refer up

Verb. To contact a superior for instructions when faced with a request which you are unable (or unwilling) to approve or deny.

"Refer up" is associated with bureaucratic procedures, and is often considered a form of "passing the buck," i.e., avoiding responsibility in a sticky situation. Nevertheless, there are many circumstances where it is the appropriate response. Here is a good example:

Your Project Manager says that Project A will be implemented on Thursday, no matter what. The Quality Control Manager says that Project A will not be implemented on Thursday because of <insert reason>. The Quality Control manager comes to you and asks, "Project A cannot be implemented on Thursday. Do you concur?" Your best response is to *refer up* to your Project Manager, i.e., to say "I need to refer up to my Project Manager and get back to you."

The concept and expression "refer up" is a prominent theme in the movie Eye in the Sky (2015).

Question: Do I have permission to perform this action?

Answer: I am unable (or unwilling) to give you a definitive answer, so I must refer up to my superior for guidance.