What if I have a complaint about someone on the Register?

If a member of the public, another professional, another organisation or body or another registrant is unhappy about a service provided by a UK-SBA registrant, they can raise their concern or complaint with the UK-SBA.

Complainants may wish to address this with the registrant in the first instance, and/or with the registrant’s employer if they have one. However if the issue is not settled, or this is not possible or safe then a formal complaint can be made to the Complaints Secretary of the UK-SBA via email at [email protected]

For guidance on how the complaints process works, please refer to UK-SBA Complaints Procedure and also the
UK-SBA Code of Ethical and Professional Conduct.

If you wish to make a complaint about a registrant please email [email protected].

Many complaints are contractual matters, which can only be addressed through the legal system and in these cases your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau or Law Centre may be able to offer the best advice.

What if I have a safeguarding concern?

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999.

If you have a safeguarding concern about a UK-SBA member, please contact your local safeguarding team immediately (please see bullet points below for safeguarding contacts), in addition to contacting us via email at
[email protected] .

Similarly, if you have a safeguarding concern about non-member, please contact your local safeguarding team immediately (please see bullet points below for safeguarding contacts):

• The police – if anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. If not in immediate danger, call 111.
• NSPCC
• NHS Safeguarding
• Your child’s school – find and contact their Designated Safeguarding Lead on the school’s website or ask their administrator.
• Your Local Authority’s Safeguarding Team – Google ‘your local area + safeguarding team’, e.g. ‘Barnet safeguarding team’
• Safeguarding Lead in your organisation

What if I have a complaint about the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis (UK-SBA)?

We hope you are always satisfied with the work carried out by the UK-SBA.  If you wish to make a complaint about the Society, or any of its operations or personnel, please email full details and enclose any supporting documentation to
[email protected].

Any such complaint will be discussed within the Public Protection and Benefit Committee, which will include oversight by an Independent Expert Advisory Group (IEAG), not consisting of any members of the UK-SBA, our registrants or consumers of Behaviour Analysis. This group of independent experts will review your concern, and you will then be informed of any actions taken.

What if I have a concern about ABA in the UK?

If you have a question or concern about ABA in the UK, please email [email protected] with your concerns. Here at the UK-SBA we are particularly keen to reach out and hear from past and present service users from protected groups, to hear their views in order to inform the ongoing development of our field.

What if I have a complaint or concern about a professional who is not a member of the UK-SBA?

The UK-SBA can only investigate complaints about UK-SBA registered members or the UK-SBA itself. If you have a complaint about a practitioner who is not a UK-SBA member but is a member/employee of a different organisation, please consider contacting the organisation with whom they are affiliated. Examples of these organisations might be:

• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
• Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT)
• The British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
• NHS
• Email the practitioner’s manager at the organisation or their complaints team, e.g. Local Education Authority (LEA), HR department.

What if I would like Independent Advocacy to help guide me through the process

We are able to put you in touch with Independent Advocates who can help you navigate the complaints process.  If you would like to access this service, please email [email protected].  Help could include help drafting the concern or complaint, overseeing or dealing with any subsequent correspondence, raising issues with the process, attending any meeting with or on behalf of the service user, or any other advocacy or support requested.

What are the possible sanctions if a complaint about a Registrant is upheld?

Possible Sanction
Further Training	Registrant receives a period of training in a specified area Not published on Register
Further Supervision	Registrant receives a period of supervision in a specified area Not published on Register
Probationary Supervision	Registrant works under mandatory supervision for specified period of time Published on Register
Suspension from Register	Registrant is suspended from the register as an interim action pending investigation or as an outcome of an investigation Published on the Register
Removal from Register	Registrant is removed from the register NB: we are not able to stop someone working who is not on our register. However those on our register are held to high standards

All UK-SBA registrants have signed up to our ethical code, and any registrants found to be using harmful, degrading, painful or dehumanising punishment procedures will be removed form our register