Churches Together in England

Featured

Loading

CTE Complaints Policy and Procedure

How CTE handles complaints

Home  →  CTE Complaints Policy and Procedure

Introduction  

Churches Together in England is committed to providing an excellent service to its members and other stakeholders, working in an open and accountable way that builds trust and respect.   

Our Aim  

Churches Together in England aims to resolve complaints quickly, fairly and effectively.  One of the ways in which we can continue to improve is by listening and responding to the views of our members, partners and stakeholders and in particular responding positively to complaints, and by putting mistakes right.  

Purpose  

Churches Together in England’s complaint procedure is intended to ensure that all complaints are handled fairly, consistently and wherever possible resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction.  

Churches Together in England recognises that many concerns raised will be informal, and we aim to deal with these quickly.  In the first instance we would expect any complaint to be raised directly with the member of staff concerned.  But if concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved informally, then the formal complaints procedure should be followed.  

Monitoring and Reporting  

Trustees of Churches Together in England will receive anonymised reports of complaints made and their resolution.  

Principles of the Complaints Policy  

The Churches Together in England policy is based on the principle of a three stage process (as detailed in the Complaints Procedure below).  

Where a complaint is against a member of staff they should be informed of the support services available to them.  

Except in exceptional circumstances, every attempt will be made to ensure that both the complainant and Churches Together in England maintain confidentiality.  However the circumstances giving rise to the complaint may be such that it may not be possible to maintain confidentiality.  Should this be the case, the situation will be explained to the complainant. 

Complaints Procedure

1. Stage 1 Informal 

  1. Churches Together in England recognises that many concerns raised will be informal, and we aim to deal with these quickly.  In the first instance we would expect any complaint to be raised directly with the member of staff concerned.   
  1. But if concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved informally, then the formal complaints procedure should be followed.  
  1. Stage 2 Formal 
  1. If you are unable to resolve the issue informally and wish to make a formal complaint you should write or email the General Secretary of Churches Together in England setting out the grounds for your complaint.  

(If your complaint is against the General Secretary you should write to the Chair of Trustees of Churches Together in England.)  

In your letter you should set out the details of your complaint, the consequences for you as a result, and the remedy you are seeking.  

  1. This will be acknowledged normally within 5 working days to inform you of the action which will be taken to investigate the complaint, and the expected timescale of the investigation. 
  1.  The outcome of the investigation will be communicated to the complainant in writing with details of any action taken and a time-scale for implementation                 (if applicable and appropriate).  All appropriate members of staff will also receive         a copy of this report, which will also be presented to the Board of Trustees.  
  1. Stage 3 Appeal 
  1. If you are not satisfied with the response from stage 2, you then have the option of asking for a review of your complaint in writing to the Chair of the Trustees of Churches Together in England. [If your complaint is against the General Secretary, you should write to one of the CTE Presidents, who will consult with the rest of the Presidents as appropriate.] 
  1. The Chair of the Board of Trustees will respond normally within 10 working days to inform you of the action which will be taken to investigate the complaint, and the expected timescale of the investigation.  
  1. The outcome of the appeal investigation, either to uphold the Stage 2 decision or to make changes to the Stage 2 recommendations, will be communicated to the complainant in writing. The decision reached about this complaint will then be final. All appropriate members of staff will also receive a copy of the appeal outcome, which will also be presented to the Board of Trustees.  

This privacy notice was last updated in 2020 but will be subject to regular review.