What complaints will be investigated?
Students/members are eligible to submit complaints regarding any area of their student experience or services they have utilised within the Union, including commercial services. The Union cannot discuss complaints from parents, guardians, or family members without explicit written consent from the student.
Complaints from non-students will only be investigated if they are related to a commercial service provided to the public, or concerns regarding health and safety affecting external visitors. Non-students cannot submit complaints about student experience matters, including SU elections, governance, or democratic processes.
Complaints from external organisations, businesses, or other third parties will only be considered if they directly impact the Union’s services, operations, or reputation. Complaints from third parties on behalf of students will only be accepted if the student provides explicit written consent.
Complaints about Students’ Union staff members will be managed internally by Human Resources.
What matters are outside the scope for complaints?
The Students’ Union reserves the right to reject complaints from individuals or organisations that fall outside of its remit. This includes complaints about an event or incident that occurred a substantial time ago, complaints about democratically passed policy, or complaints generally outside of the scope outlined above.
The Students’ Union is unable to investigate complaints about Cardiff University (including its services and facilities). Such complaints must be submitted directly through the university’s complaints procedure.
Where a complaint is linked to a police report, the Students’ Union will comply with any subsequent police investigation. This may mean that no further action is taken directly by the Students’ Union until the police investigation has been concluded.
Process for investigating complaints
Formal complaints will be reviewed by the Customer Service team in the first instance, who will then share the details of the complaint with the relevant Head of Department for investigation. If deemed necessary for effective investigation, the Head of Department may convene a panel to meet with the complainant to fully understand the nature of the complaint.
Following the conclusion of an investigation, the Customer Service Team will notify the complainant on behalf of the Head of Department whether the complaint has fully or partially upheld, clarifying any actions to be taken as a result.
What is the timeline for receiving a complaint outcome?
To ensure effective investigation, individuals are asked to submit any complaints as soon as reasonably possible after an incident occurs, providing as much detail as possible, and indicating any desired outcomes. For any complaints submitted more than one month after an incident, the Students’ Union will do their best to investigate. Depending on the nature of the complaint, this may not be possible, and the Students’ Union reserves the right not to investigate complaints if deemed not possible or unsuitable to do so.
The Customer Service team will aim to provide an initial response within 5 working days, outlining what steps will be taken to investigate the complaint. The Students’ Union aims to resolve complaints within 21 days where reasonably possible.
Can complaints / feedback be submitted anonymously?
The Students’ Union cannot accept complaints anonymously. However, feedback can be submitted anonymously and will be reviewed by appropriate staff when submitted.
Who will have access to complaint details?
All complaints will be managed centrally by the Customer Service team. Individual complaints will be shared with and investigated by the relevant Head of Department, who may be required to share details with further staff members to ensure a thorough investigation is completed.
The details of individual complaints will only be shared with staff when it is deemed necessary for the efficient progress and resolution of the complaint.
Where the complaint is linked to a police report, the Students’ Union will comply with any subsequent police investigation.
Will my involvement in a complaint investigation impact my ability to engage with Students’ Union activity?
No individual will be disadvantaged for submitting a complaint in good faith to the Students’ Union.
If a complaint has been submitted about you, or you have been banned from any Students’ Union events, this may have an effect on any existing memberships you hold. If you are part of a sports club or society and wish to understand any subsequent implications, we advise you to contact the Activities team directly.
Can I appeal a decision?
Following the investigation of a formal complaint, the complainant has the right to appeal if they are unhappy with the outcomes. Appeals will usually only be considered if the complainant believes the correct procedure was not carried out in the initial investigation, if they have further/new evidence to support their complaint, or if they believe the outcome is disproportionate or unreasonable given all evidence provided.
An appeal must be submitted within 10 days of receiving confirmation of the outcome of the complaint’s investigation.
Can I withdraw a complaint?
A complainant may choose to withdraw a complaint at any stage of the process by submitting a request in writing to sucustomerservice@cardiff.ac.uk.