Know your human rights | British Institute for Human Rights

1. Identify the Issue

If you haven't already done so you can help identify the issue using Flowchart 1.

If you are in danger call the police immediately on 999.

2. Raise the issue informally with a public official

You could ask to have a meeting to talk about your complaint.

You can use the summary of your answers from flowchart 1 to help you to prepare for this meeting.

If you feel worried about this meeting you could ask for support from a friends, family, support worker or independent advocate.

Top tips to help you prepare for a meeting with a public official:

Do you need to ask for more information from them? E.g. how they made the decision that is impacting on you
What do you want to achieve? Think about what you are looking for to make the situation better
To resolve the situation may involve some compromise – think about the minimum change you would need to make the situation better
Using human rights doesn't need to be confrontational – it's about finding solutions to your issue
Practice the points you would like to make in the meeting, and you may want a support person to attend, for example an advocate or family member

Still not resolved?

3. Make it formal: write a letter

If you can't fix the problem by talking/writing with people, you could write a letter of complaint.

Human rights complaint letter template

Guidance on writing your letter

If you receive a response?

If the response is helpful and the public authority wishes to discuss with you to help resolve the situation then ask to meet with them and discuss the matter further:

Remember to take good notes of the meetings, including anything they say they will do.
Ask for a timescale and make a note of this.
If they fail to make the corrections you have asked for; or if they do not do so in the agreed timescale, ask to meet with them again. Tell them you will escalate your complaint if it is not addressed quickly.
If you are not happy and they refuse to take your complaint seriously or continue to ignore your rights, then you should make a firmer request for an explanation or resolution.

No response?

Depending on the severity and urgency of your issue, if you receive no response within a reasonable period of time you should follow your letter up with a phone call to check that it has been received.

a) If the letter has not been received:

Re-send it and make a firm request for a response within a given period of time.
Consider sending by registered post or delivering by hand.
Tell them you would like an acknowledgement of receipt as soon as the letter arrives

b) If the letter has been received but the individual concerned is vague about when you can expect a response, or does not appear to take the issue seriously:

Resend a copy of your letter to the management of the public authority (for example the chief executive or head of a service within a council).
Be specific about your previous letter and include the date it was posted and who it was addressed to.
Tell the manager / chief executive / head of service that you received no response to your first letter.
You could also send a further letter to the person who received the first letter to tell them about the action you have taken. This might encourage them to act more quickly.

Still not resolved?

4. Step up your action

Contact the official again

You can do this either in person, via the phone, email, or you could write another letter. Whichever option you choose, make sure that you:

Tell them that you know your human rights, tell them what those rights are
Tell them what they must do to protect your rights
Tell them how you think the problem can be fixed
Ask for a meeting, now
Inform them that you will take further action if you don't receive a satisfactory response

Always keep a record of what you have said or sent, who you sent it to and when.

What if you receive a response you don't agree with?

You could ask them to tell you why they made their decision in that way and how they have considered your human rights and their legal duty to respect and protect you rights.
If one of your rights that is at issue can be restricted, like the right to respect for private life (Article 8) you can ask the official to explain whether the restriction meets the 3-stage test of being lawful, for a legitimate reason and proportionate. In particular, you can ask them how they have ensured they are acting proportionately and to tell you how their decision is the least restrictive option in the circumstances. This can help you think about alternatives that could be put in place.
You can do this in any meetings you have or letters you receive
This may help them to think again, and will help you to work out the best thing to do next

Still not resolved?

5. Take further action

There are a number of different ways you can take further action if you are not happy with the outcome.

Internal Complaints Procedure

Follow the internal complaints procedure: there is a single complaints process for all health and adult social services in England. This includes complaints about local authorities, NHS hospitals, and support providers (known as 'responsible bodies').

Key things to know about the complaints process:

A complaint must be made within 12 months (unless there are good reasons for delay)
It can be made verbally, in writing, or electronically
The responsible body must acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days
The responsible body must offer to discuss with you how the complaint is to be handled, and how long it will take to investigate and provide a response
The responsible body must investigate the complaint as quickly and efficiently as possible and keep you informed of progress
Once the investigation is complete they must send you a written response, telling you how the complaint has been considered, what they decided and why and any action they have taken or are going to take
If the responsible body fails to send you a response within 6 months of making the complaint, they must explain why and respond to you as soon as possible

Make a complaint to the Ombudsman

The Health Service Ombudsman looks at complaints about health services, and the Local Government Ombudsman looks at social care. They do not look at every complaint and they will usually ask people to use the internal complaints procedure first.

Key things to know about the Ombudsmen:

The Ombudsman will not investigate a complaint if the issue is also part of a legal case
A complaint must be made within 12 months (unless there are special reasons for delay)
The Ombudsman can investigate complaints that an organisation has not acted properly or fairly, or has provided a poor service
The Ombudsman can request an organisation to provide an explanation and acknowledgment, and take action to put the matter right, including giving an apology
If the Ombudsman finds serious faults they can also make recommendations to ensure changes are made
The Ombudsman does not have any formal power to enforce their recommendations, but they are almost always followed

Make a complaint to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

The CQC is an independent organisation which makes sure health and social care services in England are providing a good service and are meeting national standards. They also check the use of the Mental Health Act. They have a duty to protect people. Anyone can make a complaint to the CQC about how the Mental Health Act is being used, including staff, patients, and the public.

Raise your concerns with your local Healthwatch

Healthwatch England is an independent body that aims to be the ‘patient voice’ in health and social care. They can write to an organisation if there is a problem and the organisation must listen. They can also make visits to health and social care services to see what is happening.

Get some legal advice.

Key things to know about taking legal action:

You have 12 months to bring a legal challenge, if you are bringing a human rights claim. Other time limits apply for other kinds of action: speak to your legal advisor about this.
If you are already involved in legal proceedings against a service provider for other reasons, you can add a human rights claim to this as long as it's within 12 months of the alleged human rights violation

You can also take a human rights claim as part of a special type of legal case called judicial review. This is a way of challenging decisions made by public authorities. Claims can only be brought for specific reasons, and must be brought as soon as possible and no later than 3 months after the decision you want to challenge. Speak to your legal advisor if you think this might be appropriate. Usually this is a last resort. If you think this may be the only way to get your issue resolved, you may want to access legal advice. Going to court and accessing legal advice usually costs money, you can find out more about costs and other ways to access legal advice here.

Places you might find support to help with legal advice and going to court:

Trade Unions
University Law Clinics
Pro Bono Law Clinics
Your local Law Centre
Your local Citizen's Advice Bureau

For more information about who to contact visit our Help/Resources Section.

Using my
human rights

What to do if your issue is about Human Rights

1. Identify the Issue

2. Raise the issue informally with a public official

3. Make it formal: write a letter

4. Step up your action

5. Take further action

Key

Using myhuman rights

What to do if your issue is about Human Rights

1. Identify the Issue

2. Raise the issue informally with a public official

3. Make it formal: write a letter

4. Step up your action

5. Take further action

Key

Using my
human rights