Helpful guidance and information on applying to SCOAF

In line with our Customer Charter, we will ensure that we treat every application to our office in a fair and impartial manner. We are not pro-complainant or pro-Service. We do not take sides.

When we conduct an investigation we will take into account all the facts of the complaint within the time frame of legislation and guidance.

We expect you to be polite and courteous in your dealings with us.

We understand that the complaints process may have been distressing or upsetting and in a small number of cases, people pursue their complaints in a way that is unreasonable. But we will not tolerate aggressive, or persistent behaviour, or unreasonable demands.

Key takeaways

Let us know how and when we can contact you: There is space to do this on the application forms. Do not forget to tell us when you won't be available too - whether for deployment or any other reason.
Try and get the information to us as quickly as possible: We understand that everyone is busy and you may not always have the information we ask for right in front of you. But we cannot help you without it, so it is important to provide it as soon as you can.
Make a new application for each type of investigation: If you are making multiple applications to the Ombudsman, please make separate applications. This is so we understand what you are asking for and apply the process to each application. We understand that it is extra work at the beginning, but it ensures we can work on your applications as quickly as possible.

When to get in touch?

Undue Delay

You can approach the Ombudsman during the course of your Service Complaint if you feel that that the time taken to resolve your complaint has been unwarranted or excessive.

Before you ask the Ombudsman for help, you must try to resolve the issue yourself. Get in touch with the person handling your complaint and ask why there has been a delay, and when you can expect your complaint to be resolved.

Admissibility, Substance and Maladministration

When you receive the final decision letter for your complaint it will outline the time frame for you to approach the Ombudsman and request an investigation or a review of your complaint.

For a review of Admissibility or Appeal decisions, the time limit to make an application is 4 weeks and 2 days.
For an investigation of Substance and/or Maladministration it is increased to 6 weeks and 2 days.

These limits run from the date that the decision was posted or emailed to you. But you are advised to apply as early as possible. If you do not, you must explain why your application was out of time on your application form.

If you don’t have a good reason for not making the application in time we will decide that it is not Just and Equitable to accept it out of time. For more information read just and equitable.

Please note that the decision to accept applications outside the time limit is an exception and not the rule and will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Checklist for submitting our application forms

Before you submit your application form, please see our checklist below to ensure you have filled it out correctly.

Your application will encounter delays if it is not filled out correctly, so see below for the type of information we are looking for.

Details about how and when we can contact you

It is important that we can contact you once you have submitted an application.

If we can’t contact you we may be unable to process your application or there may be a delay in starting an investigation or referral.

Information about adjustments we can make to help you access our service

If you have any accessibility requirements, or would like us to provide information to you in a specific format, please tell us what you need on your application form or email.

We are more than happy to make arrangements to ensure you can access our service.

An overview of the issue you want the Ombudsman to refer or investigate

Please explain what happened and when it happened. This includes all people, dates and time frames relevant to your complaint.

Please note: Not all applications for investigation are accepted so it is important that you explain why you believe a SCOAF investigation is required.

Why you did not make your application earlier (if your application is out of time)

There are time limits for submitting an application to the Ombudsman.

If you are making an application after this time you will need to tell us why your application is late.

How you have been affected by what happened

If you can, please tell us how your Service Complaint or Service matter has affected you.

To find out what support and advice is available see Useful Links and Contacts

What you want the Ombudsman to do for you

It is important for us to know what your expectations are. We can never guarantee an outcome at the start of the process, but if what you want cannot ever be achieved, we will let you know.

Consent

We cannot process your application if you do not give us consent.

Please read through the information on the application form carefully and make sure you understand everything before signing and dating the form.

Documents

Depending on the form you complete you will need to send us:

written statement of complaint / Annex F form
decision letters for your complaint for each level (Decision Body and Appeal Body letter)

Please do not send any further documents other than what is requested on the form. Any other documents provided won’t be accepted and may be destroyed.

How will SCOAF contact you?

