Complaints Policy

Last Updated: 02 January 2022

Updated by Sarah Hayford

STATEMENT

The Land Collective CIC is committed to fostering a comfortable, respectful, and inclusive working environment for everyone. One of the ways in which we can continue to improve this is by listening and responding to the views of our staff, and in particular by responding positively to complaints, and by putting mistakes right.

Therefore, we aim to ensure that:

• We treat a complaint as a clear expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for an immediate response;
• We deal with it promptly, politely and, when appropriate, confidentially;
• We respond in the right way – for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have got things wrong, or information on any action taken etc;
• We learn from complaints, use them to improve our working environment, practices, and review annually our complaints policy and procedures.

The Land Collective CIC recognise that many concerns will be raised informally and dealt with quickly. Our aims are to resolve informal concerns quickly and to enable mediation between the person and ourselves. An informal approach is appropriate when it can be achieved.  But if concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved informally, then the formal complaints procedure should be followed.

DEFINITIONS

We define a complaint as ‘any expression of dissatisfaction that relates to us (as an organisation and/or with a member of staff) and that requires a formal response. The formal complaints procedure is intended to ensure that all complaints are handled fairly, consistently and wherever possible resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction.

Our responsibility will be to:

• acknowledge the formal complaint in writing;
• respond within a stated period of time;
• deal reasonably and sensitively with the complaint;
• take action where appropriate.

A complainant’s responsibility is to:

• bring their complaint, in writing, to our attention normally within 1 week of the issue arising;
• raise concerns promptly and directly with a member of staff;
• explain the problem as clearly and as fully as possible, including any action taken to date by us;
• allow a reasonable time to deal with the matter;
• recognise that some circumstances may be beyond our control.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Except in exceptional circumstances, every attempt will be made to ensure that both us and the complainant maintain confidentiality. However, the circumstances giving rise to the complaint may be such that it may not be possible to maintain confidentiality (with each complaint judged individually).  Should this be the case, the situation will be explained to the complainant.

Formal Complaints Procedure

Stage 1

In the first instance, if you are unable to resolve the issue informally, you should write to The Land Collective CIC via email. If your complaint concerns another member of staff, you should write formally to us stating the name of the individual concerned.

In your letter, you should set out the details of your complaint, the consequences for you as a result, and the remedy you are seeking. You can expect your complaint to be acknowledged within 7 working days of receipt.

Stage 2

If you are not satisfied with the initial response to the complaint then you can write to us asking for your complaint and the response to be reviewed. You can expect us to acknowledge your request and formulate a response within 15 workings days.

Our aim is to resolve all matters as quickly as possible. However, inevitably some issues will be more complex and therefore may require longer to be fully investigated. Consequently, timescales given for handling and responding to complaints are indicative. If a matter requires a more detailed investigation, you will receive an interim response describing what is being done to deal with the matter, when a full reply can be expected and from whom.

Final Stage

If you are not satisfied with the subsequent reply, then you have the option of writing to the Board of the organisation, stating the reason why you are dissatisfied with the outcome. You must do this within 10 days of receiving the written response.

The Chief Executive will respond normally within 20 working days to inform you of the action which will be taken to investigate your complaint, and when you can expect to hear the outcome of the investigation.

All Complaints to Be Sent in Strict Confidence to:

complaints@thelandcollective.com