Complaints Procedure

The Honeypot Children’s Charity is committed to providing high quality, professional standards to all those who use our services and to people who support us.

We regard complaints as an opportunity to turn a negative experience for a customer or service user into a positive one, as well as an opportunity to learn and to improve.

The purpose of our complaints handling procedures is to ensure that we:

·             listen and are responsive to people who raise an issue with us.

·             respond in a timely manner and at a level close to the point of service delivery.

·             are fair and consistent.

·             offer solutions and/or explanations.

·             offer complainants recourse to someone more senior/more independent if they wish.

·             ensure that staff who are mentioned in complaints receive support.

·             respect confidentiality

·             record complaints consistently and monitor what we record, as part of our GDPR policy.

·             use complaints positively as an opportunity for learning and improvement.

The Honeypot Children’s Charity commits to ensure that:

·        People who use our services (children, parents and guardians and referrers), those who support us, and the wider public know how to make a complaint and can do so easily, via our website.

·        Those making a complaint know that it will be dealt with sensitively, honestly, and fairly.

·        Honeypot staff are aware of the complaints policy and procedures ( staff HUB) .

·        Complaints are reviewed when received and maybe used to inform service and process improvements.

What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction or concern about the standard of service, actions or lack of action taken by the charity, members of staff, or volunteers- which affects an individual or groups of people with whom the charity is involved.

In making a complaint we believe most people want:

·             to be listened to.

·             to have the problem accepted as important.

·             to be offered a solution or explanation.

·             to have their distress acknowledged and

·             it is therefore essential that people raising a complaint are involved in discussing their concerns and in finding solutions.

Making a Complaint

Any individual or group can make a complaint,

Complaints can be made:

·        In person to any staff member

·        By email: info@Honeypot.org.uk

·        By telephone: 0207 6022631

·        By letter: Attention CEO, The Honeypot Children’s Charity, ( see website for current  full address).

·        Any individual who posts negative feedback on any Honeypot social media channel will be invited to discuss their concerns further with a relevant staff member and/or to make a formal complaint via the channels listed above.

·        For all GDPR complaints please see the GDPR policy( internal staff HIB) or email GDPR@honeypot.org.uk

How we handle complaints

·        All complaints will be acknowledged within five working days of receipt and recorded.

·        We will appoint a manager of suitable seniority to investigate the complaint.

·        We will investigate the complaint, gathering information from the person raising the complaint and any staff, volunteers or others who may have relevant input into the investigation.

·        We aim to resolve complaints within fifteen working days of receipt. Some more complex issues may require investigation that might mean this is not possible; in these circumstances, we will keep the person who has raised the complaint informed of progress and this will be recorded.

·        We will respond to the person who raised the complaint, to communicate the findings and outcome of the investigation.

·        Letters, emails and notes of phone conversations regarding the complaint and subsequent investigation will be stored in the Complaints folder.

·        Any complaint which involves potential fraud, safeguarding or whistleblowing issue must be escalated to the CEO, unless the complaint involves the CEO, in which case it should be escalated to the Board of Trustees.

What if the person is unhappy with the response they get?

If the person is not satisfied with the response they received, the complaint can be referred to a more senior manager. The final stage of appeal sits with the CEO or Board of Trustees.

If they are still not satisfied with the final response they have received from us, the below external agencies may investigate further:

·        Fundraising Regulator, the independent regulator of charitable fundraising www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk 

·        Charity Commission www.charitycommission.gov.uk

Using complaints to improve our standards.

Our priority is to satisfactorily resolve the complaint for the person who has made the complaint. In addition, every complaint is reviewed thoroughly, so that learning points can be identified, and actions put in place – where required – to improve our services or processes. Complaints received are retained in a confidential log which is reviewed by our Senior Leadership Team annually.

Document owner

The Honeypot Children's Charity is the owner of this policy document and will ensure that it is periodically reviewed according to the review requirements contained herein.

This policy document was approved by The Honeypot Children's Charity’s Senior Leadership Team and the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”).

                        Next review January 2026