1. Purpose

Woma Woma Ltd is committed to providing a safe, accessible and fair way for stakeholders to raise concerns, complaints and grievances connected to the company, its activities, products, services, business relationships or supply chain.

This procedure is designed to help concerns be considered consistently, protect people who raise concerns in good faith, support appropriate resolution and ensure that grievances are recorded, monitored and reviewed.

2. Scope and Who Can Raise a Grievance

This procedure is available to any stakeholder who is affected by, or has a legitimate concern about, Woma Woma or its business relationships. This may include:

• clients and customers;
• suppliers and service partners;
• coffee producers and other supply-chain participants;
• contractors, consultants and freelancers;
• community and impact partners;
• advisory board members;
• future employees, if applicable;
• members of the public or other affected stakeholders.

A stakeholder may raise a grievance directly, through a representative, or request that their identity is kept confidential where they reasonably anticipate retaliation or other harm.

Where a concern is more appropriately handled through another formal process, such as an employment disciplinary appeal, legal claim or contractual dispute mechanism, Woma Woma will explain this and direct the stakeholder to the appropriate route where possible.

3. Grounds for Accepting a Grievance

A grievance will generally be accepted where it relates to Woma Woma’s activities, products, services, business relationships or supply chain and raises an actual or potential adverse impact, unfair treatment or breach of expected standards. Grounds may include:

• human rights, labour rights or working conditions concerns;
• discrimination, harassment, bullying or retaliation;
• health and safety concerns;
• environmental harm or concerns about environmental practices;
• supplier, contractor or partner conduct;
• customer treatment, misleading communication or inappropriate business practices;
• privacy, confidentiality or misuse of personal information;
• ethical conduct, corruption, conflicts of interest or other misconduct;
• community, producer or supply-chain impacts;
• breaches of Woma Woma policies, the Supplier Code of Conduct, contractual commitments or applicable law;
• other matters that may cause harm to people, communities or the environment.

If Woma Woma decides not to accept an issue as a grievance, the stakeholder will be informed of the decision and the reason for it. Where another route is more appropriate, this will be explained.

4. How to Raise a Grievance

Stakeholders can raise a grievance at any time by contacting Woma Woma at beans@womawoma.co.uk. This is an ongoing contact route for grievances and concerns.

The grievance should provide, where possible:

• the nature of the concern and what happened;
• the people, organisation, product, service or activity involved;
• relevant dates and locations;
• any supporting information or evidence available;
• the outcome or remedy the stakeholder is seeking, if known;
• whether confidentiality or any particular protection is requested.

A grievance will not be rejected solely because all information is not available at the time it is raised. Woma Woma may contact the stakeholder for clarification where this is possible and safe.

Woma Woma will make this procedure and grievance contact route transparent and accessible through its website and/or other stakeholder communications. The contact route above remains available whether or not a stakeholder uses a formal grievance form.

5. Grievance Process and Target Timelines

5.1 Acknowledgement and Initial Review

Woma Woma will acknowledge a grievance within 5 working days where contact details are available. The Grievance Lead will complete an initial review, normally within 10 working days of receipt, to determine whether the matter is accepted as a grievance and what process is appropriate.

Where the matter is not accepted, the stakeholder will be told why. Where it is accepted, Woma Woma will explain the next steps, expected timeline and who will need to be involved or informed.

5.2 Investigation

An accepted grievance will be investigated fairly and proportionately. The Grievance Lead may review documents, obtain information from relevant parties, speak with the complainant and respondent, or appoint an independent person where this is appropriate to ensure fairness, expertise or protection of vulnerable stakeholders.

Woma Woma aims to complete the investigation within 20 working days of accepting the grievance. If more time is reasonably required, the stakeholder will be informed of the reason for the delay and given a revised target date.

5.3 Resolution

Woma Woma will consider a resolution that is proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the grievance. Depending on the circumstances, resolution may include:

• clarification, explanation or correction of information;
• an apology or agreed remedial action;
• changes to a policy, process, product, service or business practice;
• supplier or partner corrective action and follow-up;
• mediation or facilitated discussion;
• additional monitoring, training or safeguards;
• suspension or termination of a business relationship where serious concerns cannot be adequately addressed;
• referral to an independent third party or relevant authority where appropriate.

Following completion of the investigation, Woma Woma will communicate the outcome and any agreed or required actions in writing, normally within 5 working days. The grievance will only be recorded as closed once the outcome has been communicated and any immediate resolution steps have been recorded.

5.4 Review or Appeal

A stakeholder who believes that relevant information was not considered, the process was not followed fairly, or the proposed resolution does not address the grievance may request a review within 10 working days of receiving the outcome.

Where possible, the review will be carried out by a person who was not responsible for the original decision. Woma Woma aims to complete the review within 20 working days and communicate the final outcome within 5 working days of completing the review.

6. Confidentiality and Protection from Retaliation

Woma Woma does not tolerate retaliation against any person who raises a grievance, provides information, participates in an investigation or supports another stakeholder in good faith.

To protect stakeholders, Woma Woma will:

• allow a complainant or affected stakeholder to request confidentiality or restricted disclosure of their identity;
• explain at the outset, where possible, who may need to be involved or informed in order to investigate the grievance;
• seek consent before sharing information with additional parties where reasonably possible, except where disclosure is required by law, necessary to address an immediate risk, or essential to a fair investigation;
• limit access to grievance information to those who need it for the process;
• consider the risk of retaliation or other harm when planning the investigation and resolution;
• use an independent third party where appropriate for sensitive, high-risk or vulnerable stakeholder cases;
• maintain appropriate confidentiality regarding the outcome and records of the grievance;
• treat retaliation, intimidation or deliberate breaches of confidentiality as a serious matter requiring corrective action.

Confidentiality cannot always be absolute because some information may need to be shared to investigate and resolve a grievance fairly. Any necessary disclosure will be limited as far as reasonably possible.

7. Communication with the Stakeholder

Woma Woma will keep the stakeholder informed at appropriate stages of the grievance process. Where contact details are available, updates will include relevant information about the status of the grievance,