Complaints Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this Policy is to provide a fair, efficient and effective process for addressing complaints related to the conduct of trustees and staff of Multiply. We recognise that there will be occasions when we fall short of the standard of conduct expected of us and the importance of a procedure by which any misconduct is addressed in a God-honouring way. As an organisation we are committed to living in godliness and holiness by the grace, joy and freedom that are in Christ Jesus.

2. Scope

This Policy applies to complaints related to the conduct of any trustee or staff member of Multiply. A complaint can be made under this Policy by anyone, including a member of the general public.

3. Principles

The following principles will guide the manner in which all complaints are handled under this Policy:

Sensitivity and Care: all parties should be treated with loving respect and dignity. An appropriate level of pastoral care should be offered to both the complainant and the respondent during and after the resolution of a complaint.
Promptness and Timeliness: as far as reasonably practicable, a complaint should be received, considered, investigated (if necessary) and decided upon promptly and without undue delay.
Confidentiality and Discretion: the fact and details of a complaint should be kept strictly confidential to the greatest extent possible. All parties should limit disclosure to those persons directly involved in resolving it or who are providing pastoral care.
Impartiality and Fairness: all complaints should be handled in an impartial manner, all parties should be fairly heard, and all persons involved in resolving the complaint should be free of any actual or perceived bias.
Free of Repercussions: no person should be subject to victimisation or adverse treatment for making a complaint or participating in an investigation in good faith under this Policy.

4. Interaction with Other Policies

This Policy is to be read alongside the Code of Conduct (Code) which sets the standard of behaviour to which trustees and staff of Multiply can be held accountable. Any complaint made under this Policy must specify the section(s) of the Code which the complainant alleges has been breached.

Where a complainant alleges any criminal conduct by a person covered by the Code, he or she is encouraged to report the matter to the relevant law enforcement agency. Multiply will at all times comply with its mandatory reporting obligations under law.

5. Complaints Panel

The Complaints Panel (Panel) is responsible for receiving, considering and if necessary, investigating a complaint made under this Policy.

The Panel will comprise up to 5 persons who are elected by the Multiply Trust Board and who each serve a renewable term of three years. The Panel is to comprise at least:

one person who is the senior pastor of a Multiply network church;
one person who is a New Zealand lawyer; and
one person who has qualifications in social work or psychology.

When a complaint is received under this Policy, the General Manager will invite at least three members of the Panel to form a Complaints Committee (Committee) for the purposes of handling the particular complaint. S/he must not invite any Panel member who is the subject of or directly or indirectly involved in the complaint, or who has a real or perceived conflict of interest in relation to the complaint.

6. Complaints Procedure

The formal complaints management process is set out in Appendix A.

Step 1: Submitting a formal complaint
You may make a formal complaint by submitting it to the General Manager or if your complaint is in relation to the General Manager, you should submit it to the Chair of the Trust Board.

Your complaint must be in the form prescribed by Appendix B. Specifically, it must be in writing, personally signed and include the following information:

your name and contact details, and the nature of your relationship with the respondent;
the name of the person you are alleging has breached the Code;
the specific section(s) of the Code that you allege the respondent has breached;
details of the alleged breach including when, where and how this breach is alleged to have occurred; and
any evidence of or witnesses to the alleged breach.

Step 2: Receiving a formal complaint
Upon receiving a formal complaint, the General Manager or Chair of the Trust Board is to form a Committee and refer the complaint to the Committee for initial consideration.

The Committee is to consider whether the complaint is, prima facie:

a matter of substance: it describes specific conduct, an incident or a pattern of conduct that can be verified; and
a matter of consequence: it describes specific conduct, an incident or a pattern of conduct that, if substantiated, would constitute a breach of the Code and which would have consequences for the respondent or in the case of a trustee or staff member, Multiply.

If the Committee determines that the complaint is not prima facie a matter of both substance and consequence, it is to dismiss the complaint, advise the complainant of its decision, and refer the matter back to the General Manager for further response if required.

