Welsh public bodies: managing complaints against the Chair

Chairs are required to follow the “Seven Principles of Public Life” set out by the Committee on Standards in Public Life:

1. Selflessness

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

2. Integrity

Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

3. Objectivity

Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

4. Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

5. Openness

Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

6. Honesty

Holders of public office should be truthful.

7. Leadership

Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

This guidance is intended to set out how concerns and complaints against public body Chairs will be handled. This guidance should be read alongside the Terms and Conditions of Appointment for public appointees. Public bodies include those created by Welsh law, Welsh Government owned companies, statutory office holders and Commissioners (for Children, Older People, Future Generations and the Welsh Language). For the purpose of this guidance, public bodies do not include local authorities, NHS bodies or higher and further education bodies.

The guidance is aimed at members of the same public body as the Chair who is the subject of the concern or complaint. This includes other public appointees of the public body and employees. If an employee seeks to use the internal process of the public body to raise a complaint against the Chair, then that complaint should be referred to Welsh Government for the Welsh Government to consider in accordance with this guidance and in accordance with the Chair’s Terms and Conditions of Appointment.

If a complaint is raised against a number of individuals (for example the Chair, other public appointees and other individuals employed by the public body) then consideration should be given to commissioning a joint independent investigation. Each case will need to be considered on its specific facts but a complaint against a Chair should always be considered by the Welsh Government in the first instance.

Chairs are expected to work to the highest personal and professional standards. A concern or complaint may be raised if it is believed that a Chair is acting in a way which:

• is illegal, improper, or unethical
• is in breach of constitutional convention or a professional code
• may involve possible maladministration, misuse of public funds or resources
• may involve unprofessional judgement, unfairness, bias, or prejudice
• may involve giving advice that is misleading or inadequate
• may involve inappropriate behaviour or harassment
• favours unjustifiably or discriminates unfairly against particular individuals or interests
• is otherwise inconsistent with the Seven Principles of Public Life

A complainant must raise a concern or complaint by email or in writing. The concern or complaint should be made as soon as possible after the incident that prompted their action and normally within 3 months, although complaints submitted outside of this timeframe may still be considered.

The complainant will need to provide:

• their full name, and telephone number and/or email address
• full details of the complaint

The Welsh Government will only investigate anonymous complaints where sufficient evidence is provided. If more evidence is needed to support an allegation and the Welsh Government is unable to make contact to obtain the evidence, the investigation may cease.

The Welsh Government expects that anyone who brings forward a complaint under this process in good faith, whether or not the complaint is upheld, should not be penalised or disadvantaged by their organisation for doing so.

Where to send your concern or complaint

A complainant should write to the HR Director at the Welsh Government via the Complaints Unit, Complaints@gov.wales, in the first instance, who will consider the next steps. Complaints can also be sent by post to:

The concern or complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days. The Welsh Government aims to respond to complaints quickly but it is not always possible to give a timescale for when a complainant will receive a response. Our aim is to carry out investigations without unreasonable delay. The Complaints Unit will make the Public Bodies Leadership & Governance team aware of the complaint so that they can inform the partnership team.

All the information provided will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to know and following relevant data protection requirements. A request for anonymity will be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the reasons put forward by the complainant for why they wish to remain anonymous and balancing these against the rights of the Chair to be appraised of the complaint against them and to be able to properly respond.

The HR Director will decide on the relevant course of action. If there has been a breakdown in relationships, the HR Director may try to resolve the situation through an informal facilitated discussion. If this is refused or it is not appropriate, they will determine if formal mediation is a reasonable solution. If formal mediation is refused or is not appropriate, the HR Director may commission an internal civil servant, who will be someone who has had no previous involvement in the case, to investigate the matter. They will review any documentary evidence and may interview the complainant and the Chair. They can interview at their discretion any other member of staff or public appointee who they consider could assist them with their investigation.

If the view of the HR Director is that an internal investigation would be inappropriate, then they may commission an investigation to be undertaken by an external investigator. They may require assistance to investigate the matter further and will appoint suitable personnel to undertake this role.

