ECM Britain Complaints Handling Policy & Procedure
Our complaints policy
We are committed to providing a high-quality service to all our missionaries, volunteers, sending churches, supporters and other clients (our ‘customers’). When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards. Our aim is
• To deal with complaints fairly, efficiently and effectively;
• To ensure that all complaints are handled in a consistent manner throughout;
• To increase customer satisfaction;
• To use complaints constructively in the planning and improvement of all services.
If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details. Where possible, we will aim to resolve this informally via telephone or face to face. If the informal process fails, then we will follow the formal procedure below on receipt of your complaint. Please ensure that you give us details of the complaint in writing via post or email to personnel@ecmi.org . We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the British Director or Chair of Trustees.
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter and/or email acknowledging receipt of your complaint within ten working days of receiving it, enclosing/attaching a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our HR Manager or Data Protection Officer who will contact you to check your details, review the matter and speak to the member/s of staff who were involved.
3. The relevant manager will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. They will do this within 28days of sending you the acknowledgement letter/email. You are entitled to be accompanied to this meeting by a colleague or friendwho will act as an observer.
4. Within 5 working days of the meeting, the manager will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions they agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, the manager will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 28 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter/email.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for the British Director, or Chair of Trustees where the British Director is involved, to review the decision. Their decision is final.
7. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
8. If as a result of your complaint, disciplinary proceedings are taken against a member of staff, an internal procedure will apply. You will be informed that disciplinary proceedings have taken place, but as these proceedings are confidential, you will only be informed of the details or outcome of matters outside of this procedure.
9. If a criminal offence is alleged, then the police will be informed.
10. If a regulatory breach is alleged, then the relevant authority will be informed.
11. Certain complaints may need to be raised with the Charity Commission. For more information on when this may apply, please see point 3, here: Raising a concern with Charity Commission
September 2025
