Complaints - Stage 6: Follow up complaint (REACH only)

Step 6.1

For: Complaints Officer

Gather relevant information and contact the lead inspector / unit

Gather relevant information about the dutyholder by:

Contact the relevant field inspector / unit:

Performance standard

Gather the relevant information and contact the appropriate person:

  • within one working day of receipt of the complaint, or
  • immediately, where there is an obvious risk of serious personal injury or serious harm to the environment
  • if the appropriate person is unavailable, attempt to contact their line manager
  • if it is not possible to contact the relevant person, go to step 2.2

For further guidance

On the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 and the enforcement demarcation between local authorities and HSE, see OG 00073.

On COIN searching and report running, see the COIN guidance pages.

Step 6.2

For: Complaints Officer and Band 2

Refer complaint to Band 2

Refer the complaint and the information gathered under step 2.1 to Band 2 for a decision as to who will follow it up

The decision as to whether the complaint should be followed up by a Complaints Officer or by an Inspector is a matter of discretion, though consideration should be given to the following matters where appropriate:

Performance standard

Ensure the Band 2 is made aware of the complaint:

  • within one working day of receipt, or
  • immediately, where there is an obvious risk of serious personal injury or serious harm to the environment

Step 6.3

For: Inspector

Inspector follow-up

If the complaint is to be followed up by an Inspector:

Step 6.4

For: Complaints officer

Complaints Officer follow-up

If the complaint is to be followed up by a Complaints Officer

With all complaints (except where the dutyholder is not known)

For guidance on this, please see:

  • COIN Guidance - Complaints
  • COIN Guidance - Data Handbook - Complaints
  • COIN Guidance - Quick guide to complaints
  • The standard letter templates

Performance standard

Contact the dutyholder:

  • within 3 working days of receipt of the complaint, or
  • immediately, where there is an obvious risk of serious personal injury or serious harm to the environment

Where the complaint is ongoing

  • keep the complainant informed of progress

Step 6.5

For: Band 2 and Complaints Officer

Is the dutyholder's response satisfactory?

If the response received from the dutyholder acknowledges the issue(s) raised and satisfactorily deals with the complaint (in the opinion of the Band 2), the Complaints Officer should:

On COIN:

For guidance on this, please see:

  • COIN Guidance - Data Handbook - Complaints
  • COIN Guidance - Quick guide to complaints

Step 6.6

For: Band 2 and Complaints Officer

Is the dutyholder's response unsatisfactory?

If the response received from the dutyholder does not deal with the complaint satisfactorily (in the opinion of the Band 2), the Complaints Officer should:

If the response is still unsatisfactory (in the opinion of the Band 2), the Complaints Officer should:

On COIN:

For guidance on this, please see:

  • COIN Guidance - Data Handbook - Complaints
  • COIN Guidance - Quick guide to complaints

Performance standard

Ensure the Inspector is made aware of the unresolved complaint:

  • within 3 working days of receipt of the dutyholder's response, or
  • immediately, where there is an obvious risk of serious personal injury or serious harm to the environment

Step 6.7

For: Complaints Officer

Is there no response from the dutyholder?

If there has been no response from the dutyholder within 20 working days of the initial contact:

On COIN:

For guidance on this, please see:

  • COIN Guidance - Data Handbook - Complaints
  • COIN Guidance - Quick guide to complaints

Step 6.8

For: Band 2, Inspector and Complaints Officer

Is Inspector action required to resolve the complaint?

Where a Complaints Officer has referred a complaint because:

The Band 2 should do one of the following:

On COIN

For guidance on this, please see:

  • COIN Guidance - Data Handbook - Complaints
  • COIN Guidance - Quick guide to complaints

Step 6.9

For: Band 2 and Complaints Officer

Is the follow-up action due a review?

Review the progress of the complaint with the Complaints Officer at regular intervals to determine whether:

Where the decision is to continue:

Where it is decided that the Complaints Officer should not follow up any further:

On COIN:

For guidance on this, please see:

  • COIN Guidance - Data Handbook - Complaints
  • COIN Guidance - Quick guide to complaints

Performance standard

Review the complaint follow-up process:

  • whenever significant information comes to light which affects the course of the action
  • always within 3 weeks of the initial decision to follow-up, and
  • no later than every 2 months after the first review

Inform the complainant of progress:

  • after each formal review

Step 6.10

For: Inspector and Complaints Officer

Further action in all cases

Contact the relevant field inspector / unit:

Consider whether it is necessary to pass details of the complaint and the action taken to any of the following:

Updated 2022-08-16