Complaints Policy / Procedure
Introduction
United in the Community (UITC), together with any staff employed to support it, aims to provide a quality service at all times. However, if there is an occasion when this has not happened, UITC would like to hear about it so that it can make improvements to the service.
The Policy
The following procedure has been set up by UITC to ensure that a complaint is properly heard. This procedure can be used for registering a complaint concerning:
Any person making a complaint has a right to support from an independent advocate or friend at any point during this process. UITC will take any complaint seriously and do all it can to ensure that the situation is resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction. All complaints will be recorded.
Contact details
Phone: 07508 967056
Email: admin@uitc.uk.com
Address: United in the Community, Blackfriars St, Hereford, HR4 9JU
The Procedure
Step One
If the complaint concerns an individual, the first stage will be for a complainant to try to resolve the problem informally and directly with that individual. If they would prefer not to speak to someone who was involved in the situation, they go straight to step two.
If the complaint concerns UITC in general, the complainant should resolve the problem informally within the organisation.
If a resolution was not achieved within a reasonable timescale, move on to step two.
Step Two
The next step is for the complaint to be made formally and in writing to the above address. Written details of the complaint should be sent for the attention of the Chair, UITC or for the attention of the Trustees of UITC if the complaint concerns the Chair.
Complaints concerning UITC in general or an individual Trustee (including the Chair) will be investigated and resolved with a written response provided within ten working days, or if this is not possible, an update every ten working days until a full response is available.
If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the response, proceed to step three.
Step Three
If the complainant remains dissatisfied, they may appeal against the outcome of step two by referring the complaint for independent review.
For complaints concerning UITC in general, a Trustee or a member of staff, a review will be carried out by a UITC Complaint Panel.
In this circumstance, the complainant will be invited to attend a meeting with the reviewing body, which will be convened within fifteen days of the request.
At the meeting, the complainant will have the opportunity to explain the complaint again and details of any investigation to date will also be heard. The reviewing body will then make a decision regarding appropriate action that may be required to resolve the situation and will notify the complainant in writing of the outcome within ten working days of the meeting.
Footnote:
This policy was reviewed/ approved by trustees on 04/02/2022.This policy will be reviewed every two years as part of UITC wider policy/procedure review. Should there be changes in relevant legislation it may need to be reviewed earlier.
Trustees - Russell Cheasley (Chair), Caroline Preedy, Chris Oleksy