Introduction

Refugees at Home (RaH) connects refugees and asylum seekers in need of somewhere to stay with people who wish to offer accommodation in their home. Our organisation is made up of a small number of paid staff and volunteers who are given a basic training and who are expected to act in a professional way. We work with referrers, guests, hosts and home visitors to make suitable placements. Our placements are made on the basis that we are introducing adults to adults to form their own relationships, and we do not make rules or lay down guidelines as to how those relationships develop.

We constantly strive to maintain the highest possible standards in the way we work, interact with people and organisations and in the behaviour of our staff and volunteers.

However, we recognise that there may be occasions when these standards are not met and we want to know when such lapses occur in order that we can take steps to prevent them happening again. We therefore ask anyone experiencing dissatisfaction with how they have been treated to let us know using the procedure set out below.

Complaint registration

If you are unhappy with any action or actions, or lack of action, by R@H or our volunteers, please register a complaint within one month of the incident by emailing info@refugeesathome.org

To help us thoroughly investigate the circumstances of your complaint, please provide us with as much information as possible including, where applicable:

• the exact nature of the complaint;
• the date and time of the incident giving rise to the complaint;
• the location of the incident;
• the identities of persons involved, if known;
• any information which might help us to identify persons involved; and
• an indication of how you would like us to resolve your complaint.

The complaint will be dealt with by the Executive Director of Refugees at Home, unless the complaint is about the Executive Director in which case it will be dealt with by one of the Trustees (other than the Chair).

The Executive Director (or Trustee) will:

As far as possible respect the confidentiality and privacy of your complaint (whilst being required to notify the person(s) against whom a complaint has been made);

• Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five working days of its receipt;
• Commence an investigation of your complaint as soon as practicable within 10 working days after acknowledgement of your complaint;
• Advise you of the investigation’s progress and of any action which is proposed in timely manner; and
• Advise you when the investigation is expected to be completed.

Where, in exceptional circumstances, it has not been possible to conclude our investigation within the promised time frame, you will be advised accordingly and told when you can expect notification of our findings.

What complaints are covered by this procedure?

You can use this procedure in the case of:

• Lack of care or consideration
• Lack of timely contact or response
• Rudeness or lack of sensitivity
• Release of sensitive information or personal details without permission
• Failure to meet our obligations under the Data Protection Act
• Failure to act in accordance with English Law
• Withholding relevant or important information
• Failure to use due diligence to garner important information
• Racism, homophobia, misogyny or cultural or religious insensitivity
• Refusal to provide assistance where it should be given
• Other

If you are dissatisfied with our reply to your complaint

If you believe that your complaint has not been investigated fairly or that the information you supplied has not been given due consideration, you may ask us to reconsider your complaint. You should make a request for reconsideration within 10 working days of receipt of our reply by communicating your continued dissatisfaction making reference to the date of your original complaint.

The complaint and its circumstances will, in this case, be referred to the Chair for reconsideration and determination. Normally, the Chair will not have been informed or involved in the complaint before this point, such that a completely fresh view can be taken.

The Chair’s determination will be final. If the complaint is not upheld at this point, and the complainant remains dissatisfied, redress will have to be sought outside the organisation. We will cooperate fully with any such investigation or tribunal.

Adopted: 9 August 2021

Reviewed by the Board July 2022 – no changes made