NZSLTA Complaints Policy & Procedures
NZSLTA recognises the importance of having a policy and set of procedures relating to any complaints that are made against it or the people working for it.
Purpose
To have a fair policy and set of procedures for situations where complaints cannot be resolved between the parties themselves.
Procedures
The grievance procedure will be exercised in a way that will ensure any person/organisation complaining has the opportunity to be heard and treated fairly, and that the complaint will remain confidential to the parties involved.
The procedures are to be worked through step by step. The procedures can be ended at the completion of any step, so long as both parties are satisfied. If not, continue to the next step. At any point of intervention, all parties have the right to have their supervisors and/or advocate and/or whānau/family support present. NZSLTA believes the complaints procedure should take no longer than 6 months.
- Approach the person/organisation directly about the problem in the first instance.
- If you are not satisfied, give a written description of the grievance to the president of the NZSLTA Executive Board. Note: This written grievance is a private document and will be seen only by the committee, the independent mediator (if one is appointed) and the person/organisation the complaint is directed at (if the complaint reaches this step). During the mediation process, we ask both the person making the complaint and the person/member involved keep all details confidential, and not to tell other people that a complaint has been made.
The president will notify the person/organisation making the complaint that the complaint has been received, within 5 working days of receiving the complaint. - The Executive Board reads and discusses the complaint at their next meeting or within 21 days, whichever is soonest.
Two things can happen from this discussion:- Your complaint is not accepted. Example: The tutor has not broken membership ethics, or the complaint is a minor complaint.
NZSLTA will send you a letter explaining that your complaint was not accepted. We may tell you about other ways to solve your complaint.
If you don’t agree with our decision, you have 30 days to contact us again. - Your complaint is accepted then you move to step 4.
- Your complaint is not accepted. Example: The tutor has not broken membership ethics, or the complaint is a minor complaint.
- You and the person/member involved will get a letter from NZSLTA about the complaint. This will happen within 30 days.
- The person/member replies to NZSLTA about the complaint. They have 30 days to reply from when they get the letter. They will give their view about the complaint. They can give evidence about the situation.
The NZSLTA Executive Board may also ask other people about the situation. We will only talk to other people if it is needed, and we will let you know which other people we talk to. - NZSLTA will send you a summary of what the person/member said.
If you are satisfied with the person/members reply, then the complaint will be closed.
After a complaint is closed, all details and correspondence are retained and kept in confidential storage. The President keeps a record of complaints received.
If you are still not satisfied with the situation you move to step 7. - The NZSLTA Executive Board will help you and the person/member to talk about the complaint. This can be face to face. At a meeting you can bring a support person with you and so can the person/member. Two or more NZSLTA committee members will be there. If you are satisfied with the person/members reply in the meeting, then the complaint will be closed. You and the person/member will get a letter with notes from the meeting.
If the problem can’t be resolved in the meeting, NZSLTA will make a final decision.
We may decide there is not enough proof of the complaint. The complaint will be dismissed.
We may decide that the person/member was wrong, but there were good reasons or they were working in a hard or unusual situation. The complaint is accepted but nothing else will happen.
We may decide that the person/member was wrong, and we will write a warning to them (You will get a copy of this letter.) The warning and actions will only be for a set amount of time.
The warning might say they must attend mentoring for a certain amount of time, or that they are removed as a NZSLTA member.
If you are still not satisfied you move to step 8. - You can ask NZSLTA to think again (appeal) on our decision. You must do this within 21 days of the last letter you got from the NZSLTA Executive Board.
- We decide if we will accept your appeal or not, within 14 days of getting your letter.
- If the appeal is accepted, an appeal panel will be set up and will look at your complaint. The people on the panel will include a person from an independent organisation (e.g. Ko Taku Reo), a qualified NZSLTA member and a Deaf representative. This panel will make the final decision about the complaint.
Last updated: 12/4/2024
