This policy was agreed by KLS Trustees on 11th September 2013.
All KLS policies are reviewed every three years (or earlier if the law changes).
This policy will be reviewed again in September 2024.
About Katherine Low Settlement
Katherine Low Settlement is a charity that has been serving Battersea and the wider Wandsworth community since 1924. We are dedicated to building stronger communities and enable people to challenge and find ways out of poverty and isolation.
We run a range of our own community projects to support older people, refugee communities and children, young people and families. In addition to these direct services, we also use our premises to act as a local hub for other charities and community groups so that as partners, we can meet the diverse needs of the communities of Wandsworth. Each week we work with 45+ charities and community groups supporting more than 1,100 people. Visit www.klsettlement.org.uk
Katherine Low Settlement (KLS) is committed to running a high quality organisation and services, and we welcome feedback from individuals, intermediaries, charities and anyone who works with us, on all aspects of our services. Such feedback is invaluable in helping us evaluate and improve our work.
The objectives of the KLS Complaints & Compliments Policy are to:
The policy is endorsed by the Katherine Low Settlement’s Trustees and will be reviewed every three years to make sure it remains relevant and appropriate to the needs of KLS: its staff, volunteers, users and visitors.
This Complaints & Compliments policy is freely accessible to all.
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction by an individual or group, whether justified or not.
An individual may make a complaint if they feel KLS has:
A compliment is any expression of praise, admiration, or congratulation by an individual or group about Katherine Low Settlement. This positive feedback ensures that we are offering a high quality service and are fulfilling our mission.
You can send your complaint or compliment to KLS at:
Write: Aaron Barbour
Katherine Low Settlement
108 Battersea High Street
London SW11 3HQ
Email: [email protected] (Director)
Please include:
Thank you.
We have devised the following 3 stage complaints process to understand what has happened, apologise, where appropriate, and set things right, if possible.
The complaints procedure starts with the Manager of one of KLS community services. They will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and carry out a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding it within 20 working days.
If the complaint is upheld, you will receive a full apology and, where appropriate, be given details of any action that KLS’s project was able to take to retrieve the situation or at least put things right for the future. The aim is always to achieve resolution at the earliest stage possible.
Individuals will be advised that if they are not satisfied with the response to their complaint, they may appeal within 14 working days and progress to Stage 2.
If the Community Service Manager is on annual leave/holiday/sick then please speak to the KLS Director. If they in turn are on annual leave/holiday/sick then please contact the Chair of Trustees.
If it is a particularly serious compliant then please make it directly to the KLS Director.
The process followed by the KLS Director in reviewing the complaint is very similar to Stage 1 in that the same target times for responses apply and there is the same obligation for an apology, where owed, and for putting things right, if possible.
The Director will check that the investigation so far has been carried out fully and properly. They will check that the fundamental point of the complaint has been addressed and look at any outstanding issues raised by the complainant.
If an individual remains dissatisfied with the outcome from Stage 2 they can request an Independent Review within 14 working days of the date of the outcome and progress to Stage 3.
If you still feel that all the issues have not been properly tackled, you can request a further review to be conducted under the direction of KLS’s Board of Trustees, with the ultimate authority at KLS being the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Once again, the review will produce a full response, which will contain sufficient information to show that the complaint has been fully investigated and been handled fairly. An apology will be issued where appropriate, and actions will be taken to put things right, if possible.
The Chair will check that the investigation so far has been carried out fully and properly. She or he will check that the fundamental point of the complaint has been addressed and look at any outstanding issues raised by the complainant.
A request for a Stage 3 review should be made within one month of receiving the Stage 2 review. The longer the gap between the original complaint and the review, the more difficult it is to constructively resolve the matter. Requests made outside of this period will be considered if there are extenuating circumstances.
Should the Board of Trustees find that the stated procedure was not followed or that the matter has not been handled fairly, the Chair will specify why and may give directions for a new investigation.
The decision of the Board of Trustees and the Chair is final.
Complaints are important as they allow KLS to learn about the services it provides and how it may improve them. The following data will be collected:
These will be complied quarterly and shared with the Senior Management Team and Board of Trustees for review.
Any verbal or written compliments will be recorded by the member of staff receiving the compliment and be passed to the appropriate manager for recording on the Compliments Register.
Any member of staff identified as being the subject or contributing to any matter giving rise to the compliment will be notified within five working days. Feedback on compliments will be shared with employees, management and trustees at appropriate timings.