This note is intended for Heads of Department and others who may be responsible for handling complaints by students about matters for which they have managerial responsibility. The person making the complaint will be referred to as the Student. The person complained about will be referred to as the Member of Staff. The complaints procedures make clear that every effort should be made to resolve complaints in an informal way, so that the Student should first put the problem directly to the Member of Staff. However, in some cases where this has not happened, to insist upon it as a prerequisite may do more harm than good.
Common sense is a good guide in deciding the balance.
Any accusation, such as a complaint, brings with it the need to respect the rights of the person complained about. There are some fundamental tensions between these sets of rights. One is that the complainant may fear victimisation and seek anonymity. This anonymity may make it difficult or impossible to investigate the complaint fully and fairly. If so, the complainant should be told, at the point when the limit is reached, that the complaint will have to be dismissed unless anonymity is waived.