Attention: For optimal viewing, please use Firefox or Google Chrome. This website is not fully supported by Internet Explorer.
The BC Ombudsperson has published several best practice guides and quick reference materials to help support fairness and continuous improvement across the public sector. Stopping administrative unfairness before it occurs is central to our goal of preventative ombudship. Our Quick Tips for organizations can help public sector staff to embed fairness into the design and delivery of public services.
Information on the key elements of a fair appeal process and a checklist of factors to consider when conducting an appeal.
This quick reference guide provides information about bias in decision making and public service delivery. Learn how to recognize and respond to issues of bias.
Given the important role municipal governments play in the daily lives of people, it is no surprise that they receive continual feedback from the public they serve. Responding to complaints and concerns efficiently and effectively is imperative to help maintain public trust. This quick reference guide provides some key tips on complaint handling in the local government context, and are drawn from the Ombudsperson’s Complaint Handling Guide and companion webinar entitled The Essentials of Fair Complaint Handling.
This quick reference guide provides some tips to help public organizations effectively respond to challenging communication and unreasonable conduct when responding to complaints from service users.
The following checklist provides a quick reference guide for organizations to conduct a self-assessment of their current complaint process and identify areas for improvement.
This model complaints policy is intended to provide general guidance to assist public organizations in developing an effective complaints resolution process.
Decisions are made every day by public sector employees that impact people’s rights, interests and privileges. It is essential that decision makers exercise discretion fairly and reasonably in order to avoid having their decisions questioned or viewed as arbitrary and unfair. This quick reference guide provides some tips to exercising discretionary power in a way that aligns with administrative fairness standards.
The two key elements of procedural fairness are explained: the right to an impartial decision maker and the right to participate in the decision making process. See the webinar Aspects of Procedural Fairness for more information.
Quick tips about how to communicate effectively when responding to complaints, concerns and challenging behaviour. For more information, please see the webinar Why Relationships Matter.
Essential steps to ensure fairness in decision making. See Making Fair Decisions for more information.
An overview of fairness in public service delivery based on the Fairness Triangle.
The importance of providing apologies when mistakes are made and some practical tips on how to give an effective apology.
This Q&A contains general information to assist public sector employees in responding to an Ombudsperson investigation.
A description of the various categories that our office uses to close complaints under the Ombudsperson Act.
An overview of the standards used to determine fairness.
This Fairness Self-Assessment checklist can be used by your organization to conduct a self-assessment of the fairness of your programs, policies and decision-making processes.
This quick reference guide provides some tips for decision-makers on the importance of reasons and how to provide meaningful and understandable reasons.
