Complaints Policy and Procedure
KCIL welcomes feedback and views complaints as an opportunity to learn, improve our services and put things right when something has gone wrong.
We aim to make it as easy as possible for people to raise concerns or make complaints. Anyone making a complaint will be treated fairly, respectfully and without discrimination. Making a complaint will not adversely affect the services or support a person receives from KCIL.
We will make reasonable adjustments where needed to enable disabled people to access and use our complaints procedure.
Our aims are:
To provide a fair, accessible and transparent complaints procedure.
To make sure people know how to raise a concern or make a complaint.
To ensure that KCIL staff and trustees know how complaints should be handled.
To investigate complaints fairly, objectively and within reasonable timescales.
To resolve problems as quickly as possible and, where appropriate, repair relationships.
To explain our findings and any action we have taken.
To learn from complaints and use this information to improve our services.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about any aspect of KCIL’s services, activities, staff, decisions or operations where the person would like KCIL to respond or take action.
Not every concern needs to become a formal complaint. Where appropriate, we will try to resolve concerns quickly and informally. However, a person may ask for their concern to be treated as a formal complaint.
Who can make a complaint?
Anyone affected by or with an interest in KCIL’s work may make a complaint. This includes, for example:
people who use our services;
Personal Assistants and other people who interact with our services;
members;
family members, carers or representatives;
local authority staff and other professionals;
partner organisations;
donors; and
members of the public.
Someone may make a complaint on another person’s behalf. Where the complaint relates to confidential information about another person, we may need their consent before we can provide information or discuss the complaint in detail, unless there is another lawful basis for doing so.
We will consider anonymous complaints where there is sufficient information to investigate them, although being unable to contact the complainant may limit what we can investigate or report back.
This policy does not apply to complaints from KCIL employees about their employment. Employees should use KCIL’s Grievance Procedure where appropriate.
How to make a complaint
A complaint can be made:
verbally;
by telephone;
by email;
in writing; or
in person.
You do not have to put your complaint in writing.
If someone makes a complaint verbally, a member of staff can make a written record of the complaint and, where appropriate, check with the complainant that we have understood it correctly.
Complaints can be made:
By telephone: 020 8546 9603
By email: [email protected]
By post:
KCIL
River Reach
31–35 High Street
Kingston
Surrey
A complaint may also be raised with a member of KCIL staff or a trustee.
If you need support or a reasonable adjustment to make a complaint, please tell us how we can help.
What we will record
When a complaint is received, we will normally record:
the complainant’s name and contact details, where provided;
their relationship with KCIL, where relevant;
what has happened and what they are dissatisfied with;
what outcome they are seeking, where known;
any communication or accessibility needs;
the action taken to investigate and respond to the complaint; and
the outcome and any learning or action arising from it.
Personal information relating to complaints will be handled in accordance with KCIL’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notice.
Confidentiality
Complaints will be handled sensitively and information will only be shared with people who need it in order to investigate, respond to or manage the complaint, or where disclosure is otherwise required by law.
Where a complaint involves another person, KCIL may need to speak to that person and explain the substance of the concerns raised so that the complaint can be investigated fairly.
Responsibility
The KCIL Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for this policy.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is normally responsible for overseeing complaints and ensuring that complaints are recorded and dealt with appropriately.
Managers are responsible for ensuring that staff are aware of this policy and know how to respond when a complaint or concern is received.
All KCIL staff are expected to:
treat complaints and concerns positively and respectfully;
know how to access this policy;
report complaints appropriately;
cooperate with investigations; and
identify and escalate safeguarding concerns where necessary.
No person will investigate a complaint about their own actions or decisions.
Complaints about the CEO or trustees
A complaint about the CEO should be referred to the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
A complaint about a trustee should normally be referred to the Chair.
If the complaint concerns the Chair, it will be referred to another trustee who is not involved in the matter.
Safeguarding concerns
A complaint may include information which raises a safeguarding concern.
