Complaints Policy

The Angolan Literature Fund (ALF) Complaints Policy deals with the following areas:

  1. Where a member of the public raises a complaint over the way the ALF conducts its business.
  2. Where a Trustee has concerns regarding the working of the Fund.

Public Complaint

  1. Correspondence should be directed for the attention of the secretary through the website form, email address: [email protected], or postal address: 1 Woodway House, Common Lane, Kenilworth, CV8 2ES
  2. The secretary, or appropriate deputy, will aim to acknowledge the complaint within 7 days.
  3. The secretary will raise the issue with the appropriate Trustee(s) and will respond within 21 days.
  4. If the complaint is about the secretary, the complaint should be directed to the Chair who will oversee and respond to the complaint.
  5. If the complaint is such that all Trustees need to be consulted an emergency virtual meeting will be convened
  6. If the complaint comes under the Charity Commission's definition of a ‘serious incident’ then the treasurer will ensure that this is reported to the Charity Commission in line with their requirements. Note that this requirement covers ‘alleged’ events as well as actual.
    1. How to report a serious incident in your charity - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
  7. If the complaint is regarding the administration of the Fund but does not constitute a ‘serious incident’ then the Trustees reserve the right to administer the Fund in the way they see fit and will therefore not enter into prolonged correspondence after the initial response.
    1. If the response of the Trustees is not satisfactory then the relevant government department can be contacted here: Complain about a charity - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Trustee Concerns

  1. The ALF aims to administer the Fund to the highest possible standard and therefore recognises the need for robust challenge. Trustees are invited to add items to meeting agendas, but also to raise any issue with the Chair promptly between meetings.
  2. Trustees who raise a concern will be given a fair hearing and the Trustees will seek to resolve the issue to the complainant’s satisfaction.
  3. If the issue is not resolved internally, or the issue is of a serious nature a report can be made to the Charity Commission. Please see this page for guidance: Report serious wrongdoing at a charity as a worker or volunteer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

You can download a copy of The Angolan Literature Fund Complaints Policy here.