BCCP - Complaints Policy

Bradford City Centre Project

Our Policies

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Statement
We aim to provide a service of a standard acceptable to all users of the Project. If we fail to do this we want to know about it. This will help us not only to deal with the specific problems, but also to avoid it happening again.
Introduction
This policy sets out the procedures we will follow when we receive a complaint from young people, an organisation or member of the public. If does not address complaints made by staff or volunteers (dealt with through disciplinary and grievance procedures) nor job applicants (recruitment procedure).
This procedure is meant to provide a way to resolve a dispute between the Project and any complainant. It requires workers and/or management committee members at every stage to attempt to resolve the complaint. Complaints are likely to be in one or more of the following areas.
- dissatisfaction with our service, such as poor advice, unacceptable delay or failure to deliver a service
- disputes between the young person and the organisation regarding policy, procedures or activities
- discourtesy or unhelpfulness on the part of the workers/volunteers
The Procedure
When someone wishes to make a complaint, the following procedure should be used. Where the complaint is against the Team Leader, the same procedure will be followed, but with the Director substituting for the Team Leader's role at Stage 1 and a member of the Staffing Sub-Committee substituting for the Director at Stage 2 and 3. Where the complaint is about the Director, the same procedure will be followed, but with a member of the Staffing Sub-Committee substituting for the Director's role at all Stages.
At all stages of this process you have the right to have another person (someone who is not involved with the complaint) with you for support or to speak on your behalf.
Preliminary Stage : Talk to one of the workers first of all who will see if it is possible to resolve the complaint informally. If not, or if you don't feel safe to do this (if the complaint is about one of the workers for example) then refer to Stage 1 below.

Stage 1 : You can either speak to or put your complaint in writing to the Team Leader. The team Leader will wish to discuss your complaint with you and all the other parties concerned, and will then try to resolve the matter. This meeting will take place and a decision reached within 5 working days. After investigation if the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction you can request that your complaint be referred to Stage 2 below. (If a meeting is arranged and the complainant does not attend or make contact, within 5 days of making the complaint, to re-arrange the meeting, it will be assumed that the complainant does not wish to proceed).

Stage 2 : You can then ask for your complaint to be passed to the Project Director who will investigate the matter and attempt to resolve it. The Director will ensure that all complainants receive a response in writing within 10 working days of the complaint being received. This letter will summarise what investigations have been carried out and what action, if any, is proposed to resolve the matter.
If you are not satisfied at this Stage then you can ask for the matter to be dealt with under Stage 3.

Stage 3 : The Director will refer your complaint to the member of the Management Committee responsible for dealing with complaints, i.e. the Chair or the Complaints Officer. They will review the decision made at Stage 2 and may seek further clarification from anyone involved. They will notify the complainant of their reasons and decision within 15 working days of the issue being brought to the Management Committees attention.
Recording and Monitoring Complaints
All complaints will be recorded and kept on file, including those dealt with informally during the preliminary stage. All complaints shall be treated with regard to the Confidentiality Policy. The Director will make a report once a year to the Management Committee summarising the nature of the complaints received and how they were resolved.
Publicising the procedure
Team Leaders are responsible for ensuring posters and leaflets which welcome complaints from users of the Project and explain the procedure are displayed throughout the Project.
Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Procedures
All Management Committee members will receive a copy of the complaints procedure.
Existing and new workers will be introduced to the complaints procedure via induction and training. The procedure will be reviewed annually and amendments will be proposed and agreed by the Management Committee.