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Complaints Policy

Complaints Policy and Procedure

 

Policy statement 

Norwich Foodbank is committed to working in an open and accountable way that secures the trust and respect of all our stakeholders,(clients, referral partners, advice agencies, volunteers,  donors and others) and as such recognises the role of an effective complaints policy in fostering  transparency, fairness, and a culture of continuous improvement. 

 

Our promise and commitment 

Norwich Foodbank undertakes to ensure: 

  • Making a complaint is as straightforward as possible. 
  • Complaints are dealt with promptly, courteously, and discreetly – confidentially when appropriate and complaints about discrimination are dealt with as sensitively and confidentially as the procedure allows. 
  • We will respond decisively with an explanation, an apology where we have been at fault, or information on the outcome. 
  • We will learn from complaints and use them to make improvements in the way we work.
  • The policy and procedure is accessible to all regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, belief or sexual orientation. If you require a copy of this policy in an alternative format, please contact us on any of the contact details in the section below.
  • We aim to promote an environment where people are encouraged to raise and discuss issues informally and, where necessary, seek solutions to prevent them developing into problems or complaints. However, we recognise that there may be situations where people are not happy with the outcome of an informal discussion or feel that the issue needs to be taken further. In these cases, Norwich Foodbank has the following procedure so that we can work towards a resolution in a fair and transparent manner. 

 

Making a complaint about Norwich Foodbank

If you would like to share a concern on any aspect of our service, you can contact us in any of the ways listed below. 

  • In person to staff or volunteers at Norwich foodbank or at one of our distribution centres∙ By phone: 0300 365 1123 
  • By email: [email protected]
  • Writing to the following address: Norwich Foodbank, Henderson Business Centre, 51 Ivy  Road, Norwich, NR5 8BF 

We hope that the majority of concerns can be dealt with informally, but in cases in which you wish to make a formal complaint, you should submit it in one of the written formats below; 

  • By email: to either [email protected] or [email protected] – with ‘Complaint’ in the subject line.
  • In writing to the following address: Norwich Foodbank, Henderson Business Centre, 51  Ivy Road, Norwich, NR5 8BF 

In the case of a formal complaint, please include the following information;

  1. What your complaint or feedback is about (including names, nature of the complaint, how it occurred, dates and times, any witnesses and any action already taken and the effect on you.  
  2. Describe what you think we should do to put things right.  
  3. If you are unable to submit your complaint in writing please phone 0300 365 1123
  4. How we may contact you. 

 

We will deal with your complaint as follows:

  1. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of receipt, (except in times of unavoidable delay) and we will tell you the name of the person who will be responsible for investigating the matter on your behalf. 
  2. The person responsible for the investigation will write to you with their findings and proposed resolution within 28 days from receipt of the complaint*. 
  3. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation you may appeal or escalate your  concerns to the Chair of Trustees – [email protected], correspondence must be  received within 21 working days of the date on the correspondence notifying you of the  outcome of the first investigation. 
  4. The complaint will be re-investigated and you will be informed of the outcome within 10 working days*. 

*unless the complaint is particularly complex or time-consuming, in which case you will be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and notified of the expected date of completion

 

Other information 

Complaints about staff/volunteer behaviour or attitude will be handled by the line manager of the person in question, and in accordance with Norwich Foodbank’s disciplinary procedure if appropriate. You will not be given details of the action we have taken as such information is confidential. 

If you wish to make a complaint anonymously or do not provide contact details, then we will treat it as a ‘comment’ and will be unable to advise you of the outcome of the investigation. 

If your complaint contains abusive or offensive language, then we reserve the right to not respond. We reserve the right to report any such communication to the police. 

Wherever possible, Norwich Foodbank will respect your confidentiality and keep your complaint confidential. 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.  

 

Data Privacy Statement 

We collate and analyse data about complaints so that we can improve the services we provide.  We use the personal information that you provide in accordance with current data protection legislation to process your complaint. We will collect personal information including your name and contact details, postal address, telephone number, email address and social media contact information, to be able to investigate your complaint and to communicate with you about it. We will also collect sufficient information about the situation that you are contacting us about to be able to understand what has happened. We may need to request further information depending on the nature of your complaint. We have a legitimate interest in holding this information in order to be able to monitor and improve our services.  

Where your complaint relates to services involving our partners, for example a referral agency or Trussell, then we may need to share your information with a third party.  

We keep this information for 2 years after your complaint has been closed, unless we have a requirement to keep it longer, in which case we will inform you of this. After this time the data will be aggregated and anonymised. 

 

Changes to this policy 

This policy and procedure may change from time to time, it will be reviewed regularly.