Policies

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, The United Synagogue maintains 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.

This privacy policy sets out how The United Synagogue (US) uses and protects any information that you give us when you use this website.

The US is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy policy.

The US may change this policy periodically so you should check from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

What we collect

When you provide us with any data we’ll always make clear why we need it and will obtain your consent to use it. If you provide consent on behalf of another person, you must ensure that you have their authorisation to do so. We reserve the right to request confirmation to ensure and verify that you have that authorisation.

We may collect the following information:

• name
• contact information including email address and contact telephone number
• demographic information
• other information relevant to your overall US requirements as well as information from surveys and/or offers

What we do with the information we gather

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

• Internal record keeping
• We may use the information to improve our products and services
• We may periodically send promotional emails about new US products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
• From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone or email. We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How we use cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy policy applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

• whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes
• if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing us at info@theus.org.uk

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to United Synagogue, 305 Ballards Lane, North Finchley, London, N12 8GB

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible at the above address and we will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

In the unlikely event that you believe your information has been misused. Please contact us immediately by emailing info@theus.org.uk with the reason(s) you believe why. We will seek to deal with your request without undue delay. Please note that we may keep a record of your communications to help us resolve any issues which you raise. We will in accordance with reporting procedures inform the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as required.

Refund Policy (donations)

We, in common with all registered charities, are constrained by the Charities Act 2011 which means that we are only able to refund a donation in certain prescribed circumstances. If you believe that a donation you have made should be refunded, please contact us within 28 days of making your donation.

Any decision to refund will be at our discretion.

Refund Policy (bookshop)

You can find our Bookshop Refunds Policy on our Policies page.