COMPLAINTS AND COMMENTS POLICY

Scope of policy

Encompass is committed to providing an efficient service for its customers. In order to achieve this, the charity keeps up to date with technology and employs competent, dedicated staff.

We welcome constructive feedback from all our clients, beneficiaries and external individuals. Internal complaints should be dealt with through the grievance procedure.

We also welcome comments or feedback. Please send these to info@encompasscharity.org.uk.We recognise that unfortunately, there may be occasions where we will fall below our own high standards and we recognise the concern this can cause and have implemented a procedure designed to minimise the inconvenience to our customers.

Definition

Feedback is a positive or negative comment, or a more formalised complaint, from a Stakeholder or service user and this policy therefore distinguishes between two types of external feedback: (a) comment; and (b) complaint.

• A comment is an expression of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, or a suggestion for improvement
• A complaint is a more formal claim that Encompass has failed to meet an organisational commitment.

The procedures for dealing with comments and complaints differ as follows:

• A comment is acknowledged (in writing or orally), is recorded, and is used to help the organisation to learn
• A complaint prompts a more formal process aiming for resolution. A complaint requires an investigation, followed by a formal response to the person making the complaint.

Investigating a complaint uses Encompass’s limited resources, so we expect the person who is making the complaint to:

• provide as much information as possible.
• be willing to be contacted and engage in the complaints process, if   necessary.
• understand that making a complaint triggers a more formal process than a comment which simply expresses a point of view or criticises our work.

Process

It is the policy of the charity that all complaints are taken seriously and are dealt with in a uniform way and that the individual receives a first acknowledgement from the recipient of the complaint (normally a member of staff) within 2 working days. The complaint will be dealt with in a confidential manner.

A proposed resolution and/or response to the complaint should be issued to the customer within 30 working days. If for any reason there is an unavoidable delay in issuing a response to the complaint, the customer must be informed, and a new deadline issued/agreed.

All complaints will be dealt with by a designated person so that the individual raising the complaint has a definite point of contact. All complainants can contact this designated person if they have any questions or queries or if they wish to enquire about the progress of the complaint.

Should any customer be dissatisfied with the handling of a compliant at any time, they should inform the designated person who can determine the most appropriate person to respond.

If you are still dissatisfied having followed all the stages as above, you should write to:

FAO The Chair of the Board

Encompass

19-21 Church Street

Rushden

NN109YU