UK Welcomes Ukraine Complaints Policy

v. 1.0 Adopted on: June 8,  2022  

Our Mission and Scope

UK Welcomes Ukraine helps match UK residents (‘Sponsors’) with Ukrainian refugees (‘Guests’) looking for temporary accommodation and sponsorship (‘matching’) under the Homes for Ukraine scheme (‘the Scheme’) offered by the UK government.  We do not advise on or arrange accommodation or hosting.  Nor do we provide any other assistance to refugees or asylum seekers outside of the Scheme. 

Our Standard of Performance

UK Welcomes Ukraine is an unincorporated association run and operated entirely by volunteers who donate their time to help those in need.    All our volunteers strive to perform their tasks with utmost care and diligence, in the manner prescribed by our policies and procedures and with highest regard for the welfare of Sponsors and Guests.  We don’t employ any full or part time paid staff, nor do we solicit or accept donations of any kind.  

While our remit is limited, we work hard to achieve successful matches where Sponsors and their Guests develop a strong relationship for the duration of their sponsorship commitment.  We recognise, however, that there may be times where we fall short of our standards.  We want you to feel free to let us know when that happens and allow us to take remedial steps to avoid any future lapses.  

Our Complaints Procedure

If you are dissatisfied with the way you have been treated by us, or feel that we could do better in some respect, we would appreciate it if you let us know by filling out our complaints form.

Please note that whilst we value your contribution to improving our service, we are strongly committed to protecting the safety and dignity of our volunteers.  Any complaints containing offensive or abusive language will be deleted.  We reserve the right to forward any complaints containing threats to appropriate authorities.

Our Commitment to Fast and Fair Review of Complaints

All complaints will be reviewed in due course by a volunteer assigned to review and respond to complaints.  If the complaint is against the person who is assigned to review complaints, that person will be asked to recuse themselves from handling the complaint and another volunteer will be assigned to review it.  Whilst being required to notify the person(s) against whom a complaint has been made, we will, as far as possible, respect the confidentiality and privacy of your complaint.

It is our policy to acknowledge receipt of all complaints and review the merits of each complaint within a week of its receipt.  We will reach out to you if we need additional information or to let you know about the progress of your complaint.   If we can’t resolve the complaint within the stated time frame, we will let you know when to expect a response.   We are committed to investigating all complaints fairly. If you are not satisfied with how we handled your complaint, you may ask us to reconsider.   In that case, a different volunteer will be assigned to review your complaint.  

Privacy and Recordkeeping

Your complaint, as well as any records related to our review of your complaint, will be held in the electronic form in a repository accessible only to a small group of volunteers..  We will keep all records related to your complaint for a period of three years or the life of the association, whichever is shorter, unless we are required to keep these records for a longer period by law.  All information related to your complaint will be handled in the manner described in our Privacy Policy.