Purpose
We regard a complaint from the general public, customers, clients or other third parties as an expression of dissatisfaction about our organisation, our staff, our members/partners/contracted service providers or anyone else acting on our behalf. A complaint can be received verbally, by phone, by email or in writing.
Our Policy
- To provide a fair complaints procedure which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint.
- To publicise the existence of our complaints procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint.
- To make sure everyone at EcoJudaism knows what to do if a complaint is received.
- To make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way.
- To make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired.
- To gather information which helps us to improve what we do.
- All complaint information will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to know and following any relevant data protection requirements.
Procedure
The person who receives an email/written/phone or in person complaint should: Write down the facts of the complaint. Take the complainant’s name, address and telephone number. Note down the relationship of the complainant to EcoJudaism. Tell the complainant that we have a complaints procedure. Tell the complainant what will happen next and how long it will take. Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send a written account by post or by email to complaints@ecojudaism.co.uk so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.
Resolving Complaints
Stage 1 – The complaint will be formally acknowledged within 10 working days. An acknowledgement will confirm who is dealing with the complaint and when the complainant can expect a reply. A copy of this complaints procedure will be attached.
In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they should try to do so if possible and appropriate. If it has not already been resolved, an appropriate person (the Operations Manager or Chief Executive) will investigate and take appropriate action within five working days. We may ask the member of staff who dealt with the complainant to reply to the complaint. You may be asked to meet the complainant to discuss and hopefully resolve the complaint. This will be done within five working days of the end of our investigation. Within five days of that meeting we will write to the complainant to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed with you. If they do not want a meeting or it is not possible, we will send a detailed reply to the complaint. This will include suggestions for resolving the matter. This will be done within five working days of completing our investigation.
Escalation Process
Stage 2 – If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, they can request that the complaint is reviewed at Trustee Board level. At this stage, the complaint will be passed to a Trustee. The request for Trustee Board level review will be acknowledged within five working days of receiving it. The acknowledgement will confirm who will deal with the case and when the complainant can expect a reply. The Trustee will investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person to do so. This may involve reviewing the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage One. If the complaint relates to a specific person, they will be informed and given a further opportunity to respond.
Stage 2 complaints will receive a definitive reply within 10 working days. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report will be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given. Complaints made about employees may involve internal; processes that take time. If the complaint is about an employee the complainant will not be informed about what action has been taken regarding the member of staff as this constitutes a confidential employment matter. The decision taken at this stage is final.
If, however, a Complainant feels that their complaint has not been satisfactorily resolved they may wish to contact the Charity Commission who will advise whether they, or the Fundraising Regulator, can investigate:
https://forms.charitycommission.gov.uk/raising-concerns/
https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/complaints
The Board of Trustees at EcoJudaism will comply with their statutory duties to report any Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission that may arise.
Continuous Improvement
Stage 3 – We monitor and review the effectiveness of our complaints handling process to ensure that this continuously improves, and we learn from complaints.
This policy does not cover complaints from staff who are covered by the Grievance Policy which is within the staff handbook.