Complaints Policy & Procedure

1. Statement of Intent

HENRY hopes and expects everyone participating in HENRY activities of any kind will have an enjoyable and enriching experience. HENRY takes seriously any discomfort or dissatisfaction from anyone accessing any HENRY services or activities. Although many services and activities carry the HENRY name, logo and brand, not all services are delivered directly by HENRY. Some services or activities are delivered under licence by other bodies such as local authorities, NHS trusts, charitable organisations, or other third party providers. HENRY’s complaints procedure differs depending on whether it is a directly delivered activity or service, or one delivered under licence.

2. Principles

2.1 HENRY will investigate all complaints of any nature.

2.2 HENRY will endeavour to establish the precise circumstances leading to any complaint.

2.3 HENRY will respond to all complaints of any nature, attempting to satisfactorily resolve the complaint.

2.4 The HENRY CEO’s decision on any complaint is final.

2.5 HENRY will learn from any legitimate complaints to inform and improve future practice.

3. Policy and practice for services delivered under licence by third parties

Where services are delivered under licence, complaints are subject to the complaints procedure of the delivery organisation and this organisation should be contacted.

3.1 In these instances HENRY will:

3.1.1 Support the complainant in reaching the correct contact person to pursue their complaint

3.1.2 Directly contact the delivery organisation to try to establish the circumstances of the reported incident so that HENRY can help address any issues identified as part of the complaint, try to protect the reputation of HENRY, and satisfactorily address any aspects of the complaint that relate to HENRY or over which HENRY has control

3.2 HENRY expects and will encourage the third party organisation to:

3.2.1 Initiate an internal investigation with the staff or volunteer(s) who delivered the activity that prompted the complaint

3.2.2 Respond in writing to the complainant within 2 weeks, addressing their specific complaint(s)

3.2.3 Copy the response to the HENRY Head of Business Development

4. Policy and practice for services delivered directly by HENRY

HENRY delivers a range of services directly including training programmes for practitioners, and programmes or activities for families and service users. These may be delivered by HENRY staff, contracted staff, or volunteers.

If there is a complaint about an incident during one of these activities or services, the following procedure will apply.

4.1 The complainant should in the first instance raise the issue with whoever is directly delivering the service.

4.2 If the issue is not satisfactorily resolved at the time, or if it occurs to the complainant only after service delivery is completed, a complaint should be made to HENRY, either in person, over the phone or by email. Any complaints made by email should be sent to HENRY with the subject line ‘Complaint – FAO Head of Business Development’. Send emails to admin@henry.org.uk

4.3 Any verbal complaint to the HENRY office (in person or via the telephone, skype etc) will be put through to the Head of Business Development in the first instance.

4.4 If it turns out the complaint relates to delivery by a third party under licence then the complaint is subject to Point 1 of this policy ‘Services delivered under licence by third parties’. The Head of Business Development will provide support to contact the third party concerned as set out in paragraph. 3.1.

4.5 If the complaint relates to any service delivered directly by HENRY the complaint will be referred to the Chief Executive, who will appoint a senior manager to investigate, informing the complainant of this and setting out a timescale for investigation. The manager dealing with the complaint will be known as the Incident Manager.

4.6 The Incident Manager will securely store all written correspondence in a central location.

4.7 The Incident Manager will speak to the complainant and initiate an internal investigation, reporting to the Chief Executive within 2 weeks. Following discussion with the Chief Executive, the Incident Manager will respond in writing to the complainant with a ‘Complaint Outcome’, addressing their specific complaint(s), outlining the findings and actions arising from the complaint. Complainants will receive a written response within 4 weeks of the complaint being made.

4.8 If ongoing correspondence takes place with the complainant and/or other bodies the Incident Manager should store all written documentation securely together and should keep a written ‘Incident Log’ noting telephone conversations, meetings, decisions and actions taken, keeping the Chief Executive fully informed of progress.

4.9 If the complaint cannot be fully investigated and a report made to the Chief Executive within 2 weeks, the Incident Manager will contact the complainant within this time frame to update them on progress of the internal investigation and let them know when they can expect a written Complaint Outcome which should not normally be more than a further 2 weeks.

4.10 All complainants will be offered recourse to the Chief Executive if they are not satisfied with the written Complaint Outcome they receive. The Chief Executive may choose to investigate further, dismiss the complaint, or propose a compromise resolution.

4.11 All HENRY staff dealing with any aspect of the complaints procedure should be courteous, polite, and sensitive to the complainant at all times and maintain confidentiality.

4.12 The Chief Executive will maintain a record of all complaints and report quarterly to the Board on the nature and outcome of each complaint.