Wonder Women CiC Complaints Policy

1.1 Wonder Women CiC believes that effective investigation of complaints and learning from these are an important part of achieving high quality work. Wonder Women CiC is committed to ensuring that its work is of the highest quality.

1.2 This policy and procedure sets out the arrangements which Wonder Women CiC has for the investigation and resolution of complaints, and for learning from these.

2. Definition- What is a complaint?

Wonder Women CiC welcomes comments and suggestions about how it can improve its work. Indeed, Wonder Women CiC receives many comments and suggestions about its work, including its position on various issues. These comments may sometimes be critical. When these are heard or received, they should ordinarily be responded to in a polite and constructive manner. These would not ordinarily be considered as a complaint, unless the person making the comment or suggestion indicated they wish it to be treated as such. Where a suggestion is made, or where the comment may be especially critical this should always be discussed with a manager, or advisory member, to help to determine whether the critical comment is a complaint, and whether the policy should be acted upon.

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, either written or spoken. A complaint can be made by an individual or a group. People may wish to complain if they are not satisfied with the way they have been treated or with the service they have received from Wonder Women CiC.

Examples of complaints could include dissatisfaction with any aspect of the organisation’s work, including the mentoring programme, a podcast, a Wonder Women CiC live event, online activity, a partner linked to Women Women CiC or an event or incident on Wonder Women CiC premises, or an event space they use.

Most straightforward complaints will be able to be addressed immediately in conversation, by email, or by using social media at the time at which the complaint is made, wherever appropriate using the same medium of communication as used by the complainant.

It is important to bear in mind that the seriousness of a complaint will be specific to the individual (indeed different complainants may take a different view about the seriousness of the same issue of complaint), and all complaints should therefore, be treated by Wonder Women CiC as serious and requiring resolution. The large part of this policy & procedure describes the steps to be taken when a complaint can’t be addressed immediately and straightforwardly.

Wonder Women CiC will also often receive compliments and thanks for its work. These should also be acknowledged immediately and forward to the project lead, so that they can be tracked, and where indicated, acted upon.

3. Principles of Wonder Women CiC's complaints policy and procedure

3.1 The following principles are used:

· Wonder Women CiC recognises that compliments and complaints are an important part of customer feedback

· The procedure is fair to people using services or experiencing Wonder Women CiC’s work, complainants and to staff involved with Wonder Women CiC

· The procedure is accessible to all regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, belief or sexual orientation

· Making a complaint will not harm or prejudice the service that is given to the complainant

· Concerns and complaints are dealt with efficiently and are properly investigated

· Complainants are treated with respect and courtesy and receive appropriate support throughout the handling of the complaint

· Complainants receive a timely and appropriate response, identifying the outcome of any investigation, wherever possible

· Action is taken where necessary in the light of the outcome of the complaint

· Learning from complaints will be used to improve Wonder Women CiC’s work

· If the complainant is not happy with the result of the response to the complaint, she or he will have the right to appeal

3.2 In line with these, in responding to complaints, Wonder Women CiC will

· Provide a thorough explanation

· Accept shortcomings and apologise where appropriate

· Identify actions and reduce the risk or re-occurrence

4. Who can make a complaint?

4.1 This procedure is for members of the public who have received a service from Wonder Women CiC, or have experienced any aspect of Wonder Women CiC’s work. It is also for any partner organisation who are dissatisfied with Wonder Women CiC’s work.

4.2 This procedure does not cover complaints made by Wonder Women CiC staff, volunteers and trustees who need to follow agreed grievance, disciplinary or reporting a matter of concern (Whistleblowing) policies.

5. Section A - Complaints about Wonder Women CiC: Wonder Women CiC’s Three stage process

5.1 If a complaint is about Wonder Women CiC then there are three stages which can be used to try and resolve the problem. Complainants may wish to involve an advocate, friend or someone else to support you at any stage. If a complainant needs a sign language or community language interpreter, please let the person dealing with the complaint know and every reasonable effort will be made to provide it.

The three stages are:

5.2 Stage One (Informal)

Most complaints are dealt with informally by managers, or in the absence of managers, by the CEO. This is the most appropriate route for most concerns and issues especially those that do not indicate serious misconduct and where the complainant agrees.

Complainants should be encouraged to speak openly about their concerns and reassured that what they say will be treated with appropriate confidence and will not affect their care and treatment.

The response should aim to satisfy the complainant that his/her/their concerns have been taken seriously and an apology and explanation offered as appropriate. The response should also refer to any remedial action that is to be taken.

