Our principles

This page explains our principles. Our principles outline the approach we believe public bodies should take when delivering good administration and customer service, and how to respond when things go wrong.
Published: 13 July 2016
Last updated: 22 September 2026

We want public bodies to understand how we approach our casework, and we want people to understand how we will consider their complaints.

We have three sets of principles:

What the principles cover

Our principles outline the approach we believe public bodies should follow when delivering good administration and customer service, and how to respond when things go wrong. They underpin our assessment of performance, our vision of good complaint handling and our approach to putting things right.

The principles are based on our experience of handling large numbers of complaints. They endorse legality, flexibility, transparency, fairness and accountability – the necessary ingredients of good administration.

Six important themes apply to all of the principles. These are:

  1. getting it right
  2. being customer focused
  3. being open and accountable
  4. acting fairly and proportionately
  5. putting things right
  6. seeking continuous improvement.

How they work with other guidance

The principles align with national and international good practice. They are compatible with:

  • the Seven Principles of Public Life as set out by the Committee on Standards in Public Life
  • the British and Irish Ombudsman Association’s Guide to principles of good complaint handling
  • the values and behaviours in the Civil Service Code
  • the principles and values in the NHS Constitution

The principles for remedy align with HM Treasury’s guidelines on remedy as set out in Managing Public Money and are cited as best practice in the NHS Finance Manual.

Aims of the principles

The principles are not a checklist and are not intended to replace public bodies’ own guidance. We developed them to: 

  • inform guidance and standards, and provide a framework for all public bodies in our remit to follow in fulfilling their duties
  • help us to do our core work – to provide an independent, high-quality complaint handling service
  • help public bodies in our remit by promoting a shared understanding of what is meant by good administration, good complaint handling and a fair approach to providing remedies.