Complaints procedure

Whilst we hope that we deliver good programmes and activities, sometimes we may get it wrong and we would like to hear from you if you are not satisfied with any aspect of our programmes or activities.

This document explains our complaints procedure which is accessible to all on an equal basis. Our approach will be to try to put things right quickly and politely. Making a complaint will not affect the quality of work you receive from Dancers’ Career Development.

Do you need any specific requirements to enable you to make a complaint?

• Please let us know if you would like to receive this complaints procedure in an alternative format.
• We can arrange for the complaints procedure to take place through audio tape or textphone.
• You can obtain independent advice from an organisation such as a Citizens Advice Bureau. Their contact details can be found in the Phone Book or their web address is http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

If you would like to make a complaint, this is what you should do:

Stages in our complaints procedure:

Stage 1
Contact the member of staff you first dealt with, giving details of what you wish to complain about. If the complaint is made in writing or through an answer message, we will inform you that we have received it within three working days. The member of staff will investigate your complaint with the aim to settle the complaint as quickly as possible. Please tell us how you would like to be contacted to receive our response.

In most cases you will receive a full reply to your complaint within 10 working days of making the complaint. If we cannot give you a full reply in this time, we will tell you why and inform you of when you are likely to receive it.

Stage 2
If you are dissatisfied with the response you receive from the member of staff you may ask us to review the complaint by emailing the DCD Executive Director at vanessa.lefrancois@thedcd.org.uk with the word ‘Complaint’ in the email subject. You must request Stage 2 within 10 working days of receiving our response to Stage 1. Please put in writing:

• What happened
• When it happened (dates and times)
• Who dealt with you; and
• What you would like us to do to put it right

We may ask you to attend a meeting with us to discuss your complaint in more detail. We would send you a written record of the meeting and a formal reply to your complaint from the Executive Director of DCD. We will aim to do this within 10 working days from the receiving your written complaint in stage 2.

Stage 3
If the matter is still not put right to your satisfaction, you may appeal to the DCD Board of Trustees. We may ask you to attend a meeting with a representative of the Board to discuss your complaint in more detail. We would send you a written record of the meeting and a formal reply to your complaint from the Board of DCD. The meeting would take place a maximum of 15 days after stage 3 has been requested, and you would receive a written response10 working days after the meeting.

Stage 4
If you are not satisfied with the Board’s response, you can refer your complaint to the Charity Commission. The commission looks into complaints about charities whether they are from the public, the media or another regulatory body. In most cases the Charity Commission will seek to work with the charity to set things right. If a problem appears to be serious or complicated, the commission may carry out further enquiries to establish the facts and decide what action is necessary to remedy it.

Your personal information
If you use our complaints procedure, you are agreeing that we can use any personal information you send us for purposes connected with your complaint. We will only give your personal information to other people and organisations if you have given us permission to do so.

Equal opportunities
We are committed to equal opportunities and take complaints about discrimination seriously.

DCD records information about the ethnic background, age, sex, religion, sexual orientation and disability of everyone who makes a complaint so that we promote and maintain our equal opportunities commitment. We will keep all information confidential.

Comments and suggestions
We hope that your concerns can always be resolved through the stages 1 and 2 of the procedure above. However, we welcome comments and suggestions that can help us improve our programmes and activities. The feedback we obtain will help us to continue to improve our programmes and activities.

Contact information
Dancers’ Career Development
Plouviez House,
19-20 Hatton Place,
London,
EC1N 8RU

Tel: 020 7831 1449
Email: dancers@thedcd.org.uk

Review of this procedure

We keep this procedure under regular review. This procedure was last updated in May 2018.