UK Coaching aims to settle the majority of complaints quickly and satisfactorily by the member of staff who provides the service. There are three stages to the complaint’s procedure: 

• Stage One – the complaint 
• Stage Two – investigation 
• Stage Three – appeal 

Stage One - Complaint 

The complaint should be sent in writing where possible, by email or post. We can also accept complaints over the telephone or in person. 

Individuals wishing to make a complaint should contact the person who provided the service, or their line manager. Alternatively, they can contact us by telephone, email, in writing or using our webform.   

The complaint should include the complainant's name, contact information and the nature and date of the complaint and how they want to see it resolved. 

Complainants will receive an acknowledgement within two working days of receipt of a complaint. 

Stage Two - Investigation 

Complaints will be fully investigated, and a written response provided to the complainant within 14 working days. A complaint may be resolved quickly by way of an apology or by an acceptable explanation to the individual. 

The complainant will receive written confirmation of the outcome of any investigation, any recommendations/remedies made, such as reviewing of policies, staff development and training, or appropriate improvement to our products or services. 

Occasionally investigations may take longer, particularly if the complaint is complex. Should this be the case, a holding letter will be sent after ten working days and a final date given for a conclusion to be reached. 

If an individual remains dissatisfied with the outcome from Stage Two, they can appeal and progress to Stage Three. 

Stage Three – appeal 

If the complaint cannot be resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction, then it will be referred to the Leadership Team. 

The Leadership Team will acknowledge receipt within three working days. They will review the Stage Two investigation and recommend one of the following actions within ten working days (from the date the complainant stated they wanted to take the complaint to stage 3): If the complaint relates to a member of the Leadership Team then it will be passed to a member of our board and the above process and timescales will still apply. 

• Uphold the outcome at Stage Two 
• Make changes to the Stage Two recommendation/outcome 

The complainant should be informed in writing of the outcome of stage three. The decision reached about this complaint will then be final but other options available to the complainant should be detailed in the letter. 

If, after UK Coaching has been through the three stages, the complainant is still not satisfied with the result, they should be advised that there is no further right of appeal with UK Coaching.    

Terms & Conditions 

Here are the details of our terms and conditions for products and services.  Terms & Conditions - UK Coaching 

Anonymous complaints 

Complaints received anonymously will be recorded and considered, but action may be limited if further information is required to ensure a full and fair investigation. 

Data protection 

To process a complaint, UK Coaching will hold personal data about the complainant, which the individual provides, and which other people give in response to the complaint. We will hold this data securely and only use it to address the complaint. The identity of the person making the complaint will only be known to those who need to consider the complaint and will not be revealed to other people or made public. However, it may not be possible to preserve confidentiality in some circumstances, for example where relevant legislation is applied or allegations are made which involve the conduct of third parties. 

UK Coaching will normally destroy complaints files in a secure manner six years after the complaint has been closed. 

Monitoring 

Complaints are an important tool which, alongside data provided by surveys, feedback and focus groups, will allow us to learn about the products and services we provide. They provide a useful source of information about how individuals see our services and how we are serving them. To ensure we can learn from complaints the following data will be collected: 

We treat safeguarding very seriously. Our Safeguarding and Protecting Children (SPC) workshops and resources meet the key safeguarding learning needs of coaches and other sport’s staff and volunteers. The NSPCC and its Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) fully support the work we do which aims to help organisations and individuals act to make sport and physical activity the best experience it can be for current and future generations. 

We believe that it is imperative that any child or adult involved in physical activity or sports provision for children and young people is alert to: 

•   possible indicators of abuse and neglect 

•   risks that individual abusers or a potential abuser may pose to children 

•   an understanding of what action(s) they should take should concerns arise. 

Therefore we have published a separate Safeguarding Policy for safeguarding adults and safeguarding children. This equips all members of our staff and contracted workforce with the ability to properly handle any concern which is reported. Safeguarding concerns can be reported via any of our communication channels, email, telephone or face to face. This policy has been written in line with the 2018 statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children.   

Please click on the links above to view the policy and for details on how to raise a Safeguarding concern or contact us on [email protected]. 

We have a Staff Code of Conduct which contains guidance for employees on the standard of behaviour we expect and explains procedures which will be followed should these not be met. 

To maintain acceptable standards of behaviour, we will deal with issues relating to bullying and harassment, including racial and sexual harassment, under these policies. 

We expect exemplary conduct from all our staff and contracted workforce. If you have any concerns around the conduct of one of our direct employees or our contracted workforce, you should request a call back from our People Team by emailing [email protected].  

We're committed to keeping your information safe and putting you in control. We care about being fair and treating your data with care because we are committed to doing the right thing.                                                                                     

So, when it comes to the way we communicate with you and handle your data, we don't want to come as a surprise to you.   

We believe the information about you belongs to you, full stop. We are custodians of your data, and we will always respect your privacy.  

Our privacy policy will help you understand the things we do and the long-term commitment we've made to make our privacy promise a reality. 

To view the policy and for details on how to raise a Privacy or Data Protection concern or complaints visit Privacy - UK Coaching.

We host or organise events such as the UK Coaching Awards, which is aimed at celebrating the success, and raising the profile, of coaching.  

Nominations are made by a third party as part of a nomination process. We subsequently contact nominees and request they complete a validation form which contains the following set of requirements: 

•   I confirm that I have read in full and adhere to the UK Coaching Code of Practice for Sports Coaches. 

•   I have never had a claim brought or threatened against me in connection with my coaching role. 

•   I have never been expelled by a governing body of sport or other relevant organisation, nor had my employment suspended and/or terminated by my employer. 

•  I confirm that I am not currently suspended or under investigation by any National Governing Body, Governing Body, Regulatory Authority or independent third party. 

•  I understand that if I am awarded as a winner or selected a as participant and subsequently either (i) a claim is threatened and/or brought against me in connection with my coaching role; (ii) I am expelled by a governing body of sport or other such relevant organisation; and/or (iii) my employment is terminated and/or suspended by my employer, then I may be stripped of my award.  

If you believe a decision, we have made around one of our awards is incorrect and you wish to make a complaint, please send a written communication directly to our events team via [email protected]  

The procedure will match that for our products and services. 

As the lead agency for coaching in the UK, we deliver coach development programmes directly to individuals or via selected partners. 

These programmes should not be confused with our coach education workshops which are covered under Products and Services above. 

*The series of programmes support coaches working across the Talent and Performance stages of the athlete development pathway, preparing them to develop their current coaching practice and future coaching perspective. 

Attendees complete a validation form mirroring that above relating to our Awards. 

On occasion the popularity of these programmes can lead to oversubscription and our Coaching Team will skills-match participants to places based on the individual requirements of the programme.  

If you believe a decision we have made is incorrect, or you wish to raise a concern around the delivery of one of our programmes, please send a written communication directly to our Coaching Team at [email protected]  

The procedure will match that for our products and services. 

 If you have a complaint regarding an insurance product you have purchased from UK Coaching please send your complaint in writing via post or email to [email protected]. You can also make your complaint by telephone. 

All complaints are passed to our insurance partner to be handled in line with FCA regulations.