How to make a complaint or report misconduct

AHDB complaints protocol – helping to put things right when they go wrong.

It is important to the business that any fraud, misconduct or wrongdoing by workers or officers of AHDB is reported and properly dealt with.

AHDB is committed to the highest standards of openness and accountability, and concerns about malpractice are taken very seriously. A disclosure to AHDB, based on an honest and reasonable suspicion that malpractice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur, will be protected

We therefore encourage all suppliers, partners, stakeholder organisations and individuals that come into contact with us, to raise any serious concerns that they may have about the conduct of others in the business or the way in which the business is run.

This document sets out the way in which a complaint or a concern can be raised and will be dealt with. By ‘concern’, we mean you have a reasonable belief or hold evidence of a possible criminal offence, a miscarriage of justice, an act creating risk to health and safety, an act causing damage to the environment, a breach of any other legal obligation, or concealment of any of these.

The reporting procedure for (A) complaints and (B) misconduct, is given below:

A) Reporting a complaint

We welcome comments and constructive criticism. Complaints are treated very seriously, and we do all we can to correct any errors quickly.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received or the information you have been given, you should, in the first instance, contact the person you have been dealing with, who should be able to resolve the problem.
If your concerns are not dealt with to your satisfaction, and you wish to raise a formal complaint, you should write to the AHDB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) using the email address complaints@ahdb.org.uk, and putting ‘COMPLAINT’ in the subject line. The CEO’s office will acknowledge your complaint and respond fully within 15 working days. If this is not possible, the CEO or his/her executive assistant will write explaining why, letting you know when you may expect a full reply.
If you still feel that your complaint has not been satisfactorily resolved, you should write to the Chair of the AHDB, who will act as adjudicator. The address is The Chair, AHDB, Siskin Parkway East, Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry CV3 4PE. The adjudicator will investigate your complaint and report back within 15 working days. If this is not possible, he/she or his/her deputy will write, explaining why and letting you know when you may expect a response.
If you are not satisfied with the adjudicator’s decision, you may ask your Member of Parliament, or Member of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly Member, or Northern Irish Assembly Member to take up your complaint with the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at Defra, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR. Or ask for your complaint to be referred to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Scottish Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales or the Northern Ireland Ombudsman, as appropriate. They are entirely independent of government.

B) Reporting misconduct

By ‘misconduct’, we mean you have a reasonable belief or hold evidence of a possible criminal offence, a miscarriage of justice, an act creating risk to health and safety, an act causing damage to the environment, a breach of any other legal obligation, or concealment of any of these.

If you hold any evidence of misconduct, as defined above, you should report it directly to the relevant governmental, supervisory or regulatory authority.

If you have a concern around suspected misconduct that you wish to raise with the AHDB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) please write using the email address complaints@ahdb.org.uk, and putting ‘MISCONDUCT’ in the subject line. The CEO will acknowledge receipt and, if appropriate, instigate an investigation within 5 days of the concern being raised. All concerns raised will be treated in the strictest confidence. However, certain information is required to be made available during the course of internal employment proceedings and external hearings. If you wish to remain anonymous, we will endeavour to respect this unless disclosure is required by a required internal process, the rule of law, any court, any governmental, supervisory or regulatory authority (including any regulated investment exchange) or any other authority of competent jurisdiction, but we will only disclose identifiable information to the extent required.

Timescales

An initial internal AHDB investigation into any concern, if appropriate, should commence within 5 days of the issue being raised. You should then be updated on the status of the investigation on a regular basis (at least every 2 weeks). The full internal investigation should be completed as quickly as is practicable and if appropriate the findings will be reported to the relevant governmental, supervisory or regulatory authority.

Version 3.0 - July 2024