Three Counties Liberal Jewish Community Complaints Policy and Procedure

Three CountiesLiberal Jewish Community Complaints Policy and ProcedureThree Counties Liberal Jewish Community (3CLJC) is committed to being a warm, welcoming and compassionate community and to having transparent and responsible governance of the community and financial accountability by its trustees. We, therefore, aim to ensure that:

  • Making a complaint is as easy as possible;
  • We treat a complaint as a clear expression of dissatisfaction or concern that may relate to the actions or behaviour of a member, volunteer, visitor or employee of 3CLJC;
  • We deal with the complaint promptly, politely and when appropriate, confidentially;
  • We respond in the right way –for example with an explanation, or an apology when we have got things wrong, or information on any action taken;
  • We learn from complaints, use them to improve what we do, and review annually our complaints policy and procedure.
  1. In the first instance, any complaint about 3CLJCmade by a 3CLJC member, volunteer, visitor or employee should be addressed to the Chair of 3CLJC in writing. If the complaint concerns the Chair then it should be addressed to another 3CLJC Council Member.
  2. The Chair (or appropriate Council Member if the complaint concerns the Chair) will normally acknowledge receipt of the Complaint within one week.
  3. The Chair or Council Member will arrange to hold an informal discussion with the Complainant. If the matter is resolved at this first informal stage, then the Chair or Council Member will confirm the outcome of the informal discussion to the Complainant in writing and there will be no further action.
  4. If the Complainant is not satisfied at the informal discussion stage, then the Chair or Council Member will set up a Complaints Investigation Panel comprised of two or more Council Members and will give the Complainant a copy of the Complaints procedure.
  5. The Panel will investigate the complaint and will speak to relevant people and may, if they deem it appropriate, seek advice from relevant Officers of Liberal Judaism. The Panel will normally report back to the Complainant in writing within twenty-eight days. If the issue is complex and requires a more detailed investigation, then the Panel will write to the Complainant describing what is being done to deal with the matter and when a full reply can be expected and from whom. Resolution of the complaint could require any of the following:
    • An apology
    • An explanation of what happened and why particular decisions were made
    • 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.

Last Updated – February 2021