Agent: any trustee, employee, freelancer, volunteer or other third-party that is in the position to act on behalf of British Arts Festivals Association.
BAFA: British Arts Festivals Association, a charitable incorporated organisation (registered charity number 1193943) based in the United Kingdom.
Board: the board of trustees of British Arts Festivals Association.
Trustee: a trustee of British Arts Festivals Association.
We, us and our means BAFA, and where the context permits includes any of its trustees, employees, freelancers and volunteers acting on BAFA’s behalf.
The purpose of this policy and procedure document is to have a clear way of responding to and, where possible, resolving complaints made by customers of BAFA, whether made by a BAFA member or a BAFA event attendee.
It is acknowledged that other parties, not falling within the definition of customer, may have cause to make a complaint, and this policy shall apply to all such parties.
Safeguarding concerns should follow the detail of our Safeguarding Policy for what further action to take. For very serious concerns, such as individual’s safety being placed at immediate risk, an individual should take such action as is appropriate, such as calling the emergency services.
Complaints made by volunteers are dealt with under our Volunteer Problem Solving Procedure.
It is the policy of BAFA to investigate all non-malicious complaints made about the charity and the actions or omissions of any of its agents.
Anyone who has a concern should initially raise this with an agent of BAFA at the time the concern arises, as this enables us to respond and deal with an issue quickly. We will seek to resolve this and meet any reasonable expectations the individual may have, ideally to their satisfaction.
If we are unable to do so, for whatever reason, the agent of BAFA in initial receipt of the complaint will make a note of:
The agent will advise the complainant that their concern will be passed to a member of the board. The agent will then email the nominated lead trustee for complaints with the information collected. The nominated trustee will determine the appropriate action to be taken in response to the informal complaint and the agent or the trustee will follow up with the complainant where possible.
Where an individual wishes to make a formal complaint, they should be provided with the name and email address of the nominated lead trustee for complaints and/or BAFA’s registered address, as they wish. Correspondence should be marked ‘private and confidential’. They should also be provided with a copy of this policy by email, or post, if preferred.
To help resolve the complaint as quickly and effectively as possible, the individual making the complaint should make the formal complaint as soon as possible and should include within it:
Receipt will be acknowledged, if possible, within 15 working days. The complaint will then be investigated. If necessary, specialist advice will be sought. Where clarification or further information is felt to be necessary, the nominated lead trustee for complaints will contact the person making the complaint to request this.
A response will be sent within 15 working days from acknowledgment of receipt. If this is not possible, a holding reply will be sent after 15 working days advising when we estimate the investigation will be completed.
The complaint response will explain our findings and what action we will be taking/have taken, subject to the constraints of GDPR and the Data Protection Act, which will almost certainly not allow us to disclose sensitive information.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the response, they may appeal the decision, by writing to the Chair of the Board, the contact details of whom will be included in our response. Appeals must be submitted within 20 working days of our response being received by the person making the complaint.
The appeal should be specific about why the individual feels the decision made was wrong and provide the facts and information necessary to demonstrate this.
A decision will be notified within 20 working days and will be final.
Irrespective of the outcome of any complaint, whether formal or informal in nature, we will consider if there is any requirement in respect of wider action and/or statutory reporting to the Charity Commission, Health and Safety Executive, other regulator, or the Police.
Consideration will also to be given to whether any changes should be made to policies, procedures or training to see if anything might reasonably be done to prevent a similar issue arising in future.
Anonymous complaints will be recorded and any facts available looked in to. However, in doing so we will be mindful that anonymous complaints can sometimes be malicious.
Everyone involved in our work, even incidentally, has a right to complain and we will hold agents of BAFA accountable following a complaint where necessary. Equally, all individuals have a right to be protected from unsubstantiated and, potentially, malicious allegations.
Consequently, anyone wishing to make a formal complaint is strongly encouraged to provide the contact information requested in section 4 above. This will also allow us to advise them of the outcome.
If a complaint may potentially result in a claim being made for compensation, such as damage or loss to property or personal injury, our insurers will be notified.
The complaint will be treated as confidential by agents of BAFA dealing with it, and any communication on this issue, including responding to the complainant, will be subject to compliance with GDPR and the Data Protection Act. An exception to this is when we need to make disclosures to our insurers or are responsible for any form of statutory reporting.
This policy is to be made publicly available on BAFA’s website and anyone who advises that they wish to submit a complaint is to be directed to this policy.
Being a member of BAFA offers access to the UK’s leading arts festivals, and an invaluable opportunity to build a strong network of professional contacts across the breadth of the festivals sector.
Our members range from volunteer-run organisations to large, well-established festivals, and we also have special memberships available for universities and associate members.
BAFA is supported by funding from...
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BAFA is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (1193943)
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