Complaint 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 in any way.

We recognise the importance of continuous improvement and view any complaint received as an opportunity to improve our practices and services.

The Honeypot Children’s Charity commits to ensuring 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

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

  • Complaints are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner

  • All Honeypot staff are aware of the complaints policy and procedures and feel confident in these

  • Complaints are reviewed on a regular basis 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 as a whole, members of staff, or volunteers- which affects an individual or groups of people with whom the charity is involved.


How do I make a complaint?

Any individual or group can make a complaint, or a complaint can be made on behalf of someone else (in cases where a complaint has been made on behalf of someone else, we will be mindful of data protection issues when responding).


Complaints can be made:

  • In person to any staff member

  • By email: info@Honeypot.org.uk

  • By telephone: 0207 6022631

  • By letter: Office Manager, The Honeypot Children’s Charity, 19 Berghem Mews, Blythe Road, London W14 0HN

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.


What will be done with my complaint?

  • All complaints will be acknowledged within three working days of receipt.

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

  • We will inform you of the name of the person who will be investigating your complaint.

  • We may need to ask you for any further information that will help us with our investigation; this could include asking for input from the person you are complaining on behalf of, in such cases.

  • We aim to resolve most 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 you informed of progress.

  • We will respond to you, or the person the complaint was on behalf of, to communicate the findings and outcome of the investigation.

  • Any complaint which involves a potential fraud, safeguarding or whistleblowing issue will be progressed in line with our internal policies.

What can I do if I’m not happy with the response I get?

If you are not satisfied with the response you have received, the complaint can be referred to a more senior manager. The final stage of appeal sits with the Board of Trustees.

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

  • If your complaint relates to fundraising, and we are unable to resolve it to your satisfaction, you can refer it to the Fundraising Regulator, the independent regulator of charitable fundraising. They can be contacted via their website fundraisingregulator.org.ukor  at 2nd floor, CAN Mezzanine Building, 49-51 East Road, London, N1 6AH  Tel: 0300 999 3407

  • Ultimately, you have recourse to the online complaint form at the Charity Commission charitycommission.gov.uk


How does Honeypot use complaints to improve standards?

Our first 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. All complaints received are collated in a confidential log which is reviewed by our Senior Leadership Team on a regular basis.

Our complaint management is linked to the requirements set by the Fundraising Regulator, and ensures that we are accountable to our supporters and beneficiaries.

In order to ensure that we are responding to complaints properly and in the most constructive way possible, we review this policy annually.