Complaints

We take complaints about our services seriously and deal with them in confidence. If something goes wrong you should tell us. We can then try to put things right and improve our services in the future.

We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or on our behalf.

Anyone can make a complaint to us, including the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service.

You can complain about things like:

• delays in responding to your enquiries and requests;
• failure to provide a service;
• our standard of service;
• treatment by or attitude of a member of staff;
• our failure to follow proper procedure;
• conduct, treatment by or attitude of a member of staff or contractor (except where there are arrangements in place for the contractor to handle the complaint themselves).

Your complaint may involve more than one Jobs and Business Glasgow service or be about someone working on our behalf.

There are some things we can't deal with through our complaints handling procedure.

These include:

• a routine first-time request for a service;
• a first-time report of a fault
• a request for compensation only 
• issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal (if you decide to take legal action, you should let us know as the complaint cannot then be considered under this process)
• disagreement with a decision where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision (such as for freedom of information and subject access requests), or an established appeals process followed throughout the sector a Freedom of Information Act or Data Protection Act request;
• a request for information under the Data Protection or Freedom of Information (Scotland) Acts
• a grievance by a staff member or a grievance relating to employment or staff recruitment
• a concern raised internally by a member of staff (which was not about a service they received, such as a whistleblowing concern)
• a concern about a child or an adult’s safety
• an attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint or to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision. Where we have given our final decision, you will be advised to contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman should you remain dissatisfied (see below, for how to do this)
• abuse or unsubstantiated allegations about our organisation or staff
• elected members enquiries (elected members may bring a complaint on your behalf to our attention provided it is clearly marked as a complaint. In these circumstances, and provided you have consented to your personal data being shared by the elected member with Jobs and Business Glasgow, we will respond to you directly as part of the complaints process. It is important to note that this is not the same as Jobs and
  Business Glasgow responding to an elected member inquiry, which is covered by a different process and timescales.
• A concern about the actions or service of a different organisation, where we have no involvement in the issue (except where the other organisation is delivering services on our behalf).

If other procedures or rights of appeal can help you resolve your concerns, we will give information and advice to help you.

Normally, you must make your complaint within six months of:

• the event you want to complain about, or
• finding out that you have a reason to complain, but no longer than 12 months after the event itself.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

We will always tell you who is dealing with your complaint. Our complaints procedure has two stages.

Stage 1: Frontline response

We aim to respond to complaints quickly (where possible, when you first tell us about the issue). This could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, or immediate action to resolve the problem.

We will give you our decision at stage one, in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If we can't resolve your complaint at this stage, we will explain why and tell you what
you can do next. We might suggest that you take your complaint to stage two. You may choose to do this immediately or sometime after you get our initial decision. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a stage 2 complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

Stage 2: Investigation

Stage two deals with two types of complaint: those that have not been resolved at stage one and those that are complex and require a detailed investigation. 

When using stage two we will:

• Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days.
• We may contact you to discuss your complaint. This may happen if we need additional details from you to understand why you remain dissatisfied and what outcome you are looking for.
• Give you a full response to the complaint as soon as possible and within 20 working days. If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you. We will agree revised time limits with you and keep you updated on progress.

After we have fully investigated, if you are still dissatisfied with our decision or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look at it. Visit their Website for more information.

We understand that you may be unable, or reluctant, to make a complaint yourself. We accept complaints from the representative of a person who is dissatisfied with our service. We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you.

You can find out about advocates in your area by contacting the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance. We are committed to making our service easy to use for all members of the community. If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing, or want this information in another format, such as large font, or Braille, please contact us.

You can complain in person at any of our venues, by phone, in writing or by email. It is easier for us to address complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the service concerned. So please talk to a member of our staff at the service you are complaining about. Then they can try to resolve the issue.

When complaining, please tell us:

• your full name and contact details (if you require a response)
• as much as you can about the complaint
• what has gone wrong; and
• what outcome you are seeking.

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• by writing to the Compliance & Quality Team, Jobs and Business Glasgow, Ladywell Business Centre, 94 Duke Street, Glasgow G4 0UW
• by email at customercare@jbg.org.uk
• by telephoning Jobs and Business Glasgow on 0300 123 2898

We are committed to making our service easy to use for all members of the community. In line with our statutory equalities duties, we will always ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help you access and use our services. If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing, or want this information in another language or format, such as large font, or Braille, please tell us in person, contact us on 0300 123 2898 or email us at customercare@jbg.org.uk. We can also give you this information in other languages and formats (such as
large print, audio and Braille).