Complaints policy

COMPLAINT HANDLING AND FEEDBACK POLICY

PURPOSE OF THIS POLICY
1. The Chapter expects the highest standards of conduct and behaviour from all Trustees, staff, volunteers and members of any cathedral committees and advisory bodies. However, the Chapter is mindful that there may be times when we do not meet our own high standards and should this happen, wants to hear about it, deal with the situation as quickly as possible and put measures in place to stop it happening again.
2. The Chapter views complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future, as well as a chance to put things right for the person or the organisation making the complaint. Therefore, copies of this policy and the Safeguarding Complaint Policy can be found on the Cathedral’s website with a link that details how to make a complaint with a dedicated email inbox for these.A hard copy canalso be provided to any person on request at the Cathedral’s office.
3. The Chapter is also keen on collating feedback received both positive and negative as these are good indicators on what is working well and areas for improvement.
4. The term ‘Cathedral’ refers to an entity/organisation with the ‘Chapter’ beings its decision-making / governing body.
OUR COMPLAINT HANDLING PHILOSOPHY
1. To provide a fair complaints procedure which is transparent and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint and/or provide feedback (both negative and positive).
2. To ensure that all staff knows what to do if a complaint is received and that all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way.
3. Anyone carrying out activities on behalf of the Chapter and the Executive Leadership team shall deal with any complaint or feedback received, in a non-judgmental and constructive way, working to identify what the issues of concern are and providing the complainant with options.
4. To ensure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired, and reconciliation explored.
WHAT IS A COMPLAINT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS POLICY?
1. A complaint is an expression of dissatisfactionabout any aspect of the Cathedral’s operations and its mission and ministry or about an action, or lack of action, by the staff, clergy, Chapter members, members of committees of Chapter and advisory bodies, contractors or volunteers that requires a formal response.
WHAT COMPLAINTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS POLICY?
1. This policy does notcover -
  1. Complaints from staff, who should refer to the relevant processes in the staff handbook.
  2. Complaints from volunteers, who should refer to the relevant process in the volunteer handbook.
  3. Complaints relating to safeguarding, which should be referred directly to the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer or to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser as detailed in the Safeguarding Complaints policy.
2. As a general rule, the Cathedral will not respond-
  1. To complaints that do not relate directly to something that the Cathedral has done or been involved in.
  2. When the complaint has already been responded to and has been reviewed through the process detailed in section 9 below; and
  3. When a complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we can choose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.
HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT
1. You can contact us in whichever way is most convenient to you and we will respond to you via the same method unless instructed otherwise. This could be complaints made in person or via-
  1. the telephone or
  2. our website
2. Written complaints should be sent by e-mail or letter to the Cathedral’s Complaints Administrator atManchesterCathedral, The Cathedral Office, Victoria Street,Manchester, M3 1SX – e: office@manchestercathedral.org
3. Should your complaint be about the Complaints Administrator then the complaint should be directed in writing to the Dean at the above address or by email at: Dean.Govender@manchestercathedral.org
4. Please include your name, address, and contact telephone number in your email or letter so that we can get back in touch with you easily.The Cathedral cannot respond to complaints made anonymously, but we will investigate anonymous complaints and use the information provided to improve in any way we can.
5. Where a complaint is incoherent or illegible a staff member will contact the complainant, where possible, to request that the complaint be provided in a legible format or to clarify the complaint. Where a legible or coherent version of the complaint is not provided, the complaint will not be able to be progressed.
6. Verbal complaints may be made by telephoneusing the details on our website or in person to any of the cathedral’s staff at the cathedral.
7. Complaints received by telephone or in person - the person who receives a telephone or in person complaint should-
  1. Be non-judgmental and listen attentively to understand the issues of concern.
  2. Writedown the facts of the complaint.
  3. Take the complainant’s name, address, and telephone number.
  4. Note down the relationship of the complainant to the Cathedral.
  5. Be proactive in resolving the complaint where possible.
8. The person receiving the complaint should initially try to understand the issue and resolve it,to the complainant’s satisfaction, if possible, if not-
  1. Inform the complainant that the Cathedral has a complaints policy and direct them to it.
  2. Explain to the complainant what will happen next and how long it will take.
  3. Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send in a written account by post or by email so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.
ACKNOWLEDGING FORMAL COMPLAINTS
1. The person receiving the complaint/feedback will complete the Complaint/Feedback form.
2. We will endeavour to acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receivingit. The acknowledgement will explain who is dealing with your complaint and when you can expect a response.
3. We will do our best to investigate and respond fully and conclusively to all complaints within twenty working days of a complaint being received. Sometimes a complaint is more complex and so it will take us longer to investigate it. Where this happens, we will send you a progress report and let you know when you can expect to receive a final response.
4. The Chapter may decide not to respond to a complainant, or to cease to respond to a complainant, where it is considered appropriate and proportionate to do so on the basis that a complainant is-
