Compliments and Complaints

We welcome comments about our services.We are pleased to get positive feedback when things go well. You may have noticed an improvement in a service you receive or found that a member of staff were exceptionally helpful to you. A compliment may relate to an individual or to a piece of work that our charity has done, either way, it would be lovely to hear from you.

Autism Hampshire Complaints Procedure

There may be times when we do not meet our own high standards and/or your expectations. If this happens we want to hear about it, deal with the situation as quickly as possible and put measures in place to stop it happening again.

We take comments and complaints very seriously and we treat them as an opportunity to develop our services and the organisation as a whole. We are always very grateful to hear from people who are willing to take the time to help us improve.

We endeavour to respond fully to all complaints within 28 working days. You will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within the first 5 days of receipt. In more complex situations where an immediate response is not possible, we will investigate the matter and get back to you as quickly as we can.

Stage 1 – Resolving the complaint at local level

In some cases a complaint can be resolved at local level with staff that are immediately involved in the case. Where appropriate, the complainant is asked to send a written account by post or by email so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.

It must be verified that any person raising a complaint on behalf of people we support has permission to speak on their behalf. The people we support’s explicit permission is needed prior to discussing the complaint with a third party.

All complaints will be responded to within 28 working days at a local level.

Stage 2 – Resolving the complaint at Executive level

If the complaint cannot be resolved at stage 1 the CEO, will acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days of the complainant stating that they are dis-satisfied with the response at stage 1. The CEO office will clarify the next steps and that they will hear again from the CEO within 28 working days.

If the above timescales are not possible because an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report will be sent to the complainant with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

Where appropriate the CEO will arrange to meet with the complainant to further investigate the complaint or report any action taken as a result of the complaint.

Stage 3 – Resolving the complaint at Board level

If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage 2, they can request that their complaint is reviewed at Board level. At this stage, the complaint will be passed to the Chair of the Board.

The request for Board level review will be acknowledged within 5 days of receiving it.

The Chairman may investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person to do so. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the CEO and/or investigating officer who dealt with the complaint at Stage 2.

A response to the complainant from the Chair will be sent within 4 weeks. The Chairman’s reply to the complainant will describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

The decision taken at this stage is final, unless the Board decides it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution.

The Charity Commission

The complainant can complain to the Charity Commission. Information about the kind of complaints the Commission can involve itself in can be found on their website https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity.

Compliments and Complaints Leaflet.pdf