Complaints Procedure

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about our service, actions, decisions, communication, or the conduct of someone working on behalf of DiRich. It may relate to:

• The quality or suitability of support
• The behaviour, attitude or conduct of a member of staff
• A delay, cancellation or failure to provide an agreed service
• Communication or lack of information
• Fees, invoices or charges
• A decision made by DiRich
• Respect, dignity, privacy or confidentiality
• Equality, accessibility or discrimination
• Health and safety
• Safeguarding or risk-management concerns
• How a previous concern or complaint was handled

Where a matter relates to another organisation, we'll explain this and, where appropriate and lawful, help identify the correct organisation to contact. Employment concerns raised by staff may need to be considered under the appropriate grievance, disciplinary or whistleblowing procedure rather than this public procedure.

A complaint may be made by the individual receiving support, a child or young person, a parent or person with parental responsibility, a family member or carer, an advocate or representative, a social worker or other professional, a school, college, local authority or commissioning organisation, or another person affected by our service.

Where someone complains on behalf of another person, we may need to confirm they have permission or appropriate authority to act. Consent may not always be required where the individual is a child and the complainant has parental responsibility, the individual cannot provide consent and the representative is acting lawfully in their best interests, there is a safeguarding concern, or there is another lawful reason for considering the complaint. We always consider confidentiality, capacity, consent and data-protection requirements before sharing personal information.

These will be considered wherever sufficient information is available, though our ability to investigate or respond may be limited if we can't contact the complainant for further information.

Please raise a concern as soon as reasonably possible. We normally ask that complaints be made within 12 months of the event, or of the date the complainant first became aware of the issue. We may consider an older complaint where there's a reasonable explanation for the delay and a fair investigation remains possible.

A complaint may be made verbally or in writing — by phone on 01283 351888, by email to info@dirichsupport.com, or verbally to a DiRich director or support worker, who will make a written record and check it accurately reflects the concern raised.

Please do not send complaints or confidential documents to our registered office. It's used for company registration and official correspondence only, and is not our service-delivery location. Written complaint documents may be sent securely by email or handed directly to an authorised DiRich representative by prior arrangement.

Please avoid sending unnecessary medical records, financial information, identification documents or other highly sensitive information with an initial complaint — we'll request anything further securely if it's required.

• The complainant's name and contact details
• The name of the person receiving support, where relevant
• What happened, and when and where
• Who was involved
• How the matter affected the individual
• Whether the issue has already been raised with anyone
• What outcome or action the complainant would like
• Any communication or accessibility requirements

A complaint will not automatically be rejected because some of this information is unavailable.

We want our complaints procedure to be accessible to everyone. We can provide reasonable help to someone who needs support to make or understand a complaint, including:

• Explaining the procedure in plain language
• Recording a verbal complaint
• Communicating with an authorised representative or advocate
• Allowing additional time where reasonably required
• Providing information in an alternative format where practicable
• Taking account of communication, sensory, learning or accessibility needs

Please tell us about any reasonable adjustment or communication support you need.

Complaint information is handled sensitively and shared only with people who need it to investigate, respond to or act upon the complaint, or where disclosure is required or permitted by law. Personal information is processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data-protection law.

Complaint records may include the complaint and supporting information, communications with the complainant, investigation notes, evidence considered, findings and decisions, actions taken, and learning and service improvements. Records are stored securely and retained only for as long as reasonably necessary or legally required.

Complaints, concerns, compliments and other feedback are reviewed to identify repeated concerns, areas requiring improvement, training or supervision needs, changes needed to policies or procedures, and opportunities to improve safety, communication and service quality. Where appropriate, we'll explain what has been learned and what action has been taken.

No person will be disadvantaged, intimidated or treated unfairly because they have raised a genuine concern or complaint. We expect everyone involved in the complaints process to communicate respectfully.

Where communication becomes abusive, threatening, discriminatory or unreasonably persistent, DiRich may introduce proportionate communication arrangements while continuing to consider any genuine unresolved issues.