  1. being deliberately abusive, prejudiced, or offensive, and/or
  2. harassing a member of staff, volunteer, or office holder at the Cathedral.
5. Where the Chapter makes such a decision-
  1. where possible, the investigation into the complaint made should continue, in accordance with section 7 below, and
  2. a letter must be sent to the complainant within five working days to inform them of the Chapter’s decision and it should inform the complainant whether the complaint raised is being investigated by the Chapter.
COMPLAINTS RESOLUTION PROCESS
1. Wherever possible, we will look to resolve your complaint amicably and with pastoral care and sensitivity.
2. Where a complaint could not be resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction by the Cathedral officer receiving the complaint the formal complaint process would be initiated, whereby:
  1. The Administrator to log the complaint.
  2. The Chief Operating Officer or the Dean,(as the case may be) will assign a senior employee or a member of the Chapter, as appropriate, to investigate any complaint received (the Investigator). The Investigator shall not be someone who is personally involved in the events complained about.
  3. The Investigator will make all necessary and appropriate enquiries to establish the substance of the complaint and note any attempts already made to resolve the matter informally. Where possible, members of staff willbe informed of a complaint made about them or any actions for which they were responsible.
  4. The Chapter has a duty of care to staff complained about as well as to complainant and so the Investigator should ensure, where possible, that the person about whom a complaint has been made has an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised by the complainant.
  5. At the conclusion of the investigation, the Investigator must provide a written report to the Administrator or Dean, as the case may be.
3. Complaints of a Safeguarding nature shall be dealt with in accordance with the Cathedral’s Safeguarding Complaints policy.
4. Similarly, complaints of a whistleblowing nature will be dealt with in accordance with the Cathedral’s Whistleblowing Policy.
COMMUNICATING THE OUTCOME OF YOUR COMPLAINT
1. Once the Administrator,the Dean or nominated representative of the Cathedralreceives the Investigator’s report, they will respond to you in writing – either by letter or email.
2. If your complaint is upheld in whole or in part, theOutcome Letter will normally include anapology, acknowledge where things have gone wrong and explain whether any actions will be taken as a result of the investigation into your complaint. However, the Outcome Letter will not include personal employment information about any member of staff or any personal information about a Chapter member, committee member or any volunteer.
3. The Outcome Letter will also include information onhow you can seek a review if you are unhappy with how your complaint has been investigated or handled by the Cathedral.
INTERNAL COMPLAINT APPEALS PROCESS
1. If, after receiving the Outcome Letter,you are unhappy with how your complaint has been investigated or handled by the Cathedral,you can refer your complaint for review in accordance with the process and timescales set out in the Outcome Letter.
2. If you request a review within the timescales set out in your Outcome Letter, the Dean,will-
  1. appoint an independent Chapter member or a member of the Executive Leadership Team (as appropriate) who has not been involved in the first stage(the Reviewer) to conduct a review.
  2. The Reviewer will considerany paperwork relating to the complaint and its investigation, as well as the Investigator’s report and the Outcome Letter and consider whether your complaint has been properly investigated and handled by the Cathedral.
  3. The Reviewer will provide a written report to the Deanand a Review Outcome Letter will be sent to you.
  4. Reviewswill normally take up to 28 days to complete.
EXTERNAL COMPLAINT APPEALS PROCESS
1. We hope we are able to resolve your complaint in an honest, open, and satisfactory way. However, if you are still unhappy then you can write, either by letter or email, to either of our regulators-
  1. The Church Commissioners at: cathedralregulation@churchofengland.org Church Commissioners for England | Church House | Great Smith Street | London SW1P 3AZ
  2. The Charity Commission at:The Charity Commission | PO Box 211 | Bootle |L20 7YX https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission Please name the Cathedral, outline the details of the complaint, and explain why you remain dissatisfied with the Cathedral’s response.
2. Before you write to the Charity Commission, you should check your complaint is one which the Charity Commission will look into[1]. As stated in the Charity Commission’s guidance on complaints about charities, its involvement in relation to complaints about a charity is limited to issues that pose a serious risk of significant harm to that charity’s beneficiaries, assets, services, or reputation.
MONITORING AND LEARNING FROM COMPLAINTS
1. The Administrator to provide a quarterly report to the Senior Management Teamthat should regularly review the complaints received by the Cathedral and their outcomes, to identify any trends or wider learning.
2. The Chief Operating Officershould report to the Chapter at each meeting-
  1. the number of complaints and compliments received,
  2. the nature of any complaints received and
  3. the outcome of those complaints, including whether they have led to a change in services, policies, or procedures.
    If a complaint raises serious concerns, the Chief Operating Officer shall bring it to the Chapter’s attention (or to the Dean and/or the Senior Non-Executive Member’s attention, as appropriate) without delay.
3. The Administrator must keep a secure record of the complaints received, the report of the Investigator setting out the reasons for their decisions and copies of Outcome Letters.
RECORDS OF YOUR COMPLAINT
We will retain a record of your complaint for six years after the last contact with you about the complaint. We will then destroy all records of the complaint securely.You can read more about how we look after your records and your rights as a data subject in our Privacy Notice, which is available on our website.
POLICY REVIEW
This policy should be reviewed every three years and updated as required.

View our complaints policy here.

COMPLAINT HANDLING AND FEEDBACK POLICY

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