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+44(0)333 355 1556

Dispute Resolution Policy

CARES Group is committed to reaching a prompt and fair resolution of any disputes, conflicts, or disagreements that may arise from time to time.

Purpose

Problems, misunderstandings, and frustrations may arise in the workplace. CARES Group’ intent is to be responsive to our employees and their concerns. Therefore, an employee who is confronted with a problem may use the procedure described below to resolve or clarify his or her concerns.
The purpose of this policy is to provide a quick, effective, and consistently applied method for an employee to present his or her concerns to management and have those concerns internally resolved.


Procedures

Step 1: Discussion with Line Manager

  • Initially, employees should bring their concerns or complaints to their immediate Line Manager. If the complaint involves the employee’s Line Manager, the employee should arrange an appointment with that Line Manager to discuss the problem that gave rise to the complaint within five working days of the date the incident occurred.
  • The immediate Line Manager should respond in writing to the complaint within five days of the meeting held with the complainant employee.

Step 2: Written complaint and decision

  • If the discussion with the immediate Line Manager does not resolve the problem to the mutual satisfaction of the employee and the Line Manager, or if the Line Manager does not respond to the complaint, the employee may submit a written complaint to the employee’s director/department head.
  • The submission of the written complaint is due within five working days of the response from the Line Manager. The complaint should include:
    • The problem and the date when the incident occurred.
    • Suggestions on ways to resolve the problem.
    • A copy of the immediate Line Manager’s written response or a summary of his or her verbal response and the date when the employee met with the immediate Line Manager. If the Line Manager did not respond, the complaint should state this.
  • Upon receipt of the formal complaint, the director/department head must meet with the employee within five working days to discuss the complaint. Within approximately five working days after the discussion, the director/department head should issue a decision both in writing and orally to the employee filing the complaint.

Step 3: Appeal of decision

  • If the employee is dissatisfied with the decision of the director/department head, the employee may, within five working days, appeal this decision in writing to the CEO.
  • The CEO may call a meeting with the parties directly involved to facilitate a resolution or refer complaints to a review committee if it believes that the complaint raises serious questions of fact or interpretation of the policy. The CEO may gather further information from involved parties.


Additional Guidance

The procedure allows for an employee to escalate his complaint directly to a director/department head where absolutely necessary and/or in situations where the Line Manager is the subject of the complaint or the employee is uncomfortable reporting to the Line Manager.


If an employee fails to appeal from one level to the next level of this procedure within the time limits set forth above, the problem should be considered settled on the basis of the last decision, and the problem should not be subject to further consideration. Because problems are best resolved on an individual basis, the conflict resolution procedure may be initiated only by individual employees and not by groups of employees. All complaints must be made in good faith.

CARES Group reserves the right to impose appropriate disciplinary action for any conduct it considers to be disruptive or inappropriate. The circumstances of each situation may differ, and the level of disciplinary action may also vary, depending on factors such as the nature of the offense, whether it is repeated, the employee’s work record, and the impact of the conduct on the organization.No CARES Group employee will be subject to retaliation for filing a complaint under this policy.

The management system is designed to help meet the requirements of this policy statement while considering environmental impact throughout the design, implementation, and completion of services. We look to our employee’s support and professionalism in making this policy truly effective on behalf of CARES Group.


Jonathan Spivey
CEO