Making a complaint or reporting an incident can be emotionally challenging. We encourage you to communicate with whomever you feel is appropriate. The following suggestions are provided as a guide to assist and support you.
For anyone making a complaint or reporting an incident
If you feel that you would benefit from support from a medical practitioner, please contact your GP.
You may feel that you will require ongoing face to face support to assist you emotionally during a complaint investigation. Please discuss this with us when you make your initial contact so that we can arrange this.
If you do not work at the Senedd, you may also wish to discuss the issue or seek support from:
- Your employee assistance programme;
- Your trade union representative;
- A manager, colleague or your own HR Department.
For those who work at the Senedd
Contact Officers
We recognise that not everyone coming forward will wish to formally invoke a complaint procedure from the outset – sometimes not at all. Should you wish to discuss your concerns or a potential complaint, we have in place trained Contact Officers. They provide a source of confidential information and support.
Contact Officers will not become actively involved in a complaint. However, they will:
- Discuss your concerns with you;
- Advise you on the appropriate route if you wish to pursue a complaint and what to expect if you follow a formal complaint;
- Explain how an investigation will be conducted;
- Provide you with advice on how to access any emotional support you might require - whether you work at the Senedd or not.
Contact Officers are required to abide by the confidentiality section in the Dignity and Respect policy.
Contact Officers will not record or hold any personal data about you and will not reveal your identity, or anything that could identify you, to anyone without your consent. If you get in touch with our Contact Officers in writing, this will only be retained until your enquiry has been dealt with, at which point it will be securely disposed of.
Contact Officers will be required to monitor patterns of inappropriate behaviour brought to their attention and will report these to the Senedd’s Acting Chief People Officer without revealing your identity or anything that could identify you. When patterns of inappropriate behaviour relate to individual Members of the Senedd or political groups, staff members or teams, the Acting Chief People Officer will consider the issues and report them appropriately. The Head of Human Resources will deal with the information received from Contact Officers in accordance with data protection legislation and the Human Resources retention schedule.
You can email the Contact Officers group email at dignityandrespect@senedd.wales. You can also ring the Contact Officer telephone line on 03002006145; if no one is available to take your call, please leave a voice message and someone will call you back.
Telephone lines are staffed from 9.00 to 16.30, Monday to Friday but you may email whenever you like. If you telephone any of our Contact Officers, they may need to call you back so that the conversation can take place in a private setting.
We have Welsh and English speaking Contact Officers available; if you have a preference, please state this when you contact us.
The Employee Assistance Programme on 0800 174 319 is available to Members of the Senedd, the staff employed by Members of the Senedd and political groups and Senedd Commission staff. Trained counsellors will provide you with emotional support and guidance.
The Senedd’s Occupational Health Nurse who can be contacted through Members’ Business Support or our HR Department.
Other support available
Staff employed by the Senedd Commission:
Your HR Department; your trade union representative; a colleague or manager.
Staff employed by Members of the Senedd or political groups:
Members’ Business Support; your employer, a colleague or manager; your trade union representative; your Business Manager or political party.
Members of the Senedd:
Members’ Business Support; your Business Manager or political party; your trade union representative; a colleague.
For a private discussion on any of these matters, contact:
Head of Members’ Business Support 0300 200 7577
Further support
The Samaritans are there to help with feelings of depression, being overwhelmed or negative thoughts. They do not simply help with thoughts of suicide, although, if you have such thoughts we would strongly encourage you to contact them urgently. Their telephone number is 116 123 and it is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Support available to you if you have had an allegation made against you (and you work at the Senedd)