Complaints Policy for OnexOne Funds

Complaints Policy for OnexOne Funds

About this policy

The trustees of OnexOne Funds take complaints seriously and commit to deal with all complaints in a confidential, timely and appropriate manner. 

Through this policy, the trustees seek to provide a fair and clear complaints procedure, which upholds the integrity and accountability of the organisation. This policy enables OnexOne Funds to ensure that, wherever possible, disputes or disagreements are amicably resolved and relationships restored. 

The general principles of this Policy are;

• OnexOne Funds aspires to continually improve and develop as an organisation, and accepts that investigating, responding to and learning from complaints is part of this process.

• OnexOne Funds seeks to ensure that all complaints are listened to and, as appropriate, acted upon, regardless of who the complaint is raised by.

• OnexOne funds commits to treating everyone equally, regardless of: race, sex, age, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation or any other status.

• There will be no victimisation or reprisals for whistleblowers who raise concerns about wrongdoing. 

• A complaint is simply an “expression of dissatisfaction about any of our operations”, whether justified or not. 

• A complaint can be received orally, in person or by telephone, or in writing, by email or by letter.

• Good judgement should be used where this policy provides space for discretion.

• Where decisions are made at the discretion of the Director, the Director should seek appropriate advice or counsel from the Trustees.

• Where proof of agreement is required, email trails are sufficient.

• OnexOne Funds has a legal responsibility to comply with relevant legislation and guidance.

All complaints and any associated information provided will be handled sensitively and confidentially, and in accordance with relevant data protection requirements. However, the trustees reserve the right to involve external parties (including the police and other authorities) and to take legal advice where this is considered necessary.

This policy covers General Complaints, Data Protection Complaints, Fundraising Complaints and Safeguarding Complaints.

The overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation rests with the trustees of OnexOne Funds. The policy should be made available to trustees, volunteers and staff and any other relevant contacts including consultants and contractors. 

In constructing this policy, the trustees have paid due consideration to the good governance code referred to in the Charity Commission guidance on completing annual returns.

General Complaints Procedure

1. Receiving complaints

1.1 Complaints may be addressed to any trustee of OnexOne Funds or the Director, either orally or in writing. Written complaints should be sent to: 

Address: OnexOne Funds, The Forge, 161 Holme Lacy Road, Hereford, HR2 6DG

Email:  feedback@onexonefunds.org

1.2 Where complaints are received by other contacts within the organisation, complainants will be directed towards the Director in the first instance.

1.3 At the time of receiving the complaint or within an initial response, complainants will be informed of the existence of this policy and provided with a copy if requested.

1.4 In certain cases, and for the avoidance of doubt, the trustees may request oral complaints to be repeated in writing and reserve the right to share the details of complaints with other trustees as they see fit. Oral complainants must be informed that although complaints will be handled confidentially, trustees may share information with other trustees in accordance with this policy.

1.5 Telephoned or oral complaints must be recorded in writing by the recipient, with the following details:

• Name of the person receiving the complaint;

• Name, address and contact details of the person making the complaint;

• The date and time that the complaint was received;

• The relationship between the complainant and the charity;

• The facts of the complaint.

1.6 The individual providing the complaint should also be encouraged to put their complaint in writing so that a record in their own words can be kept.

1.7 All complaints, together with any actions undertaken, will be recorded in a complaints log which will be reviewed by the trustees on a regular basis. Any conclusions and further action required as a result of this review will be formally recorded in the minutes of a trustees meeting.

1.8 Where the complaint relates to a specific person, the trustees may choose to inform that person of the nature of the complaint and may receive a formal response from them. The name and any other sensitive information relating to the complainant will not be shared with the subject of the complaint.

1. Resolving complaints

2.1 Complaints will be acknowledged by the trustees within two weeks of being received and any first response will include details of who is dealing with the complaint and when the complainant can expect to have a response. This should be recorded by the Chair of Trustees.

2.2 Any first response should include a copy of this policy if not already provided.

2.3 The trustees will use best endeavours to provide a definitive response within one month of receiving the complaint. If, because of ongoing investigations or for other reasons this is not possible, a progress update will be provided to the complainant within one month of receiving the complaint.

