Complaints procedure

Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is not a large scale provider of direct services, but does interact with external agencies and individuals on a regular basis. We aim to treat everyone that we deal with in a consistent, fair and transparent manner and with courtesy, but there may be occasions when we fall short of this aspiration. If you are unhappy with your contact with JRF, we want to hear about it so that, with your feedback, we can improve our performance.

Complaints should be distinguished from criticisms or disagreements with JRF decisions.

In receiving a complaint we will aim to:

• Deal with your complaint quickly
• Handle it fairly and politely
• Look into it fully
• Resolve the problem where possible

We hope that most problems can be resolved informally with your usual JRF contact. If, however, you are unhappy then you can use our complaints procedure as follows:

Stage 1

All complaints will be referred to the Deputy Director, who is the JRF Complaints Co-ordinator and who can be contacted by letter, telephone or email. The contact details are given at the end of this document.

What can you expect from us:

• We will send you a letter telling you that we are looking into your complaint. You will get this letter within 2 working days of us receiving your complaint. We will tell you:
• When you can expect a full reply
• The name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint
• We aim to give a full reply within 10 working days. Usually we can do this but if your complaint is complicated, it may take longer. If this happens, we will let you know within 10 working days explaining:
• Why a full reply will take longer
• What we are doing to deal with your complaint
• When you can expect an answer
• If we agree that you had a good reason to complain, we will apologise and try to put things right as soon as we can. If we disagree or cannot put things right, we will tell you why.

Stage 2

If you are not happy with our reply, please contact the Deputy Director. You should explain why you are not happy with our reply and what action you think we should take.

What can you expect from us:

• We will ask a more senior member of staff to take a fresh look at the complaint and carry out an investigation. We will write to you with the results of the investigation within 15 working days.
• If the nominated member of staff thinks you had good reason to complain, we will apologise and take action to put things right as soon as possible. If the nominated member of staff disagrees or we cannot put things right, we will tell you why.

Stage 3

If you are not happy with the reply at stage 2, please contact the Deputy Director. You should explain why you are not happy with our reply and what action you think we should take.

What can you expect from us:

• We will arrange a meeting of a Review Panel to look at your complaint. We will invite you to this meeting and you may bring along a friend or advocate for support. There will be three members of the Review Panel:
• The Chair of the appropriate Committee, who will usually be a Trustee
• An external member of the appropriate Committee
• A Director from JRF who has had no previous dealings with your complaint
• The Chair of the Review Panel will write to you with the decision of the Review Panel within 10 working days of the meeting.
• If the Panel thinks you had good reason to complain, the Chair will apologise and take action to put things right as soon as possible. If the Panel disagrees or we cannot put things right, the Chair will tell you why.
• A confidential report about your complaint and the Review Panel decision will be presented to the next meeting of the appropriate Committee.

Redress

In most cases we hope that the complaint is resolved to the complainant's satisfaction by a sincere apology and remedial action. However, where the complainant has been caused excessive worry, distress or other inconvenience, remedy may be appropriate. The form and level of remedy will be determined by the Deputy Director.

Persistent complaints

We reserve the right to refuse to deal with complaints that are pursued in an unreasonable way.

Charity Commission

JRF is regulated by the Charity Commission. The following guidance has been provided by the Commission:

"The Commission's powers of intervention are specifically designed for use in the circumstances where there is some grave, general risk to a charity's interests and are designed principally to protect the charity and its assets. Complaints that the Commission will take up as regulator are, generally speaking, ones where there is a serious risk of significant harm or abuse to the charity, its assets, beneficiaries or reputation; where the use of the Commission's powers of intervention is necessary to protect them; and where this represents a proportionate response to the issues in the case."

For further details on the complaints that the Charity Commission may consider please refer to their website charity-commission.gov.uk.

Contacts

Michael.Sturge@jrf.org.uk