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EASPD Complaints Procedure

The following Complaints Procedure was approved and adopted during the EASPD General Assembly which took place in Helsinki, Finland on 5 October 2019.

Objectives of the Complaints Procedure

Through the creation and adoption of this Complaints Procedure (CP), EASPD intends to ensure that complaints are taken seriously within the organisation and are handled efficiently and fairly in a transparent and procedurally correct manner.

The Complaints Procedure recognises that complaints may range in seriousness.  It attempts to provide a flexible but consistent approach capable of dealing with all kinds of complaint.  The outcome of a complaint and any action arising from it should be proportionate to the seriousness of the complaint and be enforceable.  The complainant should always be told of the outcome of their original complaint.

The Complaints Procedure is internal to EASPD and agreeing to abide by its procedures is a condition of continued membership of the Association.  It does not remove any of the rights of the Board or members under Belgian law (the applicable legal code), but it does provide EASPD and members with a road map and specific tools for dealing with complaints effectively and quickly.

The Complaints Procedure makes clear the role of the General Assembly as the ultimate decision making body of the Association but recognises that in almost all cases such matters should be dealt with at a lower level.

The Complaints Procedure is based on the EASPD Code of Conduct which all members and staff must follow (Please consult Internal Rule Number 4).

The Complaints Procedure creates an Independent Complaints Committee (ICC) to investigate and consider complaints and try to bring matters to a conclusion, but only when all earlier efforts have failed. 

Who can make a complaint?
  • Anyone who represents their organisation, which is a member of EASPD. 
  • Anyone using EASPD goods and services (e.g. training, conferences, projects etc).
  • Staff or contractors working for EASPD who wish to complaint about the conduct of a member and/or their staff.

The Complaints Procedure is not intended to deal with criminal acts such as serious sexual or physical assault or abuse.  Such matters should be referred to the relevant police force.

The formal Complaints Procedure consists of four itemised steps (listed below).  However, before using these formal steps it is recommended that anyone wishing to make a complaint would in the first instance contact the Secretary General (Secretary General) by phone, email, video conference or speak directly to the Secretary General in order to explain what they want to complain about.  If the complaint is about the Secretary General, then the complainant should contact the President directly in a similar manner.  This initial informal contact is designed to offer a chance to resolve matters quickly and informally in a low-key manner.

This Complaints Procedure will be posted on the EASPD website and complainants are free to use the complaints form they will find there, if that would help them at this first informal stage, but using the form at this stage does NOT start the formal complaints procedure, unless the final section of the form is completed.

The Secretary General or President are committed to listening to this first ‘informal’ expression of a complaint and they will try to resolve it.

However, if the complainant is not satisfied with the result of this first ‘informal’ attempt to resolve the problem, it is then open to them to follow the more formal four step procedure below.  This will mean putting the complaint in writing (if this has not yet been done) and it will start the clock of set timescales to resolve the complaint.

The formal Complaints Procedure
  • Step 1: The complainant shall send the formal complaint to the Secretary General (Secretary General) in writing, who will try to resolve the matter within an eight week period.
  • Step 2: If the complainant is not satisfied after Step 1 – or if the complaint involves the Secretary General – the complainant shall send the formal complaint in writing to the President who will reply within four weeks and take such action (e.g. meetings, investigations, negotiations/ mediation etc) as appropriate to resolve the matter. The timeframe for completing Step 2 is 12 weeks from the President being first notified or notified at the unresolved end of Step 1.
  • Step 3: If the President fails to resolve the complaint then all details of the complaint are passed to the Independent Complaints Committee (ICC) who shall investigate and decide on the complaint within 12 weeks of it receiving the details.  If the complaint involves the conduct of the President (or the Secretary General and the President), then the complainant may send their complaint directly to the ICC.
  • Step 4: In the specific circumstance where the complaint involves alleged misconduct of/by the Board and, having reached Step 3, if the complainant is still not satisfied with the decisions of the ICC, it shall be open to the complainant to have the matter considered at a General Assembly of the Association. The General Assembly is the highest decision making body within the Association and its decision on the matter shall be final and binding.  Invoking Step 4 would be highly unusual and would relate to very serious complaints.
Decisions and Sanctions

As a matter of common sense, all ICC decisions are case specific and do not bind its decisions in other cases.

The ICC is independent and decides how it will consider each complaint separately. Its objective is to resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of all involved in a manner which is consistent with the EASPD Code of Conduct. This will often involve negotiations and mediation as well as having an investigation of the facts of each case. The decisions of the ICC and its conclusions in each case will be sent to the Board which is required to implement them.

If the matter goes to the General Assembly, the Board and President are bound to implement the General Assembly’s decision.

If the complaint is ‘successful’ (i.e.: if the complaint is upheld totally or in part) and is against a member of staff it will be a matter for the Management of EASPD to take any disciplinary action, in compliance with any decisions/recommendations from the ICC, bearing in mind Belgian employment law and employee rights.

If the (successful) complaint is against the Secretary General (who is a member of staff) the Board shall take action in compliance with any decisions/recommendations from the ICC, bearing in mind Belgian employment law and employee rights.

If the (successful) complaint is against the President, other officer or a Board member (who are a not members of staff but elected officers) the Board is required to implement any decisions/recommendations from the ICC.

If the (successful) complaint is against the Board itself the ICC may decide that certain actions are undertaken.  The ICC’s decisions must be approved by the General Assembly.

If the (successful) complaint is against another EASPD member (either a named individual and/or an organisation) then the Board must act upon the decisions of the ICC.

In very serious cases, for example if the member organisation refuses to comply with the ICC’s decision, then that refusal in itself shall become a sufficient reason for termination of membership by that organisation, regardless of the nature of the previous proposed sanction. (Termination of membership is covered in Article 10 of the EASPD Statutes.)

In the event that the ICC decision is to recommend the removal of a member organisation from membership, then the provisions of  Article 10.2.2 shall apply - in that it is referred to the General Assembly for final decision and 66% of the votes of those present or represented are required to support such a motion for Association membership to be terminated.

In the event that the ICC decision is to recommend the removal from the Board of a Board member then the provisions of  Article 12.1.4 shall apply - in that it is referred to the General Assembly for final decision and 66% of the votes of those present or represented at a meeting of the General Assembly are required to support such a motion for that Board membership to be terminated.

A contact form will be made avalible on this page following the election of the Independent Complaints Committee in October 2024. If you wish to make a complaint you can contact the EASPD Secretary General via thomas.bignal(at)easpd.eu or the EASPD President via jim.crowe(at)easpd.eu.