Complaints Policy

Complaints Policy

Introduction

This policy sets out the process for submitting a complaint to The Live In Care Company. It also explains how The Live In Care Company will record, investigate and respond to the complaint.

Constructive feedback allows us to improve what we do. Telling us about when our standards of service have fallen below your expectations allows us to investigate why that has happened and to rectify the issue. If you have an issue with a carer then we will review their performance and engage with them and consider whether we will continue to recommend their services to our clients and service users.

Making a complaint

If you would like to make a complaint then please speak to the member of The Live In Care Company staff who you have been dealing with. They will make a written record of your complaint to be investigated. Alternatively, you can call us on 0118 4492373 to make a complaint.

If you would prefer to submit your complaint in writing, then you can email us at  complaints@theliveincarecompany.co.uk. We will contact you to confirm that we have received your complaint. We will then investigate your complaint.

When making a complaint, please include as much relevant information as you can. In particular, please tell us:

• Who are you complaining about? Is it a carer or a member of The Live In Care Company staff?
• What are you complaining about? Did something happen which shouldn’t have? Did someone fail to do something you were expecting them to?
• When did the incident take place?

Please also provide your name and contact information when making a complaint. That way we can confirm receipt and update you on our investigation.

Logging of complaints

When we receive a complaint, a written record is created on our system. We give each complaint a unique number to help us keep track of them.

Records relating to complaints are kept confidential. Access to complaint records is granted on a strictly need-to-know basis.

Records of complaints and our related investigations are processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy, available from www.theliveincarecompany.co.uk/privacy-policy.

Investigation

We will endeavour to investigate all complaints within a reasonable timeframe. We usually aim to complete our investigations within four weeks of receiving your complaint. More complicated complaints may take longer to investigate.

If you make a complaint about a member of staff then we will ensure that another member of staff is responsible for investigating your complaint. The person carrying out the investigation will be of equal or greater seniority to the member of staff you have complained about.

If your complaint raises issues of criminal behaviour or safeguarding issues then we may share the information with the police and/or the local authority’s safeguarding team. Depending on how serious the complaint is, we may need to suspend our own investigation in order to cooperate with a police or local authority investigation. For some complaints we may need to take legal advice as part of our investigation.

We treat the information you share with us sensitively. We will only share details of your complaint where it is reasonably necessary for us to do so in order to progress our investigation.

When independent carers and clients sign up to The Live In Care Company, they agree to cooperate with our complaints procedure.

Outcome

Unless you have asked us not to, we will contact you in writing to confirm the outcome of our investigation. We will also make an internal record of the outcome of our investigation. This record will include details of the steps we have taken as a result of the investigation.

If your complaint is upheld then we will take proportionate action to address the failings you have reported. For example, we might change our internal processes or carry out additional staff training.

Serious complaints about independent carers who we have introduced to you may result in us severing ties with the carer if the complaint is upheld. Alternatively, we may place conditions upon the carer continuing to work with our clients, such as a requirement to undertake additional training. For less serious complaints, we may give feedback to the carer so they can improve their service.

If your complaint is upheld and you no longer wish to use the services of an independent carer then we will offer to assist you in putting in place alternate arrangements. For example, by introducing you to a suitable replacement independent carer.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation then you may wish to consult Citizens Advice Bureau or a solicitor for further advice.

Responsibility for this Policy

The member of staff at The Live In Care Company who is responsible for this Policy is Luca Rado, Director.

Do you have questions about this Policy?

If you have any questions relating to this policy, you can contact us at complaints@theliveincarecompany.co.uk.

Alternatively, if you would like to make a complaint then please contact us at complaints@theliveincarecompany.co.uk.

This Policy was last updated on 7 October 2022.