On receiving a complaint, by whatever means, this will be logged. The individual receiving the complaint will request supporting evidence from the complainant and pass the complaint form to a member of the senior management team for them to:
(i) detail the complaint on the charity’s complaint log
(ii) allocate an investigating officer as detailed in appendix 2
(iii) where applicable, notify the relevant line manager.
The log entry will include the name and contact details of the complainant and their relationship with the charity (e.g. service user, donor, event participant, customer or volunteer) together with details of the nature of their complaint and the date of the incident giving rise to the complaint.
The investigating officer will write to the complainant to acknowledge the complaint and will aim to do this no later than five working days after the day the complaint is received. The acknowledgement will usually be in writing but can be verbally in some circumstances although this should be the exception rather than the norm.
The acknowledgement will detail:
- how the complaint will be handled
- the timescales for responding
- how the investigation will be conducted
- how the complainant will be advised of the outcome.
The investigating officer will investigate the complaint and aim to issue a formal response within 20 working days of the complaint being received.
The investigating officer will capture relevant information about the case and ensure this is accurately recorded, including any necessary data collection.
A complainant should expect:
- to be kept up to date with the progress of their complaint
- that if a case has passed the 20-working day target (or the timescale agreed with the complainant if different), the complainant (and advocate if relevant) should receive an update every 10 working days after the target has been surpassed. This could be by telephone, email or letter. The format should be agreed with the complainant.
- to receive a quality response with assurance that action has been taken to prevent a recurrence if the complaint is found to merited
- to be informed of anything that has been learnt from the complaint and investigation.
- that the charity’s response to a complainant is, wherever possible, by the complainant’s preferred method of communication.
Once the investigating officer has concluded the report, a summary of the findings, the outcome and any lessons learned will be sent to the complainant, including information on the next stages of the complaint’s procedure should the complainant wish to take matters further.
Wherever possible, Royal Free Charity team members are informed if a complaint has been made about them or actions for which they were responsible; we have a duty of care to Royal Free Charity team members who are the subject of a complaint as well as to complainants and we are committed to ensuring that team members have an opportunity to respond to the allegations made.
We investigate complaints thoroughly and fairly to establish the facts of the case. This includes reviewing all relevant evidence and might include speaking to any individuals complained about as well as the complainant and any third parties involved.