To make an informal complaint a person should speak to or email the individual(s) concerned and try to resolve the complaint informally. The individual concerned is required to provide their name and that of their line manager if asked by the Complainant. (If the complaint names the CEO, the complaint should be referred to Board Director of the Wonder Women CiC Board.)

It is also possible, at any point, to contact the Chief Executive Officer to express

a concern or comment about any aspect of the organisation’s work.

There may be occasions when social media is used, e.g. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitter to make a complaint or allegations about Wonder Women CiC. In such circumstance these should be responded to immediately to the Chief Executive Officer who will liaise with the Board of Wonder Women CiC, with the aim of resolving the issue as quickly as possible, and minimising the likelihood of the concern being communicated more widely on social media. Given the reputational risk to Wonder Women CiC of adverse social media commentary, except only in the most serious instances, complaints should aim to be addressed much more rapidly than the time standards set out in this policy.

Prompt and effective resolution of a social media complaint can reflect positively

on Wonder Women CiC.

5.3 Stage Two (Formally registering a complaint)

If a complainant is not satisfied with the response they have received at Stage One (informal), or would prefer their complaint to be formally investigated, they should then use Stage Two of this procedure. The following arrangements are in place for Stage Two complaints.

A) Complainants can outline the details of their complaint via email at hello@wonderwomentv.com

If preferred, they can register a formal complaint by talking to a member of the Board, who will pass to the CEO and arrange for it to be investigated. For verbal complaints, the person taking the complaint should, whenever possible, receive the details using a complaint proforma, attached at Appendix One. If a complaint is about the CEO then it should be addressed to the Board Director (marked private and confidential).

All complaints will be acknowledged by the person to whom they have

complained/been directed to, or by the CEO’s office in writing (by email) letter within three working days from the date it is received. The letter will contain the following information:

· Name, email address, telephone number of the person who will investigate the complaint.

· The date the investigation will start.

· An offer of support where appropriate

· Where a complainant has given the details of the complaint verbally, the letter will also include a summary of the complaint written down

Consent to access information about a person using a service for the purpose of investigating a complaint is implied when the complaint is raised by the same person. Confirmation of this should be included within the initial acknowledgement response letter. A draft proforma letter is attached at Appendix Two.

B) People will ordinarily receive a full response to their complaint within a maximum of 20 working days from the date of the acknowledgement letter in writing from the Board Director or CEO. The response will include the following information:

· Details of the investigation and what has been found

· A decision about whether the complaint was upheld or not

· Details of the changes Wonder Women CiC will make to prevent a recurrence of the issue/s which led to the complaint

· The reason for the decision

· The redress, if appropriate, which will be offered e.g. an apology, additional help or directing to other sources of advice or support

· If it is not possible to provide a full answer to a complaint within 20 working days, the investigating person will, in any event, write at 20 working days to

provide a progress report explaining the reasons for delay and give a date of when it is expected the investigation will be completed

5.4 Stage Three (Appeal)

A) If a complainant is not satisfied with the response to their complaint, the final stage is to outline the reasons for dissatisfaction in writing or electronically to the CEO (or the Board Director if it is about the CEO).

B) An Appeals Panel, normally of three members, including a Board member, will be convened to consider your appeal. The CEO or Board Director will be responsible for ensuring the panel is appropriately representative. Panel membership will be restricted to people who have had no previous involvement in the complaint.

C) Members of the Appeals Panel will:

· Read through the necessary papers

· Speak with relevant individuals involved with the complaint

· Make a final decision

D) The chair of the Appeals Panel will write within 30 working days of receiving the appeal, to confirm:

· The final decision about the complaint

· The reason for the decision

· The redress, if appropriate, which will be offered e.g. an apology, additional help or signposting to other sources of advice or support

· Details of the changes we will make to prevent a recurrence of the issues which led to this complaint

· Any action that may be taken in light of the complaint

5.5 Review of the process

A) If once a person has used stages one to three of the complaints procedure, and are not satisfied that Wonder Women CiC has followed the process properly and dealt with their complaint fairly (e.g. by giving insufficient opportunity to represent their views or ensuring all the relevant people are involved in the investigation), then they can outline the reasons for their dissatisfaction about the process, in writing or electronically to the CEO (or the Board Director if it is about the CEO) to request a review of the complaints handling process.

B) The CEO or the Board Director will make arrangements for a review of the complaint- handling process, and will inform you of how the review will be carried out.

