Complaint Procedure (Small Charity)

This Complaint Procedure (Small Charity) is designed for a small charity. However, a larger charity may also use and adapt it unless it finds that it is not sufficiently sophisticated (in particular because it only caters for a charity with few or no staff) in which case it can instead use the procedure for making complaints to a large charity Complaint Procedure (Large Charity) in this Sub-folder. Either form can be adapted to be used by any other type of non-profit organisation.

The Guidance Notes - Complaint Procedures in this Sub-folder provide background and further guidance about charity complaint procedures.

This template is drafted with the aim of helping charities to implement the Charity Commission’s recommendation to maintain such a complaints procedure, but each charity’s needs and circumstances will be different – what is suitable for one may not be suitable for another. Therefore, whichever template a charity uses, it should consider carefully if and how it should be modified to ensure that what it puts in place in its particular organisation is suitable and that it will work well in practice. Any part of the Procedure can and should be modified if it is not suitable.

This Complaint Procedure (Small Charity) assumes that in view of the size of the charity all complaints are to be handled by someone at the head of the organisation (i.e. Chief Executive, Charity Secretary, or appropriate trustee(s)) irrespective of the nature of the complaint or who the complaint is about. The Procedure provides that if the complaint is not resolved at the initial stage, it can be escalated by the complainant.

This template is intended for use by charities registered with the Charity Commission. If a charity is registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland, it should take specific legal advice as to adoption of a complaints procedure.

This template is in open format. Either enter the requisite details in the highlighted fields or adjust the wording to suit your purposes.

Optional phrases / clauses are enclosed in square brackets. These should be read carefully and selected so as to be compatible with one another. Unused options should be removed from the document.

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