We will always communicate with you via email. But if you prefer for us to communicate with you by post or you have particular needs in the way we communicate with you, please let us know and we will do our best to help. We will keep you updated on key stages as your complaint progresses through the investigation process.

We will give everyone time to comment on information and tell you deadlines for responses. It is important that you help us investigate effectively by being open, honest and providing all of the information we request in a timely manner.

We will do everything we can to make it as easy for you to access our services. But it is important that you let us know if you need us to do more to address your individual needs. For more information see reasonable adjustments.

Sharing your information

If you ask us to refer your intention to make a complaint, or conduct a new investigation, we will keep your information stored securely and not share it without your consent.

We will only share your contact details, including your sections of your application form, with your Service to gather more information.
We will not share any of your personal information unless they already know about it.

Please note that during the course of an investigation, information you have provided us is likely to be seen by the people you are complaining about, and any information received from them will be shared with you.

We will not share or disclose medical information but we may refer to person’s mental health if its had an impact on them. For more information read our privacy policy and what we do with the information you provide.

What support is provided?

If you need support throughout the course of your complaint, we will signpost you to an appropriate service or organisation if we cannot help. For more information read where can I get welfare support during a Service Complaint?

The Ombudsman's decision and possible outcomes

Following an investigation into Substance and/or Maladministration by the Ombudsman and the issuance of the final report, this represents the end of the Service Complaints process.

Following the investigation process, the Ombudsman will decide whether the complaint should be upheld, partially upheld, or not upheld.

A recommendation for redress will be made to determine what the appropriate action should be taken to address the wrong if the complaint is upheld or partially upheld. The recommendations that are made will depend on the type of investigation that has been carried out and the specifics of the individual case and the wrong that has been found.

The type of redress the Ombudsman can recommend falls into two broad categories.

Action based: This is any form of redress that requires a specific and direct action. This can include:

Apology
Enrolment on a particular training course
Reconvening a promotion board
Reinstatement or reinstatement of rank
Reinvestigation by the Service

Consolatory payments: There are two types of consolatory payments:

Quantifiable payments: This provides payment to cover a financial loss where the amount can be quantified e.g. payment of an allowance that is owed which will generally be paid via the existing Service pay and allowances process.
Non-quantifiable payments: This aims to compensate a non-monetary loss e.g. for distress or hurt feelings. It is very rarely recommended.

When the relevant Service Secretariat receives the Ombudsman’s decision they are required to consider the recommendations and provide an update to you and the Ombudsman on any action that will be taken.

If a recommendation cannot be implemented, the Service is required to explain the reasons for this and provide an alternative proposal for the Ombudsman to agree. Some recommendations are easy to implement and can be done so in a short space of time, whereas others require a longer period to implement. We will monitor the respective Service to ensure that recommendations are carried out, and the Services are required to keep the Ombudsman updated until the recommendations have been implemented in full.

Please note: the Ombudsman has the power to recommend redress as quantifiable or non-quantifiable consolatory payments to the Services, however the onus will always be placed on the Services to decide the specific amount; not the Ombudsman.

Further approval of any proposed payments will need to be sought in-line with guidance on managing public money. For more information read SCOAF Financial Remedy Guidelines

See also:
• Blog – Redress Part 1 and Redress Part 2

I am unhappy with the Ombudsman's decision

All decisions made by the Ombudsman are final

This means that you cannot appeal the decision or submit a further application on the same grounds. But if you disagree with a decision that we have made, the only way to challenge this is by making an application for Judicial Review.

If you do decide to pursue this route you should do this within 3 months of the date of our final decision.

Please note that a Judicial Review can be a costly legal process. You may wish to consider seeking legal advice about what the process entails and how much it is likely to cost before making a decision about whether to apply for judicial review. For more information read Judicial Review.

Application form examples

This section has sample application forms and responses that will help you fill in your application and avoid it being delayed.

Please note: the sample responses are for guidance purposes only. They are not to be copied word for word. Instead, use them as a basis when creating your own responses.