The English Delegation of Josephites

Complaints Policy and Procedures

Policy Purpose
The English Delegation of Josephites 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 organisation that has made the complaint.
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 the Delegation knows what to do if a complaint is received;
• To make sure that complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way;
• To make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired; and
• To gather information which helps us to improve what we do.
Definition of a complaint
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any aspect of the English Delegation of Josephites. This could include administration, a process or service – resulting from the Delegation failure to meet the individual’s expectations.
An individual may make a complaint if they feel the Delegation has failed to act in a proper way.
Concern or Complaint
It is important to establish the difference between a ‘concern’ and a ‘complaint’. 
Taking informal concerns seriously at the earliest stage will reduce the likelihood of their developing into formal complaints.
If you have any concerns about our work, please inform the Superior of the Delegation so he can quickly understand your concerns and try to put things right.
If you are not happy with the response to your concern and/or you want to make a formal complaint, please follow the procedure below.
This policy only covers complaints about the English Delegation of Josephites Delegation. 
If your complaint is about another organisation that works with the Delegation your complaint will have to be directed to them and we can help you do this.
This policy does not cover safeguarding concerns. Any safeguarding concerns raised will be covered by our Safeguarding Policy. You do not have to do this, we will arrange this internally via our policy. This policy does, however, cover the event of you thinking your concern was not handled in a satisfactory way. 
Confidentiality
All complaint information will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to know and following any relevant data protection requirements.
Complaints Procedure
We want to make it easy for you to contact us and to provide feedback or make a complaint. These are the ways you can get in touch with us:
1. You can call phone number of the Superior of the Delegation which is 07979 717322 and your complaint will be documented.
2. You can email Superior of the Delegation using this email address frmartincj@gmail.com. 
In all instances where a complaint is made using the above means, we will contact you within 5 working days of receiving the complaint. 
If you provide us with a telephone number and/or email address, we will contact you by either of those means to discuss the matter further and to officially record all necessary details. Hopefully, we can resolve the matter immediately. 
However, if the issue is more complex and an investigation is required, we will do the following:
• The person who receives the complaint will:
o Record full details of your complaint;
o Record the complaint in our Complaints Register;
o Note down the relationship of the complainant to the Delegation, e.g., Religious, safeguarding lead, Survivor etc;
o Take all necessary steps to investigate the matter;
o Contact you again within 20 working days of receiving the complaint to advise you of our findings or to give you an update on progress; and
o Continue to keep you informed until the matter is resolved to your satisfaction or until all appropriate steps (in the English Delegation of Josephites’ reasonable opinion) to resolve the matter have been taken.
• Complainants should set out as clearly as possible what outcome or resolution they seek. 
• The Trustees of the English Delegation of Josephites will handle all complaints. 
Resolving Complaints
Our commitment to you is to address each complaint in a sensitive, fair, transparent, equitable, professional and unbiased manner, through our complaints-handling process.
We will operate at all times from the premise that any person is entitled to express their views on our services and that those views should be taken seriously and investigated when needed. 
There are three stages to the Delegation complaint’s procedure:
• Stage One – the complaint/investigation
• Stage Two – appeal
• Stage Three – External 
Stage 1
In many cases a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they may be able to resolve it swiftly and should do so if possible and appropriate. Whether or not the complaint has been resolved, the complaint information should be passed to the Superior of the English Delegation of Josephites within five working days.
On receiving the complaint, if not already resolved, the Superior of the English Delegation of Josephites will delegate an appropriate person to investigate it and to take appropriate action. If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond. 
Complaints should be acknowledged by the person handling the complaint within five working days. The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint and when the person complaining can expect a reply. A copy of this complaints procedure should be attached. 
Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within 15 working days. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent to the complainant with an indication of when a full reply will be given.
Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation and any action taken as a result of the complaint.
Stage 2
If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage 1, they can request that the complaint is reviewed at Trustee Board level.
The request for Board level review should be acknowledged within five working days of receiving it. The acknowledgement should say who will deal with the case and when the complainant can expect a reply.
The Board may investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person within the English Delegation of Josephites to do so. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage 1. The person who dealt with the original complaint at Stage 1 should be kept informed of what is happening.
If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond. Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within a month. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given. 
Whether the complaint is upheld or not, the reply to the complainant should 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.
Stage 3
If both stages have been exhausted but a satisfactory resolution hasn’t been reached, the Delegation may decide to seek external assistance. However, the Delegation will only take this step if appropriate to do so, for example the complaint is of a serious nature or there is a valid conflict of interest.  

Complaint relating to Safeguarding
After completion of the Delegation’s internal process, any complaint relating to safeguarding may be referred to the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA), who will review if the process was followed fairly and in line with standards.
Withdrawal of the Complaint
At any time during the process, a complainant may withdraw a complaint, by notice in writing to the responsible person handling their complaint. Upon such withdrawal, consideration of the complaint will normally be discontinued, unless the consequences of not following the procedure may result in harm to the individual or the organisation.
Confidentiality and Whistleblowing
To enable a full investigation to take place, it will be necessary for complainants to provide their name and contact details. However, in some instances, a complainant may wish to remain anonymous.
We always aim to keep a whistle blower’s identity confidential when asked to do so, although this cannot be guaranteed. There may be situations where we have a duty to disclose identity for example to:
• The police, fraud prevention agencies, or other law enforcement agencies (to investigate or prevent crime, including fraud);
• The courts (court proceedings);
• Relevant authorities where there are safeguarding concerns;

Data Protection
To process a complaint, the English Delegation of Josephites will hold personal data about the complainant, which the individual provides and which other people give in response to the complaint. We will hold this data securely in line with our current retention policy and only use it to address the complaint. The identity of the person making the complaint will only be known to those who need to consider the complaint and will not be revealed to other people or made public. 
However, it may not be possible to preserve confidentiality in some circumstances, for example, where relevant legislation is applied, or allegations are made which involve the conduct of third parties.
How to Contact the Regulators
If after the Delegation has been through both stages and the complainant is still not satisfied with the result, they should be advised that there is no further right of appeal with the English Delegation of Josephites but they can approach any of the following agencies for advice:
• A solicitor - Home | The Law Society
• Citizens Advice Bureau - Citizens Advice
• The Charity Commission - https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity
This should be done within one month of receiving the outcome from the appeal.
Complex cases
In complex cases, an independent reviewer will be involved at appeal stage to ensure impartiality.
Serial Complaints Clause
The Delegation may, in line with Charity Commission guidance, limit or reject complaints that are deemed to be serial, vexatious, or not made in good faith, following a fair assessment and communication to the complainant.
Canon Law and Appeal Route
This policy does not remove a member’s or stakeholder’s right of recourse to appropriate canonical authority, in accordance with the Code of Canon Law, for matters concerning ecclesiastical or canonical rights and obligations.
Register Review
Complaints are recorded systematically and reviewed by trustees at least annually to identify trends, promote learning, and inform improvements.
Review of this Policy and Complaints Received
This policy will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees at least every 3 years.
All complaints received (and compliments) will be brought before the Board for review at our regular Board meetings. 
Through this process of regular review, we aim to improve our services to you and to ensure that any lessons learned are implemented, within the Delegation.
Variation of the Complaints Procedure
The Trustees of the English Delegation of Josephites may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about the Chair should not also have the Chair and/or Trustee involved as a person leading a Stage 2 review.
Review of Policy
This policy is owned by the Secretary of the Trustees of the English Delegation of Josephites.
It was last reviewed 08 August 2025
It will next be reviewed on 04 September 2026