Complaints Policy

• Complaints are usually about individual instances rather than policy issues or generalisations.
• A complaint is not a comment or suggestion.
• A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction.

Anyone can make a complaint, including service users, their family members, carers, volunteers, other service providers, partners, or members of the public. Boxing Futures’ complaints procedure summary sheet (‘Making a Complaint’) is publicly available on the charity’s website.

If someone is dissatisfied with any aspect of our activities, they have a right to complain and we commit to dealing with complaints courteously, seriously, efficiently, and openly, as far as is compatible with our duty of confidentiality to service-users.

A complaint can be made about any area of our work, policy, or performance; we recognise this could encompass customer services issues, fulfilment of our commitments and staff behaviours, amongst other things.

If a complaint is received about the work or conduct of a volunteer, they will be informed. If the complaint is upheld, support will be given to correct the activity or conduct that has caused the offence, or support will be given to put the case to the complainant. The Programmes Manager will do this on behalf of the volunteer.

4.1 Stage 1: Informal Problem Solving

Initially, the complaint should be made to the staff most directly involved such as the Programme Manager, who will try to resolve the problem immediately. The purpose is to understand the complaint and to resolve the matter to the Complainant’s satisfaction as quickly as possible.

If the Complainant is not satisfied with the result, they will be encouraged to make a formal complaint. Staff may offer to put the complaint in writing on the Complainant’s behalf, if required.

4.2 Stage 2: Formal Complaint

The complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days from the day the correspondence is received and will be considered by the Director of Operations. They will be responsible for arranging an investigation and deciding what action should be taken. Advocacy will be arranged if needed.

The Complainant will be informed of any decision in writing within 20 working days of the complaint being received. There is scope within the procedure – in exceptional circumstances where a complaint is very complex – to allow more time for the investigation to be undertaken. Every effort will be made to ensure the decision is understood and, if possible, accepted.

The Complainant has a right to appeal if they remain dissatisfied with the outcome and the organisation’s written response will communicate this to the Complainant.

4.3 Stage 3: Appeal

If the Complainant does not agree with the decision at Stage 2, they can appeal within 28 calendar days of receiving the decision.

This must be made in writing to the Chief Executive Officer and receipt of the appeal will be acknowledged within 5 working days from the day the correspondence was received.

The Chief Executive Officer will arrange a meeting of a review panel including a nominated Trustee, within a further 10 working days, unless a later date is requested by the Complainant.

The purpose of the review panel is to give the Complainant the opportunity to have their complaint heard by a group of people who have not been involved at any other stage of the process.

The appeal panel will consider documents from Stages 1 and 2 and anything further the Complainant or staff may have submitted. They will then hear what the Complainant has to say and will interview any relevant staff or volunteers.

They will consider their recommendation, which shall be communicated to the Complainant at the time if practical and confirmed in writing within 5 working days. Thereafter, the Chief Executive Officer will communicate to the Complainant what further action will be taken within 20 working days following this (where this has not already been done).

The decision of the panel will be final.

An independent adjudicator could be involved if the matter remains unresolved. Boxing Futures will make every effort to comply with their decision, but cannot be legally bound by it.

We will use the personal information we collect about complaints and feedback to process the matter, to assess the level of service we provide and to defend any claims against the organisation (legitimate interests purposes).

Complaint records to be retained will include correspondence between the complainant and the Organisation, written records of interviews with personnel, records of investigations and any actions taken as a result.

We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained for 6 years from closure. It will be retained in secure electronic and paper filing systems and access to it will be restricted.

We also compile a complaints log for management information that includes the number of complaints we receive, the nature of complaints and the length of time taken to resolve them, but this is not in a form which identifies anyone.

Feedback correspondence, (comments and compliments), will be retained only for the time it takes to manage the feedback, such as thanking the person providing the feedback, recording the nature of it to inform future processes and passing the feedback to those involved.

You have a right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to ask us to correct any inaccuracies. You also have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you think there is a problem with the way we are handling your data.

This policy was approved on 1st September 2024.

Review date: September 2025