2.4 A definitive response will include:

• Actions taken to investigate the complaint;

• Conclusions drawn from the investigation;

• Actions taken as a result of the investigation.

1. Appeals and escalation

3.1 Where the complainant is not satisfied with the response, they should inform the trustees of this dissatisfaction in writing within three months of receiving the response.

3.2 Due to the size of OnexOne Funds, it is likely that the same group of trustees that dealt with the original complaint will be responsible for reviewing the appeal. Wherever possible a different trustee will take the lead in investigating the appeal.

3.3 As long as this notice of dissatisfaction is received within the timeframe set out in 3.1, the trustees will acknowledge this correspondence within two weeks and will use best endeavours to provide a definitive response within one month. Notices of dissatisfaction that are received outside of that timeframe will be considered at the discretion of the trustees.

3.4 This appeal decision will be considered final.

3.5 At any time, the complainant can complain directly to the Charity Commission or any other appropriate regulating authority. The information about the types of complaints that the Commission can become involved with are set out on their website (https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity).

Data Protection Complaints

4.1 The procedures outlined here operate in conjunction with the OnexOne Funds Data Protection Policy. Data Protection complaints may involve complaints regarding:

• how your personal information has been processed;

• how your complaint has been handled, or

• appeal against any decision made following a complaint.

4.2 Please address your complaints to the Data Protection Officer (DPO) as follows:

Name: Meg Cooke (DPO)

Address: OnexOne Funds, The Forge, 161 Holme Lacy Road, Hereford, HR2 6DG

Email: dpo@onexonefunds.org

4.3 Complaints relating to data protection that are addressed to the Trustees will be handled in conjunction with the designated Data Protection Officer. 

Procedure for handling data protection complaints:

4.4 Complaints regarding how your personal information has been processed should be submitted to the DPO (see above), who will acknowledge receipt within ten working days.

4.5 The DPO will review and respond in writing to your complaint, within twenty working days of receipt. If a complaint is complex and we cannot send a full reply within twenty working days, we will tell you the reason why and let you know when we will be able to reply in full. 

4.6 If an extension is required, this will be with the agreement of both parties and up to a maximum of a further twenty-eight working days.

4.7 If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your complaint has been handled, then you may contact us, outlining your concerns, and an independent member of the Trustee Board will respond to you within ten working days, to outline the next steps.

4.8 If you remain dissatisfied, you may forward your complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (contact details can be found on their website at: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/handling/).

Fundraising Complaints 

5.1 Fundraising complaints are defined as an “expression of dissatisfaction at any aspect of the Charity’s fundraising activities, including administrative practices or procedures, and acts carried out by third party suppliers”.

5.2 Such complaints should be addressed to the Chair of Trustees of OnexOne Funds at: 

Name: Kris Coppock (Chair of Trustees)

Address: OnexOne Funds, The Forge, 161 Holme Lacy Road, Hereford, HR2 6DG

Email: kris.coppock@onexonefunds.org 

Procedure for handling fundraising complaints

5.3 Telephone complaints will be logged, and every effort will be made to resolve the matter over the telephone. The complaint will be summarised at the end of a call, and if you are satisfied, that will be the end of the matter; however, the complaint will still be recorded.

5.4 All complaints, either by telephone, post or email, will be acknowledged in writing within fourteen days. We will seek to resolve the complaint within thirty working days. At this stage, further contact with you will only be made when we have sufficient details to take the complaint forward.

5.5 The Chair of Trustees will consult with the Director, and any other relevant staff or third parties involved (for example: a supplier, or partner) to inform them of the situation, and gather any relevant information. 

5.6 Having gathered all the relevant information, an assessment meeting will be held with the Director and the staff/ third parties concerned. The assessment meeting will set out the nature of the complaint and determine any action that needs to be taken. 

5.7 If the complaint is justified: We will write to you to apologise, and to reassure you that the complaint will be used to improve on our fundraising activities in the future, and how this will be done. We will also instigate action to prevent any recurrence of the problem.

5.8 If the complaint is not justified: We will write to you to explain that we will not be changing our fundraising practices and give clear reason(s) for our position. We always take complaints seriously and assure you the investigation will always be as thorough as possible. Accurate records will be kept of all the investigations which have been carried out.

