Belper Refugee Welcome Complaints Policy and Procedure

 

Belper Refugee Welcome (‘the Group’) views complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future, as well as a chance to put things right for the individual(s) who has made the complaint.

 

What is this policy for?

Our policy is:

• to make it easy for any member of the resettled family or group member to make a complaint

• to provide a fair and timely complaints procedure

• to make sure everyone providing resettlement support knows what to do if a complaint is received

• to make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired

• to gather information which helps us to improve on the services provided as part of the sponsorship agreement

 

What is a complaint?

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any aspect of care provided as part of the sponsorship agreement. This will include complaints about:

• The conduct of group members of Belper Refugee Welcome

• The quality of the support received

• Other service providers (for example: relating to accommodation, interpreters, medical or English Language tuition providers)

 

Who can make a complaint?

Complaints may come from any member of the resettled family placed in the care of Belper Refugee Welcome or a group member. A complaint may be received verbally, phone, email or in writing.

Resettled families will be made aware of this policy and it will be made available to them in their home language, both written and verbally.

 

 

 

 

How are details of a complaint handled?

Confidentiality

All complaint information will be handled sensitively, with care and ensuring confidentiality.

 

Responsibility

Overall responsibility for this policy, its implementation and review, lies with the Core Group.

 

 

How should a complaint be made?

 

A complaint should be made at the earliest opportunity by speaking directly or emailing the Complaints Officer. Arrangements may need to be made for the verbal recording of complaints which can then, if necessary, be transcribed by an interpreter

 

 

 

Email Address

belperrefugeewelcome@yahoo.com

 

 

If this is not possible or is inappropriate to do so due to the nature of the complaint, the complainant should contact Hannah Feldman at Sponsor Refugees.

For example: if a complaint is made about the Group’s Project Lead or Designated Safeguarding Lead (or their deputies), then Hannah Feldman at Sponsor Refugees should be informed in order that she can investigate.

 

Telephone

Hannah – 07495 630621

Email Address

Hannah.feldman@citizensuk.org and whistleblowing@citizensuk.org

 

Address

Hannah Feldman Citizens UK, 136 Cavell Street, London, E1 2JA

 

How should a complaint be responded to?

Complaints received verbally or by telephone should be written down immediately, and a secure record kept.

The Complaints Form will be used to record all complaints and show steps taken later, following the first contact.

 

The person receiving the complaint should:

 

• Record the complainant’s name, address and contact telephone number

• Write down the facts of the complaint

• Remind the complainant of the complaints procedure

• Advise the complainant what will happen next and give an idea of timescales

• If possible, and where appropriate, ask the complainant to follow up by providing a written account of the complaint in their own words

 

Looking into a complaint

 

 

 

1. In the first instance it may be possible, if appropriate, that a complaint can be dealt with by the person receiving the complaint. If not, then the complaint should be referred to the Complaints Officer.

 

1. On receiving the complaint, the Complaints Officer records it in the complaints log. They will delegate an appropriate member of the Core Group to investigate it.

 

1. Complaints should be acknowledged by the person handling the complaint within two working days. The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint, give their contact details, and when the person complaining can expect a reply. A copy of this complaints procedure should be attached

 

1. If the complaint relates to a specific person, that person should be informed and given a fair and timely opportunity to respond as part of any investigation.

 

1. Ideally complainants should receive a definitive written reply within 10 working days. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

 

1. The reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the findings.

 

 

Responding to an escalated complaint

If the complainant feels their complaint has not been satisfactorily resolved following the initial investigation, they can request it is escalated.

 

At this stage, the complaint will be passed to Sponsor Refugees (Citizens UK). The request for escalation should be made to Jonathan Cox , who is the designated person: jonathan.cox@citizenswales.org.uk, and whistleblowing@citizensuk.org. This should be acknowledged within two working days of receiving it.

 

The designated person should acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing and advise the complainant how their appeal will be handled.

 

The designated person may investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person to do so. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the initial complaint.

 

The same process outlined above, ( 1-5), should be followed.

 

Any individuals who dealt with the original complaint should be kept informed and given ample opportunity to explain the reasons for the original decision.

 

The decision taken at this stage is final, unless it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution from an external organisation, such as Reset.

 

 

Variation of the Complaints Procedure

Sponsor Refugees (Citizens UK) may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about a person who is responsible for reviewing a complaint.

 

 

Monitoring and Learning from Complaints

Complaints are reviewed quarterly by the Complaints Officer and Project Lead in order to identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action. We need to know what we have learnt from complaints and what we might need to do to improve

 

Language Translation

A copy of this complaints policy is made available to the resettled family in their own first language. This will be included as part of their welcome pack provided on their arrival at their new home. An interpreter will also explain this policy verbally to the family.

 

Translation into the appropriate language is also provided, as necessary, both for the complaint itself and for subsequent communications during the complaint process, including the final response.

 

Who is responsible for this policy?

Overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation lies with Core Group members of Belper Refugee Welcome, and Sponsor Refugees.

 

 

This policy is reviewed annually and updated as required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix A: Complaints Form

 

You are more than welcome to make the complaint in Arabic if this makes it easier for you. This form is to help you and us have a record of what the problem is and when it happened.

 

Name of person(s) making the complaint

 

 

Todays date

Your address and email:

 

 

 

Your phone number:

 

Reason for complaint:

 

• What the problem is and when it happened

• Thinking about who, what, when and where might help you to explain this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please continue on another sheet of paper if you need to.

 

 

 

Appendix B

 

Complaints Log

 

To be completed by the Belper Refugee member looking into the complaint

 

 

Person receiving the complaint:

Date complaint received:

 

 

Steps taken to investigate the complaint, time frame, feedback and learnings (please include date in each entry):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date complaint resolved: