Complaints Policy

This policy explains how to make a complaint to, and the procedure that will be followed by, the English Stage Company Ltd or its subsidiaries at the Royal Court Theatre (“Royal Court”, “we” or “us”), 50-51 Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS.

Though we take care to provide our services to a high standard, we accept complaints in good faith as an opportunity to learn and improve, alongside the chance to put things right for a complainant. We’ll investigate all complaints in a fair and timely manner, resolving them wherever possible and gathering information to help us to continually improve.

Definition of a complaint

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made by a service user seeking formal resolution, either individually or on behalf of a group or company.

It is important to establish the difference between a concern and a complaint. Taking informal concerns seriously at the earliest stage – including those raised in person, directly to an individual staff member, or via telephone – will reduce the likelihood of formal complaints. Many concerns can be resolved informally, often at the time a situation arises. If you are on site and feel able, please raise your concern with a member of our staff who will seek to resolve it directly.

If you are not happy with the response to a concern, and/or want to make a formal complaint, please follow the procedure below.

Who can complain

Anyone who directly engages with the Royal Court and makes use of our services may complain, either individually or on behalf of a company or group. This includes audiences, participants, general visitors, donors, funders, and contractors.

Exceptions include staff or contracted workers, who should follow appropriate internal policies; and comments from the general public who are not direct service users. Feedback on social media typically won’t be responded to; and concerns raised via surveys are not responded to directly.

Ticketing & Box Office

For issues around ticketing, in the first instance please always contact our Box Office team directly on boxoffice@royalcourttheatre.com. If you are still unable to satisfactorily resolve your concern, please follow this policy to raise a further complaint at that point.

Confidentiality

Complaint information will be handled sensitively in line with data protection legislation (GDPR). While complaints are received to a shared inbox, only those directly involved in investigating and resolving a complaint will handle further confidential information. We will only hold onto personal data for as long as is needed to properly investigate and resolve the complaint, including retaining a record for up to three months in order to facilitate further conversations following initial response; or by exception for a longer period of time where there is a relevant need or it may be appropriate to identify longer-term patters in some cases.

How to make a formal complaint

If you are not satisfied with the response to a concern you have raised (or do not wish to seek an informal solution) you may pursue a formal complaint.

All formal complaints should be sent in writing by email to conversations@royalcourttheatre.com.

Where staff believe they have received communications that amount to a complaint requiring formal response, though a different channel, they may ask you to send a formal email or forward such communications to this inbox.

When you make a formal complaint, please include the following:
– The date, time and location of any incident if applicable;
– A description of what happened and / or your complaint;
– Any staff names, relevant booking reference numbers or documents.

Please provide your full name, email address and contact phone number, including if you have any preference for how you receive any response.

What happens next?

Receipt of any complaint will be acknowledged within 7 working days. This will include how your complaint will be handled, and where relevant who will be responsible for looking into your complaint. You will receive a response to your complaint within 30 working days. Any reasonable extension will be notified in writing.

All formal complaints will be overseen by our General Manger, who may delegate response to an appropriate member of staff. You may be contacted by us to gather any additional information to help us resolve the complaint. Relevant complaints may be escalated to appropriate heads of department or senior leadership.

If your complaint alleges that a criminal offence has taken place, then the police will be informed, and their procedures and processes will take precedence.

If your complaint is regarding a staff member or contracted worker and requires investigation, you will be informed that we are undertaking an investigation, and when the investigation is concluded. You will not be informed of the details of any subsequent internal proceedings (where relevant), which are confidential.

Taking your complaint elsewhere

We encourage you to contact us directly to resolve any complaint, and the Charity Commission’s guidance is that all complaints should be pursued directly with the charity in the first instance, unless you suspect illegal activity, such as terrorism or abuse. However, if you remain unsatisfied you can also contact the Charity Commission, or a relevant statutory or industry body, such as those identified here: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity.

Monitoring complaints

We will maintain a record of complaints for monitoring purposes, in line with the expectations around Confidentiality above. All information, following the resolution of complaint will be generalised in keeping with our confidentiality commitments and will be used, where appropriate, to inform reviews of wider policies and procedures.