AIBU to think a manager investigating a complaint about their own department is a conflict of interest, especially in a charity? I recently made a complaint to a charity and part of my complaint involved a potential conflict of interest concerning a staff member in one department.
When I submitted my complaint, I was told it would be investigated by a senior member of staff and then they would feed back to the CEO, who would respond to me. When I got the response from the CEO, I found out that the person who had actually investigated my complaint was the manager in charge of the very department I’d complained about. They are also a Trustee.
Not only that, but they’d completely misunderstood (and therefore dismissed) the conflict of interest issue I’d raised about staff in their team. I queried whether it was appropriate for the department manager to investigate a complaint about their own department, given they have a duty of loyalty to their staff and would naturally want to show their department is being run properly.
I was told it wasn’t a conflict of interest, with no explanation other than “it’s standard practice for a senior manager to investigate a complaint in their department.” This doesn’t sit right with me, especially for a charity, where governance and impartiality should be taken seriously.
AIBU to think this is a conflict of interest, or at the very least poor practice?
Also, if so, does anyone know if there’s any guidance or rules about this that I could refer to when I follow up?