Complaints procedure

Complaints Procedure

Plunkett aims to provide a high standard of service to all who contact us for information and advice, and every stakeholder we work with including members, funders, partners and beneficiaries receiving our support. However, occasionally things can go wrong, and when this happens, we want to put matters right as soon as we can. So we can do this, we welcome your feedback as to what went wrong. This will not only help us to improve our service, it also gives us the opportunity to explain and apologise to you.

This document outlines our procedure for responding to your concerns:

Step One – INFORMAL RESOLUTION

We hope that any problems will normally be resolved quickly and informally through discussion with the appropriate member of staff. If you have a concern please let us know by e:mailing the Head of Compliance at info@plunkett.co.uk who will appoint an appropriate member of staff to review the matter.

In all cases, every effort will be made to address the issues in a prompt and timely manner, and to provide you with a response and achieve a resolution as soon as possible. In the majority of cases, a resolution (and certainly action taken as a step towards seeking a resolution) can be expected within a short timeframe. The aim would be to achieve this within seven working days (excluding weekends) to allow us to have an adequate chance of being able to access and communicate with colleagues depending on the circumstances. Should the resolution of a matter necessarily extend to beyond a seven working day period, we will be in touch with you to clearly explain the reasons for this, and to give an indication of when we aim to be able to conclude matters. A written record will be made of all concerns and complaints and the date on which they were received. Should the matter not be resolved satisfactorily then you are advised to proceed with your complaint in accordance with stage 2 of this procedure.

Step 2 – FORMAL RESOLUTION

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you may wish to make a formal complaint. To do so you should write to us stating that you wish to make a formal complaint and provide clear details of the situation that concerns you.

The Senior Management Team will use all reasonable endeavours to send an initial response to your complaint within 48 hours acknowledging receipt of your formal correspondence, and explaining how we will proceed. We will also provide an indication of the date by which we will contact you again, a date which will ordinarily fall within seven working days (excluding weekends). Any extension to this timeframe will be by exception, and will reflect the complexity of the specific case and circumstances and / or the time at which the request is made. Once again, in all cases every effort will be made to address the issue in a prompt and timely manner, and to provide you with a response and a resolution as soon as possible.

A report on the investigation will be prepared and considered by the Chief Executive. Once the Chief Executive is satisfied that, so far as is practicable, all of the relevant facts have been established, they will write and inform you of the outcome of your complaint. The Chief Executive will aim to notify you of their decision within 21 working days of receipt of the complaint. Where there are exceptional circumstances resulting in delay, you will be notified of this and informed of the new timescales as soon as possible.

We are committed to ensuring that all complaints are addressed fairly. However, if you are still unhappy with the outcome of our full and final response, you may choose to ask for the matter to be referred to the Chair of Plunkett Foundation to review the case and make a final decision.

To register a formal complaint please write to:

The Senior Management Team
Plunkett Foundation
The Quadrangle
Banbury Road
Woodstock
OX20 1LH