General policy

1.1    The trustees of Rise Up UK (“the Trustees”) take complaints seriously and commit to deal with all complaints in a confidential, timely and appropriate manner.

1.2    Our policy is:

·      To provide a fair complaints policy which is clear and easy to use;

·      To make sure that trustees and volunteers are aware of the policy;

·      To ensure in all cases that complaints are handled using Biblical principles and that wherever possible, disputes and disagreements are amicably resolved, mediated, if appropriate, and that relationships are restored;

·      To gather information which helps us improve what we do in the future.

1.3    All complaints and any associated information provided will be handled sensitively, and in accordance with relevant data protection requirements.  However, the Trustees reserve the right to involve external parties (including the police and other authorities) and to take legal advice where this is considered necessary.

1.4    The overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation rests with the Trustees.

1.5    In constructing this policy, the Trustees have paid due consideration to the good governance code referred to in the Charity Commission guidance.

Receiving complaints

2.1    Complaints may be addressed to any Trustee either orally or in writing (email or send to the charity’s registered office.)

2.2    At the time of receiving the complaint or within any initial response, complainants will be informed of the existence of this policy and provided with a copy if requested.

2.3    In certain cases and for the avoidance of doubt, the Trustees may request oral complaints to be repeated in writing and reserve the right to share complaints with other Trustees as they see appropriate.

2.4    Oral complainants must be informed that certain aspects of oral complaints will be recorded (either at the time or later) including but not limited to:

·      The name and contact details of the complainant.

·      The date and time that the complaint was received;

·      The substance of the complaint;

·      Any formal relationship that the complainant has with HCC.

2.5    Oral complainants must be informed that although complaints will be handled confidentially, the Trustees may share these with other Trustees in accordance with this policy. If the complaint is related to Vulnerable Adults, information may also be disclosed to statutory agencies.

2.6    All complaints, together with any actions undertaken, will be recorded in a complaints log which will be reviewed by the Trustees on a regular basis.  Any conclusions and further action required as a result of this review will be formally recorded in the minutes of a Trustees’ meeting.

2.7    Where the complaint relates to a specific person, the Trustees may choose to inform that person of the nature of the complaint and to receive a formal response from them.  The name and any other sensitive information provided by the complainant will not be shared with the subject of the complaint.

Resolving complaints

3.1    Complaints will be acknowledged by the Trustees within 2 weeks of being received and will include details of who is dealing with the complaint and when the complainant can expect to have a response.  Any first response should include a copy of this policy if not already provided.

3.2    The Trustees will use best endeavours to provide a definitive response within two months of receiving the complaint.  If, because of ongoing investigations or for other reasons this is not possible, a progress update will be provided to the complainant within two months of receiving the complaint.

3.3    A definitive response will include:

·      Actions taken to investigate the complaint;

·      Conclusions drawn from the investigation;

·      Actions taken as a result of the investigation.

Appeals and escalation

4.1    Where the complainant is not satisfied with the response, they should inform the Trustees of this dissatisfaction in writing within 3 months of receiving the response.

4.2    Due to the size of the charity it is likely that the same group of Trustees that dealt with the original complaint will be responsible for reviewing the appeal.  Wherever possible a different Trustee will take the lead in investigating the appeal.

4.3    As long as this notice of dissatisfaction is received within the timeframe set out in 4.1, the Trustees will acknowledge this correspondence within two weeks and will use best endeavours to provide a definitive response within two months. Notices of dissatisfaction that are received outside of that timeframe will be considered at the discretion of the trustees.

4.4    This appeal decision will be considered final.

At any time, the complainant can complain directly to the Charity Commission or any other appropriate regulating authority.  The information about the types of complaints that the Commission can become involved with are set out on their website. The complainant may also consult the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Adoption of this policy

Adopted at meeting after registration of CIO

Review Date: annually