5.9 In exceptional circumstances, we may need more than thirty days to gather all the information (for example, if a key member of staff is on annual leave or is sick). If this happens, we will contact you in writing, outlining the situation.

5.10 The decision taken at this stage is considered final, unless the Trustees decide it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution. 

5.11 As we are a registered charity, you may choose to contact the Charity Commission at any stage. The Fundraising Regulator also exists to investigate complaints about charitable fundraising where these can't be resolved by organisations themselves. In the event a regulator receives a complaint in relation to OnexOne Funds, we will cooperate with that regulator as appropriate. 

Contact details for the Charity Commission

The Charity Commission should be contacted where your concerns relate to:

• dishonest handling of funds;

• misapplication of charitable funds;

• actions that contravene the Charity’s Governing Document or charity law; or

• actions that threaten to bring the Charity into disrepute.

Address: Charity Commission Direct PO Box 1227, Liverpool, L69 3UG

www.charity-commission.gov.uk 

Contact details for the Fundraising Regulator

Fundraising Regulator staff are available to assist and advise members of the public, charities and fundraising organisations. The Fundraising Regulator should only be contacted after you have brought a complaint directly to the organisation concerned. You may contact the Fundraising Regulator if you believe the organisation:

• has made misleading or excessive requests for donations;

• has been disrespectful or treated you unfairly when seeking donations;

• is not transparent or open about the relationship it has with a third party;

• has failed to respect your wishes; or

• has not dealt appropriately with a complaint you have made about fundraising.

Address: 2nd floor CAN Mezzanine Building, 49-51 East Road, London, N1 6AH

Phone:  0300 999 3407

Email: enquiries@fundraisingregulator.org.uk 

Safeguarding Complaints 

6.1 Protecting people through fulfilling our safeguarding responsibilities is a governance priority, and OnexOne Funds takes all reasonable steps to protect people who come into contact with the organisation in any way, from harm. We take all concerns and complaints seriously.

6.2 Where complaints refer to people or activities covered by the Safeguarding Policy, such complaints will be handled in accordance with both policies. In instances where the policies conflict, measures contained in the Safeguarding Policy will carry precedence.

6.3 A safeguarding complaint is defined as: an expression of dissatisfaction or concern about the way in which a safeguarding matter has been dealt with by OnexOne Funds.

6.4 If, at any time, you have any concerns about the behaviour of a member of staff, a volunteer, a guest or an associate in any situation, it is vital that you tell us about it immediately, so that appropriate action can be taken.

6.5 If we have an incident or allegation of abuse, we will handle and record it in a secure and responsible way, and in accordance with any legal and statutory obligations. We will handle information in line with the Data Protection Act.

6.6 We will respect your confidentiality and keep your complaint confidential as far as possible. Any information about the complaint will usually only be shared with those who need to know, in order to help resolve it. There may however be occasions when we cannot provide absolute confidentiality; for example, in circumstances where a child or vulnerable adult may be at risk of harm, and any relevant information will be shared with others concerned in the safety and welfare of those involved.

6.7 We will report to the police if the incident or concern involves criminal behaviour. Where necessary, we will also refer to social services and report to other agencies (i.e. send a serious incident report to the Charity Commission).

Procedure for handling safeguarding complaints

6.8 A Safeguarding Complaint may be made orally or in writing. The person responsible for receiving and resolving complaints is the Safeguarding Lead:

Name:  Ryan Sallis

Address: OnexOne Funds, The Forge, 161 Holme Lacy Road, Hereford, HR2 6DG

Email: safeguarding@onexonefunds.org

6.9 If a complaint is received by anyone other than the Safeguarding Lead, the person receiving the complaint will record all relevant information and pass this with due haste to the Safeguarding Lead. 

6.10 The Safeguarding Lead will acknowledge your complaint within five days of receipt and will keep the complainant informed throughout the process. 

6.11 The Safeguarding Lead will contact the Chair of Trustees for a decision as to whether to conduct an internal enquiry, or whether it is necessary to pass the information to another agency, such as the police, social services of the Local Authority Designated Lead (LADO).

6.12 In the event of the complaint being against the Safeguarding Lead, complaints should be made to the Chair of Trustees: (who will process the complaint in the manner outlined in this policy):

Name: Kris Coppock

Address: OnexOne Funds, The Forge, 161 Holme Lacy Road, Hereford, HR2 6DG

Email: kris.coppock@onexonefunds.org 

Following up a complaint or concern about a member of staff, volunteer.

