Complaints Policy
1. Introduction
1.1 People United is committed to fairness, justice and providing a high-quality service. We do accept however that, even with the best intentions, things can still go wrong. When this happens, we will make every effort to put things right and prevent errors arising in the future.
1.2 People United will ensure that any complaint will be treated in a fair and sensitive manner and dealt with quickly, effectively and objectively.
1.3 For the purpose of this policy, a complaint is defined as ‘an expression of dissatisfaction or concern by one or more individuals about something that People United, one of our projects, staff or members has or hasn’t done, or about the standard of service provided by or on behalf of People United’.
1.4 This policy outlines how a person should proceed if they wish to make a complaint, and how complaints should be managed, to resolve them promptly and fairly.
In practice, this may take a number of forms:
a) Giving feedback to People United – sharing your thoughts on something without an expectation of a resolution or outcome;
b) Informally raising concerns and issues – for example sharing your concerns about some behaviours or a particular situation without a formal investigation;
c) Making a formal complaint regarding People United itself e.g. an event, service or product;
d) Making a formal complaint regarding a group or project run by People United;
e) Making a formal complaint regarding an individual or individuals e.g. a staff member, Trustee, volunteer or community collaborator
1.5 This policy applies to:
a) Employees of People United
b) Volunteers
c) Trustees
d) Third parties who are contracted to work with or for People United
e) Members of the public who have any interaction with People United. This may include people who attend events, people who visit the People United website or people who interact with People United on social media.?
2. Why do we have a Complaints Policy?
2.1 People United aims to provide a positive experience for all staff, volunteers, community collaborators and visitors. We are committed to the provision of high-quality services and activities. When we get things wrong, we want to correct them and learn from them.
2.2 We are founded on the principle of kindness and embed radical care into our practice. We strive to be compassionate, expecting individuals to be treated with respect and consideration. We expect all staff, volunteers and visitors to act with honesty and integrity.
2.3 We recognise you may wish to give feedback, or complain about an aspect of our work or notify us of any concerns. You should feel free to raise these concerns. We use feedback and complaints to help us improve, and any concerns, including suspected fraud or dishonesty would be investigated.
3. Before Submitting a Formal Complaint
3.1 Wherever possible our aim is to resolve complaints informally.
3.2 If you feel comfortable to, you should attempt to resolve your complaint by talking to the most relevant person. The relevant person could be:
• The person you’re unhappy with (if your complaint is about someone’s conduct).
• The manager of the staff member or service (if your complaint is about People United).
• The leader of the activity, group, project or event
• Or any other People United staff member.
3.3 As much as possible, People United staff will work with you to resolve issues informally. This might include mediation or correcting the problem ourselves e.g. through a written apology or a refund if appropriate.
3.4 If you are still not satisfied after that, you do not feel safe to talk directly to the most relevant person in the first place, or the complaint is of a serious nature, you can submit a complaint as detailed below.
3.5 We resolve complaints using a formal process that includes a thorough and fair investigation.
4.Complaints we will Investigate
4.1 You can make a complaint about any of the following:
• People United itself e.g. an event, a service, website, a decision etc;
• A group or project run by People United;
• An individual or individuals e.g. a staff member, group or activity leader, volunteer, trustee or community collaborator.
4.2 To help People United investigate and respond effectively, your complaint should ideally be raised as soon as possible after the incident, issue or situation that is the subject of your complaint. We appreciate there may be certain reasons why you can’t always do this (for example if you only find out relevant information at a later date). If there is a significant delay in raising your concern you should explain the reason for this within the initial complaint. If we feel that an unreasonable delay in raising your complaint significantly hinders our ability to investigate or manage your case, we will explain this to you.
4.3 We will accept complaints raised by anyone that may have cause to complain about our services, activities, staff or volunteers.
5. Complaints we will not Investigate
5.1 Anonymous Reporting of Unacceptable Behaviour – you can report incidents anonymously; however we will not be able to contact you or act on this information, but it will be used to better understand the issues impacting our community, and to shape our prevention of and response to unacceptable behaviour.
5.2 Sexual Misconduct or Other Potentially Criminal Behaviour – if you have a concern relating to ANY form of sexual misconduct or other potentially criminal behaviour by a member of staff, a trustee, volunteer or member of our community please refer to our safeguarding policy.
5.3 Arts Council England – if you have a complaint about action, lack of action or an activity delivered directly by Arts Council England, you can submit a complaint directly to them
6. How to make a complaint
6.1 Complaints should be made in writing and should be emailed or sent via recorded mail to People United. In the first instance complaints should be addressed to [email protected] or posted for the attention of the Operations Manager at People United’s main office address (People United, Unit 2 The Fruitworks, 1-2 Jewry Lane, Canterbury CT1 2NP) so that they can be forwarded to the relevant line manager.
6.2 If you feel that the complaint includes sensitive or confidential information, you may send the complaint directly to the Director or, if the complaint relates to the Director, you may send it to the Chair of the Board of Trustees who can be contacted via info@peopleunited,org.uk with an email marked FAO Chair in the subject line.
6.3 All complaints will be given priority and handled fairly and thoroughly.
6.4 When you submit a complaint, be sure to tell us if you are sharing your concern as feedback (if you are letting us know about something but don’t expect any resolution or investigation) or whether you wish to submit it as a formal complaint (if you would like us to investigate and formally respond). We will contact you to confirmed receipt of your complaint.
6.5 If you wish to complain formally, you will be asked to clarify your desired outcome. This may be a refund, an apology or for us to change something about our service.
6.6 Depending on the nature and context of your complaint, it will be designated to an appropriate manager within People United who will investigate the complaint.
6.7 The Investigating Manager will determine the facts, consider any mitigating circumstances and determine the appropriate outcome. Depending upon the seriousness of the complaint, it may be necessary for us to contact you to request additional information or evidence.
6.8 The Investigating Manager will usually contact you within 14 days of your complaint to provide a response to your complaint. If any extension is required to this timeline, the Investigating Manager will update you.
6.9 We aim to provide resolution to complaints, within 30 days of receipt.
6.10 If you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you may appeal the outcome by writing to the Chair of the Board of Trustees who can be contacted via info@peopleunited,org.uk with an email marked FAO Chair in the subject line. Your appeal should be submitted within 7 days of receiving the original outcome from your complaint. Please outline the reasons why you wish to appeal.
6.11 Your appeal will be allocated to a member of the Trustees (who has not previously been involved in your complaint). They will review your original complaint, the investigation and response and then will reply to you with an outcome to your appeal within 14 days from the date you submitted your appeal.