Where this happens, KCIL will follow its Safeguarding Policy as well as this complaints procedure. The appropriate KCIL Safeguarding Lead will be informed and, where necessary, a safeguarding concern will be raised with the relevant local authority or other agency.
Where there is uncertainty about whether a matter meets the safeguarding threshold, the appropriate Safeguarding Lead will be consulted.
Safeguarding action may need to take priority over the complaints investigation.
Stage One – Investigation and response
When a formal complaint is received, it will be recorded in KCIL’s complaints log and allocated to an appropriate person to investigate.
Where possible, this will be someone who has not previously been directly involved in the matter complained about. A person who is the subject of the complaint will not investigate that complaint.
We will acknowledge a formal complaint within four working days.
The acknowledgement will normally tell the complainant:
who is dealing with the complaint;
how they can contact that person;
what will happen next; and
when they can expect a response.
We aim to provide a full response within three weeks.
Some complaints may take longer to investigate. If we cannot respond within three weeks, we will explain why and give the complainant an indication of when they can expect a full response.
Our response will normally explain:
how the complaint was investigated;
what information was considered;
our findings and conclusions;
whether the complaint, or particular parts of it, have been upheld; and
any action KCIL has taken or intends to take as a result.
Where something has gone wrong, we will consider an appropriate remedy. This may include an explanation, apology, corrective action or changes to our procedures.
Stage Two – Review
If the complainant remains dissatisfied after Stage One, they may request a review.
They should explain which parts of the Stage One response they remain dissatisfied with and why. They do not need to repeat the entire original complaint.
The request will be acknowledged within two working days.
The complaint and the Stage One investigation will normally be reviewed by the Chair of the Board of Trustees or another trustee who has not previously been involved in the matter.
The reviewer may:
review the complaint and investigation records;
speak to the complainant;
speak to the person who conducted the Stage One investigation;
speak to other relevant people; and
request additional information where necessary.
We aim to provide the Stage Two response within three weeks of receiving the request for review.
If this is not possible, we will explain the reason for the delay and indicate when a full response can be expected.
The Stage Two response will explain the reviewer’s conclusions and any further action to be taken.
Stage Two is the final stage of KCIL’s internal complaints procedure.
Complaints about commissioned services
Some KCIL services are provided under contract with a local authority or another public body.
Depending on the service and the nature of the complaint, the commissioning organisation may have its own complaints procedure or further escalation arrangements.
Where this applies, KCIL will explain the relevant options to the complainant.
Unreasonable or unacceptable behaviour
We understand that people may be upset, frustrated or angry when making a complaint. We will not restrict someone’s access to the complaints procedure simply because they are persistent, strongly disagree with KCIL’s response or communicate assertively.
However, in a small number of cases, behaviour may become unreasonable or unacceptable. Examples may include:
repeatedly raising substantially the same issues after they have been fully investigated and responded to;
making excessive or repeated contact which places unreasonable demands on staff;
refusing to identify the issues being complained about despite reasonable attempts to clarify them;
continually changing the substance of a complaint or introducing unrelated matters in a way that prevents the complaint from being concluded;
abusive, discriminatory, threatening or intimidating behaviour towards staff or others; or
making demands that cannot reasonably or lawfully be met.
Where this occurs, KCIL may decide to place reasonable limits on how we communicate with the person. For example, we may ask that contact is made through a named member of staff, in writing, or at agreed intervals.
Any restrictions will be proportionate to the behaviour concerned, kept under review and will not prevent KCIL from considering genuinely new complaints, safeguarding concerns or significant new information.
Where possible, the person will be told why restrictions are being introduced and what those restrictions are.
Monitoring and learning
KCIL maintains a record of formal complaints and their outcomes.
Complaints will be reviewed periodically to identify:
recurring themes or problems;
improvements that could be made to services or procedures;
training or support needs;
safeguarding or organisational risks; and
actions taken as a result of complaints.
Relevant information about complaints and learning will be reported to the Board of Trustees so that trustees can exercise appropriate oversight.
KCIL will review this policy periodically and update it where necessary.
Updated: October 2026