However, if the Committee determines that the complaint is prima facie a matter of both substance and consequence, it must initiate an investigation into the matter and inform the complainant that the matter is being investigated.

Step 3: Investigating a formal complaint
As part of its investigation, the Committee may interview the complainant, the respondent and any appropriate witnesses. It may also, if it deems appropriate, engage an experienced investigator to conduct or assist with the investigation. Any investigation must be conducted in accordance with the principles set out in this Policy. Any findings in the course of the investigation must be made on the balance of probabilities.

Following its investigation into the complaint, the Committee is to provide a report including any initial findings of fact and recommendations to the Trust Board (excluding the respondent trustee, if applicable). The report must make a preliminary determination whether the alleged conduct contained in the complaint is in whole or in part:

Sustained: the evidence supports a finding that the alleged conduct did in fact occur.
Not sustained: there is not sufficient evidence to establish whether the alleged conduct did or did not occur.
False: the evidence supports a finding that the alleged conduct did not occur.
Vexatious: the evidence supports a finding that the complaint was made without reasonable grounds or was designed to harass, annoy, or cause delay or detriment to the respondent.
Misconceived: the evidence supports a finding that the complaint was made in good faith but was based on a misunderstanding of the facts.

If the Committee engaged an experienced investigator to conduct or assist with the investigation, it must also provide that external report to the Trust Board.

Step 4: Determining a formal complaint
Upon receiving the report from the Committee, the Trust Board (excluding the respondent trustee, if applicable) is to make a final determination in relation to the complaint.

Where the respondent is found to have breached the Code, the Trust Board may take appropriate disciplinary action against the respondent in accordance with section 8 of this Policy.

The General Manager is to advise the complainant and the respondent of the final determination including any action taken by the Trust Board in relation to the complaint.

Step 5: Accepting the final determination
Whatever the outcome, the complainant should acknowledge that their complaint has been taken seriously and accept the final determination of the Trust Board.

If, however, the complainant is unable to accept the outcome, he or she may seek recourse under civil law.

The complainant may also raise a relevant concern with Charities Services NZ.

Multiply is under no obligation to consider or investigate a complaint any further once all avenues under this Policy have been exhausted.

7. Own Motion Investigations

Where the General Manager – or in the case of the General Manager, the Chair of the Trust Board – receives information and forms a reasonable belief that a trustee or staff member of Multiply has acted in breach of the Code, s/he may refer the matter to the Panel for initial consideration and if appropriate, investigation and then determination by the Trust Board, according to the process set out in section 6 of this Policy.

8. Disciplinary Action

Where the Trust Board determines that a complaint made under this Policy is substantiated and an alleged breach of the Code is sustained, it may take one or more of the following disciplinary actions against the respondent:

recommending to the respondent that:
- the respondent undergoes counselling, specific training, coaching or mentoring; and/or
- the respondent offers a written apology to the complainant for their conduct; and/or
- the respondent offer an explanation or some form of restitution to the complainant;
recommending that both the complainant and the respondent undergo formal mediation in relation to the complaint;
issuing an oral warning, an initial written warning, or a final written warning; or
where the respondent is a member of staff, suspending or terminating their employment.

9. Costs

While Multiply may make findings of fact, recommendations and determinations and take appropriate disciplinary action, it will not award any damages or financial remedies to either party in relation to a complaint made under this Policy.

Multiply is not able to meet any financial costs associated with professional counselling, legal assistance or other services that are recommended to or used by either party in connection with a complaint.

10. Vexatious Complaints

This Policy should not be used by any person to make vexatious complaints. Vexatious complaints include complaints that are an abuse of the process set out in this Policy, submitted or continued without reasonable grounds, or designed to harass, annoy, or cause delay or detriment.

If the Trust Board determines that a complaint submitted under this Policy is vexatious, it may dismiss the complaint at first instance without further consideration.

11. Record Keeping

All records including the complaint, investigation reports, interviews, correspondence and file notes will be securely kept by Multiply during and after the resolution of the matter.

All personal information will be handled in accordance with New Zealand privacy laws.