Complaints Procedures

Liberal Judaism strives to be an inclusive, accountable and transparent organisation. We are committed to being a learning organisation and welcome feedback. We want to deal with complaints fairly and openly and with that in mind we want to make it as easy as possible to make a complaint. We recognise that complaints raise issues of concern that we seek to address on an appropriate timescale, with consideration and, where possible, confidentially. Complaints can relate to the actions of an employee or Liberal Judaism volunteer, including trustees, vice-presidents and LJY-Netzer leaders.

We are committed to finding an appropriate resolution and learning from complaints wherever we can. Complaints received are reviewed annually.

This procedure does not cover any complaint made that could relate to the safeguarding of a child or vulnerable adult. Any such complaint should be made to the Liberal Judaism safeguarding officer – the Director of Youth.

Complaints Process

If you would like to make a complaint, please click below.

Submit a complaint

Alternatively you can contact the Chief Executive Officer (c.baginsky@liberaljudaism.org) or the complaints email address (complaints@liberaljudaism.org) directly.

You will receive an acknowledgement within two working days. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can request that it is passed on to a complaints panel, who will deal with your complaint, where possible, within 10 working days. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of this process, you can appeal to the Chair of Board of National Officers.

Initial Resolution Stage

The first stage is the raising of a complaint.
This may be to a specific individual or to the complaints email address (complaints@liberaljudaism.org).
Once a complaint is received it will be acknowledged within two working days.

The Chief Executive Officer will either deal directly with the complaint or assign an investigating officer to deal with it.
In the event of a complaint involving a member of the Senior Management Team or of an occurrence which poses significant risk to the organisation’s reputation the Chief Executive Officer may choose to appoint a complaints panel and bypass the initial resolution stage. In the event of a complaint about the Chief Executive Officer, a complaints panel will be appointed.

The investigating officer will identify what has happened so far and who has been involved.
They will seek clarification to ensure that they understand fully the nature of the complaint, contacting the complainant if necessary to ensure that they understand their perspective and how they would like the complaint to be resolved. within 10 working days of convening the panel, unless further investigation is required. In this instance, a new deadline for response will be agreed and communicated to the complainant

Resolution of the complaint could require any of the following:

An apology
An explanation of what happened and why decisions were made as they were
An acknowledgement of how things could be done differently
An assurance that what happened will not recur
An explanation of the steps that will be taken to make the changes needed so that a similar occurrence will not be repeated
A commitment to make changes to policies and processes to enable the prevention of a similar occurrence
Recommendations for further action

Investigating the Complaint

If the investigating member of staff needs to interview anyone to seek clarification, it should be at a time and place that is suitable for the interviewee. The interviewee should be able to bring someone with them and a full record of the interview should be made. This should be checked by accuracy by the interviewee before any action is taken.

The investigating member of staff will then make a recommendation about how this matter should be resolved. If it is possible to resolve the issue at this initial stage, this should be supported. Any recommendations or action should be shared with the Senior Management Team with clear deadlines for completion and allocation of responsibility for steps needed. A record of the complaint, and investigation and resolutions agreed should be forwarded to the Chief Operations Officer.

If it is not possible to resolve the issue at this stage, the complainant can request that a complaints panel should be convened to review the complaint. The complainant should let the investigating officer know that they wish to escalate this matter within ten working days of the rejection of the proposed resolution.

Panel Stage

A complaints panel with be convened that should include a member of the Board of National Officers, a member of the Senior Management team and at least one lay member with relevant experience in the area of the complaint. A Chair of the panel will be appointed to lead the process.
The investigating officer, if this stage has been followed, will give all investigation materials and, reports and proposed resolutions to the panel. The panel should receive these at least five working days before meeting to enable them to formulate any questions that they would like the Chair of the panel to ask the complainant. The Chair of the panel will contact the complainant to clarify their understanding of the issues and why they cannot be resolved by any solutions that have been proposed; all communication with the complainant will be through the Chair.
The panel will consider all materials relating to the complaint.
The Chair will summarise the findings of the panel and proposed resolutions and present these to the complainant within 10 working days of convening the panel, unless further investigation is required. In this instance, a new deadline for response will be agreed and communicated to the complainant. The Chair of the panel will make it clear that the final stage of appeal is to the Chair of the Board of National Officers, and that this should be made within two weeks of the presentation of the panel’s findings.

Appeal Stage

The complainant should write to the Chair of Board of National Officers outlining their complaint and their reasons for being dissatisfied with the resolutions offered. The Chair of Board of National Officers can be contacted in writing via the Montagu Centre, marked ‘Private and Confidential’.
The Chair of Board of National Officers will request all relevant paperwork from the Chair of the complaints panel and will ask the complainant for any clarifying information that they require. The Chair of Board of National Officers may seek further advice on the resolution of this matter from any appropriate person, emphasising the need for confidentiality. The Chair of Board of National Officers will respond to the complainant with their proposed resolutions within fifteen working days.

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