Scope

Home-Start Conwy ("Home-Start")  aims to provide a high-quality, responsive service. Home-Start welcomes every opportunity to monitor and improve the services Home-Start provides and having a ‘complaints policy' and a clear procedure for resolving complaints is one way of doing this.

This policy covers complaints relating to the service provided by Home-Start.

Complimenting our service

Compliments are valuable, welcome and important and when they are received, either verbally or in writing, they will be recorded. Compliments enable us to:

• understand that our service is being provided to the satisfaction of all third parties
• provide positive feedback to our staff
• influence our organisational and service development
• inform our quality assurance programme

It is good practice to acknowledge any compliments received.

Complaining about our service

Home-Start recognises that there will be times when mistakes are made and/or occasions when members of staff get things wrong. In order to learn from such mistakes the Board of Trustees needs to know about these mistakes and encourage people to comment or complain.

Such comments or complaints will always be taken seriously, recorded or responded to as set out in the procedure ("The Complaints Procedure"), which forms part of this policy. Home-Start recognises that lessons can be learned from  mistakes and improvements made to services from the learning Home-Start captures in the process.

Resolving Complaints

Stage 1

Home-Start hopes the majority of complaints can be resolved informally by speaking directly to the person or persons involved. However, if this does not prove possible, Stage 2 is available to support complainants. 

You can contact our office by telephone on 01492 515477. An answer machine service is available should you need someone to call you back.

If it has not been possible to resolve your complaint at Stage 1, please move to Stage 2.

Stage 2

Home-Start takes all complaints seriously and aims to resolve complaints quickly, fairly and effectively. Home-Start promises to deal with your complaint sensitively.

Home-Start asks all complainants to put their complaint in writing and post this, marked Private & Confidential, to:-

Home-Start Conwy

The Lavender Centre
Tan Lan Community Centre
Tan y Lan Road
Old Colwyn
Colwyn Bay
LL29 9BB

or email us at

info@homestartconwy.org

Please see The Complaints Procedure below to understand the process following receipt of the complaint, or if you continue to have concerns and you want to ask Home-Start to review your complaint.

Monitoring of Complaints

All complaints will be recorded regardless of whether or not the complaint was meritorious. This is to enable Home-Start to analyse the complaint to determine what actually happened or what could potentially have happened arising out of the issues of which the complaint was made.

Complaints will be tracked by the Senior Worker and a report will be prepared by the member of staff responsible for concluding the complaint providing an overview of the complaint and how it was resolved. The report will also set out the findings and recommendations for measures to be taken to prevent further complaints of this nature or to improve/adapt/adjust our services to minimise the likelihood of any further complaints.

Quarterly reviews of any complaints received will be carried out to identify any emergent trends or patterns. If patterns or trends do emerge, this will be recorded and will be considered by the Senior Worker. Measures will be identified to prevent further complaints or minimise the likelihood of such complaints and to continually improve our services. This may include, but is not limited to, adapting paperwork and procedures and carrying out additional training.

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THE COMPLAINTS POLICY STATEMENT

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Home-Start is committed to developing the quality of its services. The Complaints Procedure enables referrers, other stakeholders (e.g. volunteers) and families being supported by Home-Start to make complaints about the service and to have their complaints considered. 

A complaint, in the context of The Complaints Procedure, means: ‘the expression of dissatisfaction with the service provided and the wish to have that dissatisfaction recorded and/or considered for improvement of the service and for the removal of dissatisfaction’.

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THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

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Who this procedure does not relate to

1. Employees of Home-Start: The Complaints Procedure is separate and distinct from the Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures ("The Disciplinary Procedure"), which enables employees to raise grievances in connection with their condition of employment and other employment-related matters. 
2. The Disciplinary Procedure: is used by the employer when an employee may be in breach of the terms of employment. However, an investigation of complaints may lead to disciplinary issues.

Responsibility of staff and volunteers 

Home-Start staff and volunteers need to be sensitive and helpful to the complainant, and those acting on their behalf, who express a concern. This is part of Home-Start’s commitment to a high quality service. Staff should give information about The Complaints Procedure and help complainants to understand and use it.

Staff and volunteers must advise anyone who feels that they may have been subject to any discrimination and that they also have the right to use the provisions of the Equality Act 2010. There should be no delay in giving this information since there is a three month time limit for making a submission for a claim under the Act. However, it is up to the person concerned to decide whether to use that process and it is advisable for them to take specialist advice before proceeding.

The Senior Worker is responsible for ensuring the smooth working of The Complaints Procedure.

If a complaint is related to the Senior Manager, a designated Trustee will be the main point of contact until after an investigation is complete.

Time Frame and Recording Requirements

• Anyone wishing to make a complaint will be informed about The Complaints Procedure and will be sent a Complaint Form (Appendix 1).
• If a letter of complaint has been received, this will be attached to the Complaint Form.

      2.  

• All complaints received will be acknowledged within 5 working days and a copy sent to the chair of the trustee board ("The Chair of Trustees").
• All complaints will be recorded on the Complaints Record Form (Appendix 2) and retained.

      3.

• The Chair of Trustees will consider the complaint and respond to the complainant.

      4.

• If the complainant is not satisfied with the response, an investigation will take place, normally within 15 working days of the complaint being acknowledged.
• The timescale of resolving the complaint will be confirmed to the complainant. (Trustees should aim to provide a response within 25 working days).

      5.

• Result of investigation sent to complainant and recorded on the (?) (Appendix 3).

      6.

• All complaints received should be reported to the full board of trustees.
   

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You can download a copy of The Complaints Procedure here