The Belay Foundation aims to provide a positive experience for everyone we interact with and is committed to high-quality services and activities.
For the purpose of this policy, a complaint is defined as ‘an expression of dissatisfaction or concern by one or more individuals about something The Belay Foundation, one of its staff members or volunteers, or someone else acting on behalf of The Belay Foundation, has or hasn’t done, or about the standard of service provided by The Belay Foundation’.
Wherever possible, the aim is to resolve complaints informally. You can contact the CEO if you would like to provide feedback or to explore an informal resolution instead of submitting a formal complaint. If the matter concerns the CEO, you can raise it with the Trustees. Please email on info@thebelayfoundation.org.uk to raise concerns informally.
Complaints or concerns relating to safeguarding will usually be dealt with through The Belay Foundation’s safeguarding procedures and safeguarding concerns should be raised with the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
This Code of Conduct sets out the expected behaviour of all staff members and volunteers of The Belay Foundation, and others acting on behalf of The Belay Foundation, when participating in any activity relating to The Belay Foundation, in person or online.
Staff members and volunteers must always:
You should always attempt to initially resolve complaints and concerns informally where you feel comfortable to do so, talking to the most relevant person.
The Belay Foundation will not investigate matters which it considers to be serious criminal matters and will refer such complaints to the Police or other relevant organisations.
You can make a complaint about either:
or
To complain, you should submit a complaint in writing to the CEO, detailing the date of the incident, a description of the incident, what action you have taken so far to resolve the incident and what outcome or further action you are seeking. It can also be helpful to include evidence at this stage, such as screenshots of messages, photos or witness statements. Complaints should be submitted within 14 days of the relevant incident where possible and where safe to do so. If the matter concerns the CEO, you should email your complaint to the Co-Chairs of the Trustees.
The Belay Foundation will aim to acknowledge your complaint within 7 days of receipt and will consider if it fits within the scope of this policy and whether reasonable steps have been taken to resolve the issue informally.
If an investigation is required, an Investigating Officer (ordinarily a trustee) will be assigned to your complaint. The Investigating Officer will aim to contact you within 7 days of receiving your complaint to seek any further information and, where possible, will aim to deal with your complaint within 30 days. All those involved should refrain from saying anything about the complaint in public while the investigation is taking place. Some details of the complaint will need to be shared with others to effectively investigate. The Investigating Officer will discuss this with you.
If at any point the Investigating Officer feels that this complaint is not something The Belay Foundation can investigate, we will inform you. If the Investigating Officer uncovers allegation of real or potential criminal activity or believes someone poses a risk to themselves or others, they may report it to the Police and the investigation might need to be stopped.
At the end of the investigation, the Investigating Officer will complete a report to determine whether the complaint is upheld in whole or in part and may put forward recommendations for any further steps required to resolve the complaint. This report will then be considered by at least one trustee or staff member (different from the Investigating Officer) to review the Investigating Officer’s decision and to agree on any sanctions or support.
If unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, you can write to the Board of Trustees stating where you feel the complaint has not been dealt with in a fair and appropriate manner. The Board of Trustees will review the investigation and the decision made. They may gather further information if required, including contacting you and will aim to deal with the appeal within 30 days. You will be given a decision in writing about whether the complaint will be upheld including further action taken, or if no further action will be taken.
If you are still dissatisfied after submitting a complaint and appeal, you will be informed that you can submit a complaint to the Charity Commission.
The Charity Commission can receive complaints about the running of the charity if there are concerns that the charity is:
The Charity Commission complaints process can be started here: Raising concerns – Charity Commission
Policy Review Date: November 2025.
Next Review Date: November 2026.
