Customer Service Charter

Introduction

The Workplace Relations Commission aims to promote harmonious workplaces by delivering a workplace relations service which is simple to use, independent, effective, impartial, cost effective and provides for a workable means of redress and enforcement, within a reasonable period of time.

The Workplace Relations Commission is comprised of five Divisions:

• Corporate Services
• Conciliation, Advisory and Mediation Division
• Adjudication
• Inspection and Enforcement
• Legal Directorate

This Charter sets out the standards and level of service you can expect when dealing with our organisation. It does not cover in detail all the functions and services we provide but outlines our commitment to you, and describes:-

• the levels of service you are entitled to expect in your dealings with us
• how to make a complaint
• how to help us to help you
• how to contact us

Information

• We will aim to give you clear, accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information on our services
• As far as reasonably possible, we will make our information available in a format that meets your needs
• We will use simple, clear language in our forms and information leaflets
• We will endeavour to make sure our website, www.workplacerelations.ie, is up-to-date, relevant, easy to use and accessible to all our customers
• We will seek to further develop online interactive services

Accessibility

We will ensure that all our public spaces and meeting rooms comply with occupational and safety standards and, as part of this, facilitate access for people with disabilities and others with specific needs.

Our Access Officer can arrange extra help for people with disabilities who use our services and attend our events. You can contact our Access Officer by E-mail: customerservice@workplacerelations.ie or by phoning us on 0818 80 80 90.

Breastfeeding facilities for visitors to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The WRC provides facilities and the support necessary to enable mothers to breastfeed or pump when visiting WRC offices.

Equality

In our dealings with customers we will ensure that the right to equal treatment established by equality legislation is upheld.

Confidentiality

• We will provide the necessary facilities in order to conduct business in a confidential manner
• All information, both personal and business, provided by you, will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in a way that respects your dignity.

Our Service Levels

The Workplace Relations Commission does not in general operate a public walk-in office but nonetheless has dealings with customers on a regular basis.

When you contact us by telephone we will:

• answer your call as quickly as possible
• give you our name and our area of work
• be helpful and courteous and give you as much useful information as possible
• try to deal with enquiries without passing callers to a colleague
• take your details and call you back if we cannot deal with your query immediately
• update our voicemails to say if we are in or out of the office and give you the name and phone number of someone else who can help you
• respond to voicemail messages promptly

When you contact us by letter or e-mail we will make every effort to:

• acknowledge receipt of your letter or e-mail within 10 working days
• provide a response to your letter or e-mail within 15 working days
• write and tell you when you can expect a full reply if we cannot answer your query within 15 working days
• use clear, simple language with no jargon or complex technical terms
• give you a contact name, phone number, reference number (if appropriate), fax number and e-mail address so that you can contact us again if you need to

When you visit our offices we will:

• treat you with courtesy and respect
• see you punctually if you have an appointment
• do our best to see you if you do not have an appointment
• provide suitable areas for meetings and make sure that our offices are safe, clean and accessible for all service users
• provide appropriate privacy

When carrying out inspections we will:

• act in a professional and courteous manner
• show our identification card or warrant or leave a business card where requested, but have a right of access to workplaces
• give helpful information, advice and guidance on good employment relations
• enforce the legislation in a targeted, fair, consistent, open and accountable manner

Our Complaints Procedure

If you are unhappy with the quality of the service you receive from us, you have the right to complain. We define a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction concerning the provision of a service or services by the WRC as set out in our Customer Services Charter, which remains unresolved following an initial attempt by the customer to raise this with the relevant line division of the WRC. A complaint can only be logged/accepted by the WRC Customer Complaints area, once we are assured that we have already had an attempt to resolve the issue but failed. Please note that the Customer Service Complaints Procedures does not apply to the outcome of any mediation, conciliation or, adjudication carried out by the Workplace Relations Commission. If you think an adjudication decision or recommendation is incorrect, you may wish to appeal against this decision/recommendation. You cannot challenge the decision or recommendation through this procedure.

How we will deal with your complaint

• We will treat your complaint promptly, fairly and impartially
• We will advise you how to access our Customer Service Complaints Procedure so that you will know how to make a complaint and how we will deal with your complaint
• We will write to you and acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days
• We will aim to deal with all complaints within 15 working days. If this is not possible, we will write and tell you when we expect to give you a full answer
• When we receive your complaint, one of our “Customer Services Team” will examine it and then pass it on to the relevant staff member(s) or Sections to deal with it.  
• If you are not satisfied with the outcome, we will advise you about our review procedures. Our Divisional Complaints Officers, who are members of our senior management team, handle all reviews.

Evaluation and Reporting

The Workplace Relations Commission is committed to providing quality customer services. To ensure that our customers are satisfied with the standard of our service delivery, we commit to having regard to feedback from customers when we review and re-design our services

Services through Irish and other languages

• We will aim to do our best to facilitate our customers who want to conduct their business in Irish in accordance with our obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003
• If you write to us in Irish, we will reply to you in Irish
• We will publish important documents such as our Statement of Strategy and Annual Report simultaneously in Irish and English
• We will aim to do our best to facilitate our customers for whom English is not a first language. Our publications are available in a number of languages on line at www.workplacerelations.ie

Help Us to Help You

To assist the Workplace Relations Commission in providing a quality service to you, we request that you:

• Ensure that all referrals are completed as accurately as possible
• Provide all necessary supporting documentation
• Respond to requests for additional information as promptly as possible
• Quote reference numbers, where available, in all correspondence/communications
• Give full and accurate information when you contact us
• Make an appointment in advance if calling to meet a specific person
• Attend meetings in a timely manner
• Treat our staff with courtesy and respect

Internal Customer

The Workplace Relations Commission recognises its staff as internal customers and extends the courtesy and rights afforded to its external customer to them also.

How to Contact Us