duration

Duration
Half-day

duration

Location
In-house

duration

Availability
Good

Suitable for:       All What does this mean?

We all make mistakes. For social housing landlords, the important thing is to minimise those mistakes, put things right and learn lessons for the future. Putting things right may involve paying compensation or applying some other remedy.

This course looks at the remedies available to social landlords and how to choose the right one. If compensation is appropriate, what factors should be taken into account and amount would be considered reasonable by the Ombudsman?

Our expert trainers will draw on their wide experience, including over 25 years working at the Housing Ombudsman Service, and use real-life examples to put best practice tips into context. They will also look at how landlords can ‘think outside the box’ to come up with effective remedies that are acceptable to residents and avoid complaints escalating to the Ombudsman.

This course is intended for social housing staff and will make them more confident when awarding compensation or identifying other remedies.  It will also help them understand what actions they are expected to take to ‘put things right’ as required by the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

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    What will delegates learn?

    Delegates will gain an understanding of:

    • The range of remedies open to landlords and how to choose between them
    • When compensation is appropriate and how to assess an appropriate amount
    • How the Ombudsman view remedies and how it calculates the amounts of compensation it orders landlords to pay
    • The range of unusual but effective remedies that landlords have used in practice.

    Who should attend?

    The course is aimed at staff and managers – working in policy or operations – who may handle complaints, implement remedies or award compensation.

  • Our trainers

    Dave Simmons currently works as a Dispute Resolution Improvement Manager for a large housing association.

    He is an experienced trainer in complaints handling in the housing sector covering a wide range of subject areas. He was formerly Sector Development Lead at the Housing Ombudsman Service where he was responsible for the writing and delivery of training workshops, webinars and forums to difference audiences including residents, landlords and Boards. Dave also led on the project to produce the Ombudsman’s first ‘Complaint Handling Code’ which sets out best practice complaint handling for the sector.

    Outside of his full-time roles, Dave’s training experience extends to his work as an associate for Tpas (tenant engagement experts). He is also an experienced accredited mediator and has mediated on a wide range of disputes including family, community and workplace. As well as his private mediation work, he volunteers for a community mediation charity in Croydon where he is a Board Trustee.

    John Goodwin is a housing trainer and consultant, with extensive experience in the social housing sector, particularly in complaint-handling, resident involvement and governance.

    John was Compliance and Systemic Lead at the Housing Ombudsman Service until 2022, responsible for addressing systemic failings by landlords. He was involved in drafting the Ombudsman’s first ‘Complaint Handling Code’ and for delivering training to landlords, residents and others to improve complaint-handling and learning from complaints across the sector.

    Prior to joining the Ombudsman, John spent ten years with the Audit Commission’s Housing Inspectorate – inspecting a range of housing organisations and services.

    John previously worked for Shelter in several roles, including Head of Legal Services and Editor of ROOF magazine. He began his housing career in homelessness, housing advice and resettlement with a London borough.

    John has written and edited a number of publications including: ‘Built to Last’ (a history of British housing policy).

    John is also an accredited mediator and a trustee and past chair of a social care charity.

We can bring this course to you.
If you have five or more staff interested our in-house training offers great value for money.

Complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.