Complaints Policy

Complaints Policy and Procedure

Introduction

Rosie’s Trust is committed to providing all our stakeholders with the highest standard of service.  We believe that complaints offer us an opportunity to listen, learn and act on the feedback stakeholders provide.

Our policy is:

• To provide a fair complaints procedure that is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint.
• To publicise our complaints procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint.
• To make sure the staff, volunteers and Trustees at Rosie’s Trust know what to do if a complaint is received.
• To make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and promptly.
• To make sure that complaints are addressed and that relationships are repaired.
• To ensure that complaints are monitored in order to improve our services.
• To maintain a Complaints Log and report to Trustees at the monthly Board meetings on any complaints received.

Definition of a Complaint

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about an act, omission, decision, or a service of Rosie’s Trust, whether it is justified or not.  This may result from the action of a staff member, volunteer or Trustee of Rosie’s Trust or from an activity or programme of work in which we are involved.

Where Complaints Come From

Complaints may come from any individual or organisation that has been in contact with Rosie’s Trust and/or our services.    A complaint may be received verbally, by phone, by email or in writing, or via social media.

This policy does not cover complaints from staff, who should refer to Rosie’s Trust Grievance Policy.

Confidentiality

All information relating to the complaint will be handled sensitively, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  Only people who need to know about the complaint will be informed of it.   Rosie’s Trust will only hold on to any personal data provided for as long as it is needed to properly investigate and resolve the complaint.

Responsibility

The Trustees of Rosie’s Trust are responsible for this policy and its implementation.

Review

This policy is reviewed annually and updated as required.

Complaints Procedure

Content of complaints

When making a complaint to Rosie’s Trust, please describe the issue you are complaining about with as much detail as possible.  Please include dates and times as well as the names of any Rosie’s Trust representatives you were in contact with.  Please also provide copies of any relevant documentation if appropriate.  Please state how you believe Rosie’s Trust might address the complaint, if possible. Importantly, please provide your name and contact details as we will not respond to anonymous complaints.

Please note we will only deal with complaints that are relevant to Rosie’s Trust, our business and services.

Written complaints

Written complaints about Rosie’s Trust can be emailed to Rosie’s Trust at:

mail@rosiestrust.org

Alternatively, they can be posted to:

2 Queen’s Parade

Bangor

BT20 3BJ.

Verbal complaints

To make a verbal complaint, please call Rosie’s Trust on 07721 204 061.

When we receive a complaint

We may receive a complaint by phone, email or post as well as through other channels, such as social media.

The Rosie’s Trust representative who receives a complaint will:

• Write down the facts of the complaint.
• Take the complainant’s name, address and telephone number.
• Note down the relationship of the complainant to Rosie’s Trust, for example, a beneficiary, volunteer or partner organisation.
• Advise the complainant of our complaints procedure.
• Advise the complainant of what will happen next and how long it will take.
• Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send a written account by email or by post so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.

Resolving Complaints

Stage One

In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, s/he may be able to resolve it quickly and should do so if possible and appropriate.

Regardless of whether the complaint has been resolved, the complaint information should be passed to Rosie’s Trust Operations Manager within two working days.  On receiving the complaint, the Operations Manager will record it in the Complaints Logbook. If it has not already been resolved, they will investigate the complaint and take appropriate action.

If the complaint relates to a specific person, they will be informed and given the opportunity to respond.

The Operations Manager will acknowledge complaints within four working days.

The acknowledgement will say who is dealing with the complaint and when the complainant may expect a reply. A copy of this complaints procedure will be attached.

Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within 10 working days. If this is not possible because an investigation has not been completed, a progress report will be sent to the complainant with an indication of when they may expect to receive a full reply.

Regardless of whether the complaint is found to be valid or not, the reply to the complainant will describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

Stage Two

If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, they can request that the complaint be reviewed at Board level.

At this stage, the complainant should forward his/her complaint to the Chair of the Board of Trustees. The Chair will acknowledge the request within five working days of receiving it. The acknowledgement will say who will deal with the case and when the complainant may expect a reply.

The Chair of the Board may investigate the case or delegate another Trustee to do so (where there is no conflict of interest).  This will involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage One.  The person who dealt with the original complaint at Stage One will be kept informed of developments.

If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond.

Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within a month. If this is not possible because the review has not been fully completed, a progress report will be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

Regardless of whether the complaint is upheld or not, the reply to the complainant will describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

The decision taken at this stage is final, unless the Board decides it is appropriate to obtain external assistance to resolve the issue.

Charity Commission NI

If the complainant is not happy with the outcome of the Board’s review of their complaint, they can complain to the Charity Commission NI.  Further details are available at:

https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/concerns-and-decisions/submit-a-concern-about-a-charity/