Complaints

If you would like to make a complaint about Public Voice, please read the information below.

Making a complaint about Public Voice

About Public Voice

Public Voice is a Community Interest Company (CIC) with a mission to improve neighbourhoods; the lives of the people who live in them and the public services they use.

Through our work, we ensure people in the community are heard – bringing together diverse voices and including those who find themselves marginalised or are rarely reached by service providers. We take a user-centred, co-production approach to understanding individuals’ and communities’ needs, and translate that into meaningful insights for service providers in government, public health, and housing.

The results are better outcomes for residents and service users, more effective and efficient services for providers, and stronger and healthier neighbourhoods.

Purpose and scope of this policy

Public Voice CIC aims to provide high a quality service that meets the needs and expectations of our clients, customers, service users and statutory partners. However, we recognise that there may be occasions when clients and those working with us feel that the quality or level of service provided falls short of what they could reasonably expect.

We monitor and evaluate our services and welcome feedback that contributes to the development and continual improvement of our organisation.

Complaints relating to any of our services should be made to Public Voice by email, letter, or by telephone. Contact details can be found at the end of this policy.

Public Voice services:

  • Cancer Community Links
  • Haringey Advice Partnership
  • Haringey Community Collaborative
  • Healthwatch Croydon
  • Healthwatch Haringey
  • Healthwatch Hounslow
  • Public Voice Neighbourhoods – Independent Tenants and Leaseholder Advisors
  • Participation and Co-production (Partnerships)
  • Haringey Reach and Connect
  • Social Prescribing (including Health and Wellbeing Coach)

Procedure for dealing with complaints

If you are not happy with the service provided by Public Voice CIC, or the behaviour of our staff, representatives or volunteers, please tell us. If possible, please make your complaint within three months of the concern occurring. This will enable us to address the complaint including preventing any further concerns.

Informal resolution

In the first instance contact the Public Voice Human Resources and Administration Manager to discuss the issue. You can make contact by either letter, email or by telephone.

It would be helpful at this stage before any discussion for you to provide some detail to about the nature of your complaint such as the date it relates to, whether it’s about an individual or one of our services, and what outcome are you expecting.

This will be a private communication and discussion aimed at understanding and possibly resolving the issue and can take place over correspondence, the telephone, in an online meeting, or at an in-person meeting based on what you would prefer. It will be arranged as soon as possible – usually within five working days of the concern being raised – at a mutually convenient time.

If helpful, the Public Voice Human Resources and Administration Manager may suggest a meeting with other people concerned. If your complaint relates to Public Voice Human Resources and Administration Manager, you should raise your complaint with the CEO, making contact by either letter, email or by telephone.

If the complaint relates to a safeguarding concern this will be escalated to our Safeguarding Lead without delay, and our response will be guided by our Safeguarding Policy and Procedure. Public Voice’s CEO is the Safeguarding Lead.

Formal written complaints

If your concerns cannot be resolved through informal resolution you may wish to make a formal complaint. This should be in writing to the Public Voice Human Resources and Administration Manager, or to the CEO if the Public Voice Human Resources and Administration Manager is a subject of the complaint. If you have previously sought informal resolution, we would usually expect to receive your formal complaint within fifteen working days of the end of the attempted informal resolution.

Our response to your complaint

You will receive a written acknowledgement of your complaint within five working days, and a further detailed written response from the Public Voice Human Resources and Administration Manager or Senior Leadership Team member usually within fifteen working days unless the complexity of the issue takes longer to investigate in which case we will advise you in writing of the anticipated timescale.

The response will:

  • set out the findings of our investigation
  • how the problem has been or will be dealt with, as appropriate; and
  • what, if any, further action is to be taken.

Appeals process

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint, you can contact the CEO of Public Voice by either letter, email or by telephone to request that the concern is escalated to appeal. You should then submit your appeal in writing addressed to the CEO.

In all but exceptional circumstances the appeal should be made within fifteen working days of the manager or Senior Leadership Team member informing the complainant of the outcome.

The CEO will convene an ad hoc Appeal Panel comprising of the CEO, HR Manager and a Senior Leadership Team member (not previously involved in the complaint) to meet within fifteen working days of the appeal being received.

Should you wish to be accompanied to the appeal meeting and wish to bring someone, we ask that you confirm in writing (either by letter or email) three days before the meeting the name of the individual accompanying you and the nature of their relationship to you, such as family member, friend or colleague.

The Panel will only have regard to the information available at the time of the original complaint and will consider whether:

  • this procedure was adhered to;
  • there was a failure by the investigating officer to account for a material matter available at the time;
  • or any recommendation disproportionate to the complaint.

The findings of the Panel will be provided in writing to the appellant within ten working days of the meeting.

Should the CEO be unable or unavailable to hear the appeal then the Chair, Vice Chair or another member of the Public Voice Board will hear the appeal along with the HR Manager and a Senior Leadership Team member (not previously involved in the complaint).

We may have to consider a complaint closed if we do not receive a response from you to our communications. Public Voice will:

  • Make two attempts to contact you by phone and if you have voicemail, we will leave a message providing it is safe to do so.
  • We may also make two attempts by email or post (depending on the method of communication agreed) providing it is safe to do so.
  • If you fail to respond within fourteen working days to our phone calls, voice messages, emails or letter then we will consider the complaint closed and will write to you to explain that as we have not received a response within fourteen working days Public Voice now considers the complaint closed.
  • Please note that we may not contact you in all these ways as we will not want to overwhelm you in our communications.
  • If you fail to attend informal and/or formal meetings even after re-scheduling, then we will consider the complaint closed (unless we have agreed and there is a need for a reasonable adjustment).
  • If we have concerns about your safety and wellbeing as a result of no communications, then we may escalate to a safeguarding response with the support of our Safeguarding Lead.

Persistent, vexatious, malicious or threatening complaints

As an employer Public Voice has a duty of care to ensure a safe working environment for staff, clients, service users, colleagues and volunteers. This includes not only physical safety but also mental health and wellbeing.

Complaints which are found to be either persistent, vexatious, malicious, threatening or without substance are not only time consuming which can affect service delivery putting extra pressure on staff teams, they can also have an adverse effect for those involved, as these types of complaints can be distressing and overwhelming.

On rare occasions Public Voice may have to take further actions including ceasing all further communications or engagement with complainants who are found to raise these types of complaints, alerting the local authorities including the police and local health care services.

If this happens and providing it is safe to do so Public Voice will communicate with the complainant to inform them the action that has been taken and why within seven working days.

Confidentiality

Throughout the process best efforts will be made to ensure confidentiality.

Complaints monitoring

All complaints, including those resolved informally and those subject to appeal are reported to the Public Voice Board as a standing item on their agenda (through the CEO’s report).

Contact details

Email: hello@publicvoice.uk

Telephone: 020 3196 1900

Mailing address:

Public Voice CIC
Freepost RTXY-BSRB-RCSS
Tottenham Town Hall
Town Hall Approach Road
London N15 4RX

Accessibility

Public Voice CIC values equality of access. If you should need assistance to read and understand this procedure, we can provide an accessible version or where possible a translated version. If it is not possible for you to put your complaint in writing, please contact the HR Manager to discuss your access needs.

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