The investigator will establish the facts of the concern or complaint and consider all the relevant information including details of any initial investigation that has been carried out and confirmation from the complainant that the complaint has been captured accurately. The investigator will then bring a final report on their findings to the HR Director, who will make the final decision on the outcome of the concern or complaint (the decision making officer).

Chairs who are the subject of a concern or complaint raised can expect to be dealt with fairly and professionally. They will be notified of the concern or complaint as soon as reasonably practicable.

All concerns or complaints will be considered as raised in good faith even if they are assessed as unfounded after investigation. However, if there is evidence that a complainant is making vexatious or malicious use of the procedure their concern or complaint will not be progressed.

During this process, the wellbeing of all parties involved will be paramount. Both the complainant and the Chair will be encouraged to seek support using the organisation’s Employee Assistance Programme. If this is not available, the Welsh Government HR Director should be informed. Both the complainant and the Chair will have the right to be accompanied by a Trade Union representative or colleague at meetings in connection with the investigation.

Depending on the circumstances the appropriate course of action during the investigation may be for the Chair to take a voluntary leave of absence. If this is the case, the HR Director will advise the relevant partnership team who will seek the agreement of the Cabinet Secretary before the leave of absence can be granted. The Cabinet Secretary will then write to the Chair notifying them of their decision. In responding the Cabinet Secretary will outline the arrangements for reviewing the situation at specified intervals. When a Chair takes voluntary leave of absence, the Vice-chair will assume their responsibilities. Consideration will be given to the replacement of the Vice-chair on a temporary basis to allow them to fulfil these duties. If the Chair is unwilling to take a voluntary leave of absence, the Cabinet Secretary may wish to formally suspend the Chair for the duration of the investigation if this is appropriate, taking into account any provisions relating to suspension contained within the Chair’s Terms and Conditions of Appointment. If the Chair is on voluntary leave of absence or suspended from office, they will continue to be entitled to receive remuneration during this period.

The HR Director (the decision making officer) will hold a meeting with the Chair to discuss the outcome of the investigation and give them an opportunity to respond before determining the final outcome and if necessary any appropriate sanction.

The complainant will be advised as to whether their complaint has been upheld as soon as possible. If there is a situation where two people have both put in a concern or complaint against each other, this may affect the time taken to arrive at an outcome. Normally the same person would investigate both concerns/complaints.

Any sanctions issued will be determined by the Welsh Government on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the Chair’s Terms and Conditions of Appointment. Where the concern or complaint relates to ministerially appointed Chairs, the Cabinet Secretary who made the appointment will be informed if the complaint is upheld. Depending on the severity of the complaint, the outcome may be that the appointment is terminated.

A Chair has a right of appeal if they do not agree with the outcome determined by the HR Director. The appeal must be for genuine, legitimate and objective reasons. Examples of such reasons might be that the investigating officer failed to take account of all relevant information provided to them, new evidence has come to light or the undue severity or inconsistency of the sanction.

Appeals have to be submitted within 2 weeks of the decision being made and should be sent to Chief Operating Officer of the Welsh Government via the Complaints Unit: Complaints@gov.wales. The Chief Operating Officer will consider whether the appeal is upheld or not.

Concerns or complaints against a Board member, who is not the Chair, will be investigated by the Chair. In circumstances where the Chair has made a complaint about one of their Board members, the issue should normally be escalated to Welsh Government via the partnership team. Public Bodies Leadership and Governance team will be informed by the partnership team and in some cases, Welsh Ministers will need to be sighted on the complaint or concern.

Audit Wales has issued Wrongdoing guidance which provides advice to anyone who is concerned about wrongdoing where they work. It is particularly relevant for people who work for a Welsh public body.

Public bodies are expected to issue their own internal guidance on how complaints and concerns are dealt with, where the matter relates to someone other than the Chair.

If a member of the public wishes to make a complaint against the Welsh Government then they are advised to use the complaints process: Complain about Welsh Government.

Date of review

This guidance will be reviewed 12 months after publication.