Complaints Policy

At Handcrafted, we are committed to continually improving the quality of our services and ensuring that every individual we support receives the best possible experience. We welcome feedback and take all complaints seriously, viewing them as valuable opportunities to learn and enhance our work.

This policy outlines the process for raising complaints, ensuring they are handled fairly, transparently, and in a timely manner. Confidentiality will be maintained throughout, and appropriate support will be provided to those making a complaint.

This policy will be reviewed as required and at least annually by the group or individual responsible for review and authorised by the Trustees as below:

Group or individual responsible for review	The Ethos and Values Steering Group
Last review and approval	31/05/2023

Complaints from Occupants of Handcrafted Supported Housing

Handcrafted encourages residents of our supported housing to comment on the standard and quality of the services received. This information can be used to improve the service and to address bad practice.

Handcrafted operates Licence Agreements by which the recipients of our supported-housing provision are granted a licence to occupy the property on certain conditions. This means that Handcrafted staff are permitted to attend properties at any time and resolve issues rapidly, while respecting the occupier's right to privacy and fairness. A complaints procedure forms part of the Standard Licence Agreement.

Complaints can be made for a number of reasons:

• Substandard quality of service
• Behaviour of a member of staff
• Poor attitude of a staff member
• Failure to provide adequate support
• Problems with the accommodation not being resolved in a timely manner

Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the complaints procedure. Only those staff that need to know about the complaint will have access to details.

In the first instance

Handcrafted aims to resolve issues informally in the first instance, based on the good communication, positive non-judgemental regard and the ethos of listening first that we aspire to cultivate with all supported housing residents.

Supported housing residents are seen by support workers at least twice a week and regularly contacted, giving the opportunity for any concerns to be raised and addressed.

Formal complaints

Complaints may take the form of a formal letter or email addressed to the Hub Lead or a member of the handcrafted management team, or they may be made verbally when an individual states that they wish to make a complaint, which will then be recorded in writing and referred to the line manager at the appropriate level. Contact details for Hub Leads and Managers are given in Appendix A.

Management support will be offered to clients from the outset of a complaint. Access to independent advice or help will assist with overcoming many of the barriers that clients may encounter. This may be from friends, relatives, advice centres or local advocacy group.

All complaints will initially be dealt with by the Manager. The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 days of receipt and will be responded to within 10 days. If the matter can be resolved quickly and to the satisfaction of the complainant at this stage, it will not be necessary to treat it as a formal complaint.

Appeals

If a complaint cannot be resolved satisfactorily or the occupant is unhappy with a decision, they can appeal further to CEO Dan Northover or Project Manager John Hinton to look into the matter. Handcrafted staff will support occupants to appeal in writing if they wish to do so or support them by arranging an opportunity to speak to the CEO or Project Manager.

Complaints from Other Members of the Public

From time to time, members of the public may wish to make a complaint about one of the properties we manage or the occupants of the properties.

Complaints may include:

• Noise disturbance at a property
• Health and safety hazards posed by the state of a property
• Concerns about criminal activity
• Other antisocial behaviour by occupants

What can be done

Handcrafted operates Licence Agreements by which the recipients of our supported-housing provision are granted a licence to occupy the property on certain conditions. This means that Handcrafted staff are permitted to attend properties at any time and resolve issues rapidly, while respecting the occupier's right to privacy and fairness.

When occupying Handcrafted Supported Accommodation, licencees agree to keep the property to a certain standard and to adhere to rules of behaviour. Some complaints may therefore result from breaches of this agreement. Where this is the case, Handcrafted makes a measured, proportional response that may range from agreeing a documented management plan with clear outcomes, through to issuing verbal or written warnings, proceeding eventually to termination of the licence agreement.

In the first instance

Handcrafted aims to resolve issues informally in the first instance, based on the good communication, positive non-judgemental regard and the ethos of listening first that we aspire to cultivate with all residents and members of the public.

Members of the public who have concerns are invited to contact the local Hub Lead who oversees the property by phone or email (Contacts provided in Appendix A) to have a conversation about the concern and see if it can be quickly resolved.

If this is not satisfactory, a formal complaint can be lodged.

Formal complaints

Complaints may take the form of a formal letter or email addressed to the Hub Lead or a member of the handcrafted management team, or they may be made verbally when an individual states that they wish to make a complaint, which will then be recorded in writing and referred to the line manager at the appropriate level. Contact details for Hub Leads and Managers are given in Appendix A.

All complaints will initially be dealt with by the Manager. The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 days of receipt and will be responded to within 10 days. If the matter can be resolved quickly and to the satisfaction of the complainant at this stage, it will not be necessary to treat it as a formal complaint.

Appeals

If a complaint cannot be resolved satisfactorily or the member of the public is unhappy with a decision, they can appeal further by emailing or writing to CEO Dan Northover or Project Manager John Hinton to look into the matter.

Contact Details for Complaints:

Contact Details for Complaints

Location	Contact Person	Address	Phone	Email
Handcrafted Chester-le-Street	Paul Baddams	143c Front Street, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3AU	N/A	clshub@handcrafted.org.uk
Handcrafted Durham	Lorraine Jones	Unit 7 Skillion Business Centre, Littleburn Industrial Estate, Langley Moor, Durham, DH7 8HG	0191 378 1562	durhamhub@handcrafted.org.uk
Handcrafted Gateshead	Neil Toomey	The Shakespeare, 88/96 Fife Street, Deckham, Gateshead, NE8 3RR	0191 676 0499	gatesheadhub@handcrafted.org.uk
Director of Operations	John Hinton	Unit 7 Skillion Business Centre, Littleburn Industrial Estate, Langley Moor, Durham, DH7 8HG	N/A	john@handcrafted.org.uk