perhaps because of a need for the Panel to gather further information or evidence or arrange additional meetings, all relevant parties will be informed in an appropriate format and a new deadline for a decision will be set.
Decisions of the Management Board (Appeals) Panel will be final and binding. 

Complaints against the NRAC Management Board or the decisions of a Complaints and Disciplinary Panel will be considered by an Independent Review Panel.

The Independent Review Panel will comprise three people who are not Members or Affiliates of the NRAC and are not associated with the management of the NRAC or its operations. Panel Members will be selected given the circumstances of the complaint and according to the expertise and experience they can bring to the Review process. Panel Members may or may not be associated with the fields of accessibility and inclusion.
Members of the Independent Review Panel will be selected by the Chief Executive of Centre of Accessible Environments or a representative acting on behalf of the appropriate host organisation.            
Decisions of the Independent Review Panel will be final and binding. 

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