C) The decision of the process review will be final. The Board Director or CEO will communicate in writing within 30 working days of receiving your appeal:

· Whether or not the procedure has been followed properly and fairly

· The reason for the decision

· The redress, if appropriate, which will be offered e.g. an apology, additional help or directing to other sources of advice or support

· What action may be taken in light of the review

6. Complaints monitoring, investigation and learning

6.1 Recording complaints

All Stage Two complaints about Wonder Women CiC’s work will be recorded in a single complaints register as soon as they are received. This will be held by the CEO and Board Director and will include:

· Date received and unique reference number

· Contact details of the person making the complaint

· Details of the complaint

· Investigating officer

· Dates by which initial and final correspondence is due to be sent

· Copies of all documentation, including complaint letter, investigation Report, correspondence with the person making the complaint

· Details of the whether the complaint is upheld

6.2 Investigating Complaints

All investigations will seek to:

· Identify and understand the circumstances which led to the complaint being made

· The steps which could be taken to prevent a reoccurrence of any such circumstances

· Preserve the confidentiality of the complainant other than where strictly needed for the purposes of investigation

· Present the outcome clearly and logically in writing, addressing each aspect of the complaint

· To establish whether to uphold a complaint (in full or in part) or not

All responses will be from the person who received the complaint, and reviewed with CEO, ahead of being sent, to ensure corporate consistency of response.

6.3 Complaints Review and Reporting

All Stage Two complaints will be reviewed bi-annually by the CEO and Board. A summary of the complaints, all anonymised, will be reviewed by the Board bi- annually.

The purpose of this monitoring is to:

· ensure Wonder Women CiC’s standards for complaints management are met

· identify at an early stage key themes/trends

· review any learning and ensure practice is changed where necessary to reflect this

6.4 Incident management and Investigation

Throughout the complaints process, the investigating peson will be responsible for identifying whether there is a need to register any aspect of the complaint as an incident, e.g. where a complaint originated from a Wonder Women CiC Policy not

being followed. In such circumstances, it should also be recorded as an incident using the Incident Reporting form.

6.5 Disciplinary procedures

The purpose of the complaints procedure is to identify where things may have gone wrong not to apportion blame. However some complaints may identify information about serious matters which indicate the need for disciplinary investigation. In such cases, Wonder Women CiC’s Disciplinary policy would also apply and relevant papers that have been gathered during the investigation of the complaint may be used to consider whether disciplinary action is required. A complaint may be investigated even if disciplinary action is being considered.

However, the two procedures will remain separate.

Wonder Women CiC would ordinarily not disclose details of disciplinary action that has taken place as a result of the complaint to the complainant, bearing in mind the rights of indiviiduals to confidentiality.

6.6 Complaints from staff or volunteers

Staff who have complaints about other staff or the organisations work should take forward their concerns using Wonder Women CiC’s policies/procedures for either:

· Grievance

· Bullying and Harassment

· Whistleblowing Policy

7. Responsibilities

7.1 Board Director

· Accountable for Wonder Women CiC’s complaints arrangements with the Board, taking a view on the quality of those arrangements and the outcomes they

produce, including how people’s experiences are used to inform service improvement

7.2 Chief Executive Officer

· Executive lead for complaints management

· Provides assurance to the Board on compliance with Complaints process

· Ensures effective systems are in place for the management of complaints

· Oversees the investigation of complaints and appointment of the Investigating person, the completion of a response and subsequent action plan

· Undertakes a regular review of all ‘active’ complaints

· Ensures safeguarding processes & incident reporting arrangements are in place where necessary

7.3 CEO/Managers/Staff/Volunteers managing any investigations

· Acknowledge complaints made to them relating to the people they line manage/work with as partners

· Undertake (either directly or via delegation) the investigation of any complaints in relation to people they manage/partner with

· Preparation of final responses

7.4 All Staff/Volunteers

All staff and volunteers have a responsibility to be aware of and comply with Wonder Women CiC’s Complaints Policy and Procedure. In following this procedure all staff and volunteers should ensure that:

· All complainants are listened to and treated with respect and courtesy at all times

· Where possible verbal complaints are constructively resolved at team level, making sure that complainants receive a full response with an apology where appropriate

· Refer letters of complaint immediately to the CEO

7.5 Dealing with media interest

Any media interest in a complaint should be immediately referred to the Chief Executive Officer, or in their absence, the Board Director