About Us

Complaints

CNSS aims to provide its members with a positive, engaging and uplifting experience whenever they interact with us.

As a largely volunteer organisation with a handful of dedicated Rabbinic, administrative and lay leadership, we rely heavily on the goodwill and active participation of our members to enhance the Jewish environment in which they live and work and grow.

If anyone who comes into contact with the synagogue staff or volunteers or its various programmes wishes to express how the experience was not as positive as they would wish it to be, they are invited to write in the first instance to the Chair of the Synagogue at chair@cnss.co.uk.

We endeavour to respond to queries within a few days at most and thank you for taking the time to share any concerns that may arise about the synagogue.

THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE COMPLAINTS POLICY

At the United Synagogue we aim to treat all our members, supporters and users of our services with the highest level of care and respect.

We are always endeavouring to improve our services and we therefore aim to deal with complaints, efficiently, transparently and fairly.

We see the complaints process as a means of reviewing our practices and processes and thereby improving the services which we provide.

We define a complaint as a representation made to the United Synagogue from any person who believes that the United Synagogue has fallen short of the standard of service that that person reasonably expected to receive and who wishes to express their dissatisfaction.

Complaints relating to Member Synagogues

Where your complaint is in connection with one of our Member Synagogues, the complaint should in the first instance be addressed in writing to the Chair of the Synagogue, who should endeavour to deal with the complaint expeditiously. In the first instance an attempt will be made to deal with the complaint informally. If this is not possible a formal investigation will take place involving an investigation by at least 3 members of the Synagogue Council, including (where possible) at least one Local Honorary Officer.

Where insufficient people are available on the Synagogue Council to carry out such an investigation or where the Synagogue Council members and/or the Chair of the Synagogue are themselves the subject of the complaint, the complaint should be referred to the Chief Executive of the United Synagogue. It will also be referred to the Chief Executive where it is inappropriate for the Member Synagogue to deal with the complaint. We will acknowledge all complaints within [three] working days after receipt and at the same time will provide you with an expected timetable for our response. We will keep you up to date during the investigation process. We will also provide you with a point of contact should you need to get in touch with us at any time during the process.

Following the investigation, the Council Members and/or the Chief Executive will make recommendations for the resolution of the complaint. We aim to provide you with a full response to your complaint within 20 working days from the date of the complaint, but complex cases may take longer.

If after the complaint has been reviewed by the Member Synagogue, you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you may write to the Chief Executive who will appoint a Director (a member of the Senior Management Team) to review the matter and decide whether any further action is needed.

Complaints not relating to a Member Synagogue

Where your complaint does not involve a Member Synagogue but involves the United Synagogue Centre and/or the services provided by it, your complaint should in the first instance be sent to the Director responsible for the Department concerned, or where the Director is him/herself the subject of the complaint, the complaint should be directed to the Chief Executive who will appoint the Director of another Department to review the complaint.

Appeals

We hope that we are able to resolve your complaint in an efficient and satisfactory way but if you are not satisfied by the Charity’s response, your complaint can be escalated to the Chief Executive, (who may delegate someone to investigate the matter on his behalf), who will review your concerns and the initial findings before responding to you fully.

If after a review by the Chief Executive you are still dissatisfied with the outcome, it will be passed to the trustees of the Charity who will appoint one or two of the Charity’s trustees to review the matter and decide whether any further action is needed.

The Chief Executive may be contacted at

United Synagogue 305 Ballards Lane London N12 8GB

Email: cx@theus.org.uk

If your complaint relates to fundraising matters and you are dissatisfied with our response, you can contact the Fundraising Regulator, whose details are set out below.

Fundraising Regulator 2nd Floor CAN Mezzanine Building 49-51 East Road London N1 6AH

www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk

Tel: 0300 999 3407

Email: enquiries@fundraisingregulator.org.uk

Data Privacy

In order to manage the complaints process effectively, we maintain a log of all complaints raised, including information about the complainant. If you would like further information, or have any concerns, about the information we may hold about you in this regard, please refer to our Privacy Policy.