Complaints procedure for pathways and support

This complaints procedure is intended for participants in a pathway or support request, where coordination with a referrer may sometimes be needed. Think of complaints about appointments, updates, consultations, file keeping, conduct, conditions, or how we set up the pathway.

A referrer (for example an employer, reintegration coach, job coach, practitioner, or support worker) can also submit a complaint or be involved in handling it. Does it concern participant-specific content? Please indicate that, but do not send us personal data or files by e-mail. We will agree together on a suitable, safe way to coordinate.

You can email a complaint to klachten@the-owls-nest.nl. Prefer to send a letter? Address your mail to:

The Owl’s Nest
For the attention of Complaints Committee
P.O. Box 9633
2003 LP Haarlem

Urgent or safety-related: report it on site

Is there immediate danger, or does something need to be stopped right away? Please report it on site to a staff member or someone from the core team. Examples include:

a faulty machine, a malfunction, or unexplained behaviour,
missing safety guards, an unsafe setup, or hazardous wiring,
unsafe behaviour by a visitor, staff member, instructor, or volunteer,
injury or a near-miss, leakage, (glass) shards, dropping something, or spills,
hazardous substances without proper precautions,
theft or missing items,
discrimination, boundary-crossing behaviour, or something unpleasant that was not noticed (right away) by a staff member, volunteer, or instructor.

Can’t report it on site anymore? Emailing or calling afterwards is better than not reporting it at all. We can still take measures (for example: take a machine out of service, warn others, or arrange follow-up).

What we need from you in a complaint

To be able to handle your complaint properly, it helps if you include:

your name (or “anonymous” if you prefer),
email and/or phone number (only if you want a response),
date (and preferably the time),
location (if it concerns a moment in the workshop),
a short description plus your request (what went wrong and what you expect from us),
your preferred way of responding (email or phone).

Reporting anonymously

You can submit a complaint anonymously. We take the report seriously and can take measures where possible, but without contact details we cannot provide feedback and cannot coordinate next steps.

Photos, video and evidence

You may attach photos or video if it helps. We ask you not to send images in which people are recognisable, unless recognisability is truly necessary for the complaint. If recognisable footage is relevant, mention in your complaint that you have it. We will then assess whether it is needed and may ask you to provide it through a safeguarded method (for example via a USB stick or a secure connection), so it does not get shared unnecessarily by e-mail.

Documents, reports and personal data

Please do not send us files, medical data, or extensive reports by e-mail. If documents are needed to handle a complaint, we will agree together how to exchange them safely. This can be during a conversation, by phone, or via a secure connection.

When we need to send personal data or reports ourselves, we always do so via a secure connection. If you prefer, we can also send these by post.

Response and formal decision

We generally pick up complaints within 2 business days. If you send your complaint by post, we allow up to one working week from the date we receive it.

For complaints about the pathway and the support we provide a formal decision within 6 weeks. If the complaint needs more time (for example due to coordination with involved parties or because documents must be reviewed carefully), we may extend this period once by up to 4 weeks. We will inform you in time.

For practical complaints (for example about planning, an appointment, a moment in the workshop, or a faulty or malfunctioning machine) we aim for a quick response and resolution. How quickly that is possible depends on the situation and what is practically feasible (for example availability, delivery times, or maintenance scheduling). Unsafe equipment will be taken out of service in the meantime and marked with a warning.

In broad strokes, we do the following:

we confirm receipt and read your complaint carefully,
if needed, we ask for clarification (if you left contact details),
we investigate what happened and what measures are appropriate,
we let you know what we did or are going to do (if you want a response),
where relevant, we translate lessons learned into improvements to our working method, agreements, or updates.

Complaint about an update or report

Is your complaint about an update, interim note, or final report to a referrer? Then we pause sending it while the complaint is being reviewed. If a submission deadline is about to be missed, we send a short notice of delay (without substantive details) shortly before that deadline, so it is clear why the update will come later.

Who reads your complaint?

Complaints are handled by the core team and stay internal. Instructors and volunteers do not get access to the complaint contents. The core team may address them or give a concrete instruction (for example to take an agreement into account or to adjust a procedure), without sharing details that are not necessary.

Independence and hearing both sides

If a complaint concerns the conduct or actions of a staff member, instructor, or volunteer, we ensure it is not handled by the directly involved person. Where appropriate, we hold a conversation with those involved in the presence of someone from the core team who was not involved in the situation. As an extra safeguard, an external, independent person may also join (at request or on the initiative of the core team). If a joint conversation is not desired or not suitable, we speak with the parties separately (hearing both sides) and record the agreements or measures that follow.

Don’t agree with the outcome?

If we cannot resolve it together, we can, if desired, use mediation or external, independent dispute resolution. We then discuss together what fits the complaint and the people involved. If that does not lead to a solution, the parties remain free to submit the dispute to the civil court at the District Court in Haarlem. Depending on the nature and value of the dispute, this may be the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). We do not fall under administrative law; complaints are assessed under civil law.

Minors

Minors can submit a complaint themselves. In addition, a parent or guardian may also submit a complaint. If someone finds that helpful, a parent or guardian can support the process or (with consent) communicate alongside the minor. We align our feedback with what the minor wants and what fits the situation.

Safety and signals

Sometimes a complaint or report is also about safety or serious signals. In that case we may contact the referrer or other suitable involved parties if that is necessary for safety or if we are legally obliged to do so. We share only the details needed to explain the situation and inform the participant where possible.

In case of immediate danger or an unsafe situation we act first in a practical way. How we handle this is described on Safety and signals.

Privacy

A complaint may contain personal data. How we store and secure data is described in Privacy for pathways and support. For privacy questions or GDPR requests, please email privacy@the-owls-nest.nl.

Complaints email

Submit a complaint about pathways and support.

klachten@the-owls-nest.nl

Safety and signals

How we handle unsafe situations and serious signals.

Safety

Privacy for pathways

Which data we process and how control and access work in pathways.

Privacy

Community workshop – The Owl’s Nest