6.13 The Safeguarding Lead will decide whether or not to refer the complaint to the statutory authorities for investigation. For example, any reports or suspicions that a volunteer or member of staff may have abused a child must be referred to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) through the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) or Children’s Services, or the Police. 

6.14 OnexOne Funds commits to follow up all concerns and complaints and work with all statutory agencies following Local Safeguarding Children’s Board policies. If any Safeguarding Complaint is referred externally, the Safeguarding Lead will ask the receiving agency to:

• Keep the Charity informed.

• Be included in any strategy meetings which may be held.

6.15 Allegations against people who work with children should be routed through children’s social care, so that they are dealt with alongside child welfare concerns in a coordinated manner, e.g. MASH.

6.16 The Local Authority Designated Officer works within a multi-agency system and should be alerted to all cases in which it is alleged that a person who works with children has:

• behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed, a child

• possibly committed a criminal offence against children, or related to a child

• behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates s/he is unsuitable to work with children.

6.17 It is a possibility that a volunteer or member of staff may be temporarily suspended from their role if an allegation is made against them regarding a child or vulnerable adult, whilst an investigation takes place. The suspension does not indicate guilt; it is a form of good practice we will follow if necessary. We may be able to redeploy or offer support in some other way whilst an investigation takes place. We will always seek the advice of the LADO in these situations.

6.18 The LADO role applies to paid, unpaid, volunteer, casual, agency and self-employed workers. They capture concerns, allegations or offences emanating from outside of work. The LADO is involved from the initial phase of the allegation through to the conclusion of the case.

6.19 The LADO will provide advice, guidance and help to determine whether the allegation sits within the scope of the procedures. The LADO helps coordinate information-sharing with the right people and will also monitor and track any investigation, with the aim to resolve it as quickly as possible.

Referring concerns to the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)

6.20 If there is a concern about any volunteer or staff member’s behaviour towards a child or a vulnerable adult, we will take the appropriate action to ensure proper procedures are followed and all parties are supported as necessary.

6.21 The person who has brought the complaint will be kept informed where we can, subject to confidentiality issues. 

6.22 If you are the member of staff or volunteer who has had the complaint or concern brought against you, we may either redeploy you, ask you to step down, or you may voluntarily step down, resign or retire due to your behaviour. Under those circumstances we have a duty to refer our concerns to the Disclosure & Barring Service. You will be informed of our action to report those concerns and you will be given opportunities to explain your case via the DBS should you wish to.

Referring concerns to the Charity Commission

6.23 It is the responsibility of the Safeguarding Lead to make the rest of the Trustee Board aware of all relevant information. The Charity Commission states that “if your charity encounters a serious incident or problem you must report it to the Charity Commission as soon as you become aware of it”. If Trustees fail to report a serious incident, the commission may consider this to be mismanagement and take regulatory action.

What we do if there is a serious complaint

6.24 If the complaint against any member of staff or volunteer leads to any suspicion that a criminal offence may have been committed against a child the complaint will be referred to the police and LADO BEFORE any further investigation is carried out. Children’s Services/MASH will also be contacted if required. We will inform the person making the complaint of what we did and what will happen next.

6.25 Each case is individual, and we will work with all parties to offer any pastoral support where that is helpful.

6.26 If a complaint that leads to a suspicion of abuse of a child that does not seem to be a criminal offence it will be referred to Children’s Services/MASH, and they will refer to the Police if needed.

6.27 Depending on the seriousness of the complaint, once the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) has investigated the complaint, or internally followed up if appropriate, the Safeguarding Lead will meet with the complainant to tell them the outcome. OnexOne Funds will always work with and take the advice of the Police, LADO and other statutory agencies.

6.28 Should you be unhappy with the outcome of the action taken with your complaint then you will be able to put your complaint to the Chair of Trustees who will take the complaints process further.

Adoption of this policy

The trustees of OnexOne Funds are responsible for the adoption of this policy and will review it on an annual basis.

The trustees of OnexOne Funds formally accepted this policy at the trustees meeting held on 8 July 2021.