Complaints policy

Kinship aims to provide high quality services and to adopt a professional approach in all that we do.

We are constantly working to ensure the services we provide and the work that we do best meets the needs and responds to the concerns of our client group. If you believe you have not received the level of consideration and information you expect, please tell us. Your complaint gives us useful feedback about where you think we are going wrong, and also what you think of us. We will take your complaint seriously and will investigate so we can respond appropriately to you and learn and improve our service.

Principles

A complaint for the purpose of this policy is an expression of dissatisfaction about the organisation or a service, whether it is found to be justified or not.

Our policy covers complaints about:

• Kinship activity
• the services we provide
• the conduct of our staff

Our complaints policy does not cover:

• matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaints procedure
• anonymous complaints
• All complaints will be dealt with in line with our Confidentiality and Equal Opportunities policies.
• We will not investigate complaints raised more than three months after the initial contact unless there are exceptional circumstances as to why the complaint could not have been brought forward within this timescale.

The following will tell you:

• How to make a complaint
• How we will deal with your complaint
• What to do if you remain dissatisfied

How to complain

In the first instance you may wish to raise your concerns informally with the staff member you are dissatisfied with and ask them to explain their actions. You may also ask to speak to their manager and if one is available at the time we will try to accommodate your request.

If you remain dissatisfied,

• if the complaint relates to a training event or workshop, please use our training and support enquiry form
• if the complaint is about anything else, you can make a formal complaint in writing addressed to the Chief Executive. Please include your name and a contact number or address so that we may respond to you

To help us deal with your complaint effectively you should include details of what the problem is, how it occurred, how it has affected you and what you consider we should now do to put the matter right or prevent it happening again.

To complain by email/post

Please email our Chief Executive, Lucy Peake at complaints@kinship.org.uk with all the details listed above and write “complaint” in the subject box or alternatively, send in your complaint to the aforementioned at Kinship, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR.

How will you deal with my complaint?

Complaints often differ in nature and complexity and in dealing with any complaints made in accordance with the complaints procedure we will seek to apply three basic principles:

• To investigate as quickly and impartially as possible.
• To provide you with a full response outlining the findings of the investigation and wherever possible resolving the matter to your satisfaction.
• To keep the steps of the complaints procedure, as set out below, separate from each other.

What are the steps of the complaints procedure?

We will acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days of its receipt via the medium of your choice.

The Chief Executive will investigate the complaint by speaking to the member of staff who took the call or who dealt with the query by email and if necessary other members of staff who were working at the time. They may also check any record kept of the initial enquiry.

Having spoken to all relevant parties, the Chief Executive will respond to the complainant within 28 days using the complainant’s preferred means of communication. If we need longer to investigate the complaint the complainant will be contacted within 14 working days of receipt of the complaint and notified.

The response may include the following depending on the circumstances and investigation findings.

• An explanation and apology
• An indication of changes made as a result of the complaint
• Notification of any disciplinary action taken against the employee

What if I am still not satisfied?

If you feel that the situation has not been satisfactorily dealt with, the final appeal may go to the Chairs of Trustees. They can be contacted by the same means as above.

The Chair will investigate and respond to the complaint within 21 days; if they cannot respond within this timescale the complainant will be notified.

There will be no further opportunity to appeal against the Chair’s decision.

If the complainant wishes to complain about a separate issue they must follow the complaints procedure from the initial stages as outlined above.

Details of complaints are kept on file for twelve months however any identifiable information on the records will be destroyed six months after the resolution of the complaint.