Purpose of this document

• This document details IGD’s commitments relating to complaints from people and organisations coming into contact with IGD through its work.
• It is intended to be used by beneficiaries and stakeholders in the event that they have a complaint against IGD in relation to its charitable activities.

Our policy

IGD is committed to providing the highest levels of service to all beneficiaries and stakeholders.

Our policy is:

• To provide a fair complaints procedure which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint
• To publicise the existence of our complaints procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint
• To make sure everyone at IGD knows what to do if a complaint is received
• To make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way
• To make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired
• To gather information which helps us to improve what we do

What is a complaint?

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any aspect of the Charity.

A complaint can be received verbally, by phone, by email or in writing.

Confidentiality

All complaint information will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to know and following any relevant data protection requirements.

Responsibility

Overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation lies with the Board of Trustees.

Scope of the policy

The policy applies to all complaints made against the Charity which have been raised as a matter of concern but which have not been capable of informal resolution and which the complainant or the Charity considers should be dealt with on a formal basis.

The Charity expects that before seeking to use this formal policy the complainant will have made reasonable attempts to seek an informal resolution of the position.

Formal Complaints Procedure

STAGE 1

1. The complainant must put the complaint in writing by letter or by email unless the complainant has a disability which prevents this, in which case the complainant may contact the Charity for assistance. The complaint should be addressed to the Legal Counsel (please see key contact section).
2. The Charity will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 48 hours, using your preferred method of communication and pass the complaint to the senior management team as appropriate for investigation.
3. The matter will be discussed with the complainant. This may be during a meeting or on the telephone. Whenever reasonably possible such discussion will take place within 15 working days of the complaint being received. When this is not possible, the Charity will provide an explanation and set out expected timescales by which a response can be expected.
4. The senior management team will put their findings in writing and indicate what steps, if any, should be taken to resolve the matter. Whenever reasonably possible this will be done within 15 working days of the discussion with the complainant.

STAGE 2

1. If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the first stage, she/he may request that the complaint be considered by a Trustee. Such a request should be made in writing addressed to the CEO, who will notify the Chairman of the Trustees and who will appoint a Trustee to deal with this.
2. The Trustee concerned will conduct a review of the matter to date.
3. The Trustee concerned will report their findings to the complainant, where possible within 15 working days of receipt of the written request.

STAGE 3

1. If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the first and second stages, the complainant may request that the complaint be considered by the Chairman of the Trustees.
2. A request to use the third stage must be in writing, addressed to the CEO, within 10 working days of the response being sent to the complainant and must set out briefly the reasons why the complainant is dissatisfied with the response.
3. The Chairman of the Trustees will conduct a review of the matter to date.
4. The Chairman of the Trustees will report his/her findings to the complainant, where possible within 15 working days of receipt of the written request to use Stage 3.
5. A record will be kept of all complaints, and of whether they are resolved at the first stage or proceed to further stages.
6. Correspondence, statements and records relating to individual complaints will be kept confidential except where the Charity is required by law to disclose them.
7. There may be occasions where, despite all stages of this procedure being followed, the complainant remains dissatisfied with the outcome. If the complainant tries to reopen the same issue, the Chairman of the Trustees or, in exceptional circumstances, the CEO of the Charity is able under this policy to inform him/her in writing that the procedure has been exhausted and that the matter is now closed.
8. If the complaint is serious, for example, if there is the potential for significant harm to the Charity, its work, its beneficiaries and other people coming into contact with the charity in the course of its work, a complaint can be made directly to the Charity Commission: https://forms.charitycommission.gov.uk/raising-concerns/

Responsibility for the policy

The Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for this policy and for reviewing the effectiveness of actions taken in response to concerns raised under the policy.

IGD’s Legal Counsel has responsibility for ensuring that corrective action and training are implemented in response to concerns or investigations under this policy where applicable.

IGD’s Legal Counsel should review this policy from a legal and operational perspective at least once a year.

Key Contacts

Legal Counsel at company.secretary@igd.com

CEO, Chairman and Trustees at https://www.igd.com/about-us/how-we-are-governed

Policy Status

This policy does not cover:

• whistleblowing issues raised by non-IGD staff who should use IGD’s Whistleblowing policy which can be found on our website
• complaints from staff, who should use IGD’s Staff Whistleblowing Policy where appropriate
• complaints from staff which are personal, where the member of staff should use IGD’s grievance procedure

Review

This policy was last reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees on 22 November 2022.