Your complaints policy makes it clear to service-users and members of the public what they need to do if they want to give you feedback or have any concerns.

We’ve provided two templates,  one very simple, the other slightly more complex. We recommend taking a look at both and thinking which approach will suit your organisation best. If your organisation is run entirely by volunteers then the simpler version is probably more suitable, but if you start to employ staff you will need to review your system to include them in the procedure.

The aim is to have a process that is a good balance between your time and effort and the need to take complaints seriously. All formal complaints, whatever the result, must be reported to your committee or board so that they can oversee how they are handled and use them to plan improvements.

This policy should link up with your staff disciplinary policy or complaints policy. This will ensure that you know what to do if a serious complaint (for example sexual harassment) is made.