1. Introduction
1.1 This Policy outlines the process that will be followed whenever there is a complaint
of indiscipline or misconduct about a Club member, volunteer or employee and
what will happen as a consequence.
1.2 The Club has a responsibility to ensure that all its members, volunteers and
employees follow and adhere to the rules and values of the Club, as well as
adhering to all relevant and applicable Paddle Scotland policies and procedures, to
ensure the Club offers a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all.
1.3 This Policy sets out the basis on which the Club will consider complaints that are
raised within the Club relating to any on or off water Club activity, including
paddling, coaching or competing
1.4 Whilst the Club will do its best to ensure this Policy is followed, it should be noted
that the majority of people within the Club provide their time voluntarily without
payment, and have other commitments outside of the Club. This Policy should not
be considered as exhaustive. A failure to follow strictly every step outlined below
shall not automatically render any disciplinary decision unfair. This Policy will
instead act as a framework to enable disputes to be resolved in a fair and
proportionate manner. The Policy is subject to review and amendment (upon
appropriate notice) from time to time.
1.5 If an incident of misconduct may amount to a criminal offence the Club may refer the
matter to the police before pursuing its own disciplinary process. All allegations
involving safeguarding shall be managed in line with Paddle Scotland’s
Safeguarding Policies and Procedures including where appropriate referring to
Paddle Scotland for triage, guidance, and where it is deemed necessary,
investigation.
1.6 This Policy applies to all people involved in Club activities who, by participating in
that activity, agree to be bound by this Policy.
2. Definitions
2.1 In this Policy certain terms are used frequently. Whenever they appear these terms
shall have the following meanings:
Club: our club, Edinburgh Kayak Club.
Complaint: a complaint of Misconduct that is raised following this Policy.
Complainant: refers to the person(s) who raises the Complaint.
Individual: any member, volunteer, employee or other person who participates in,
or assists with, Club activity and about whom a Complaint has been raised.
Misconduct: any behaviour or incident which is contrary to the Club rules, codes
of conduct or any other offence or behaviour carried out during or in association
with Club activities that might reasonably be considered as bringing or having the
potential to bring the Club into disrepute. Examples of the type of behaviour that
may amount to Misconduct are given further below.
Policy: this disciplinary and appeals policy including the steps outlined below.
Writing: references throughout this Policy to “in writing” or “write” shall include
correspondence being sent via email.
3. Disciplinary Process
Whenever there is an issue of Misconduct the following steps shall be followed:
Stage 1 - Raising a Complaint
3.1 If any person wishes to raise a Complaint it should be reported in writing to the Club
Secretary. Where the matter relates to the Club Secretary, the Complaint should be
submitted to the Club Safeguarding Officer or Club Chair (who shall then fulfil the
role of Club Secretary throughout the rest of this process). When reporting a
Complaint, specific details and evidence about the Misconduct must be included.
Examples of Misconduct might include:
a. any behaviour, conduct, statement or practice that is discriminatory, abusive,
threatening, intimidating, harassing or deliberately provocative or intended to
offend, insult, humiliate, ridicule or cause harm or fear; or
b. an act of dishonesty, including cheating or misrepresentation of qualifications
and their status; or
c. a failure to comply with any Club rule, policy or code of conduct (whether in
person or online).
3.2 If the Club Committee becomes aware of Misconduct it may raise a Complaint itself
and conduct any necessary investigation into the case of Misconduct.
Stage 2 - Initial Consideration of Complaint
3.3 The Club Secretary (or other competent person handling the complaint if the
complaint is about the Club Secretary) will conduct and initial assessment of the
complaint and will consider:
Is the complaint about a member or employee of the club or someone outside of
the club
Is the complaint part of a series of similar complaints about individuals, either from the same person or from different people?
Is the complaint overall considered to be competent to be processed using the
procedure set out in this document
If it is not considered to be a competent complaint for any of the reasons
stated above, the complainant should be informed of this and the reasons
for the decision being taken. Then stage 2 onwards do not apply. In such
circumstances a file note should be written and stored which contains the
rationale for the decision that has been taken together with the supporting
information.
Stage 3 - Communicating the Complaint
3.4 After the decision has been taken that the complaint is competent the Club
Secretary shall write to the Individual or Individuals concerned to inform them of the
Complaint and to invite them to comment on the allegations in writing within
fourteen days. The Club Secretary may also choose to meet with the Individual(s)
to obtain their comments. The Club Secretary shall also be entitled to take such
advice or conduct any initial investigation as they consider is prudent in the
circumstances to enable them to review the Complaint.
Stage 4 – Investigating and Reviewing the Complaint
3.5 Once the Club Secretary has received any applicable comments from the
Individual(s) involved, and completed any investigation, they will determine if the
Complaint has sufficient grounds and is capable of being pursued further based on
the evidence and statements provided.
3.6 If a complaint is determined to be frivolous or vexatious at this stage it may also be
dismissed at this stage. If the Complaint is of a nature that can reasonably be dealt
with by informal methods, including an informal warning, the Club Secretary may
do so and inform the Complainant(s) and the Individual(s) accordingly.
3.7 If it appears there is a case to answer, the Club Secretary will ask 3 members of the
Club Committee with appropriate skills or experience to form a disciplinary panel.
No Committee member should be asked to join a disciplinary panel if they have a
direct interest or involvement in the matter giving rise to the Complaint or are
directly related/connected to any of the persons involved with the Complaint.
Knowing the person(s) involved in the Complaint or having some knowledge of the
circumstances of the Complaint shall not preclude a Committee member from
sitting on a disciplinary panel. Where there are insufficient non conflicted members
of the Committee to form the disciplinary panel, the Club may seek suitable
external independent individuals. The Club also reserves the right to appoint an
independent person or Panel to hear the matter.
3.8 The Club Secretary shall have the power to suspend any Individual accused of
Misconduct from Club activity on a temporary basis. This temporary suspension
shall last only as long as the Club takes to complete this disciplinary process. The
purpose of this suspension shall be to facilitate the investigation, protect the Individual and the Complainant and should not be considered punitive in nature and shall not prejudice or influence the outcome of the investigation. Any temporary suspension shall be kept under review to ensure it remains reasonable and proportionate.
Stage 5 – Disciplinary Hearing
3.9 The disciplinary panel shall consider the matter based on any evidence gathered by
the Club Secretary and the formal statements submitted by the Complainant and
the Individual.
3.10 The disciplinary panel shall also have the right to speak with anyone else involved
who may have witnessed the Misconduct and to make such further enquiries as it
thinks fit.
3.11 The disciplinary panel shall be entitled to reach a conclusion based on the
statements submitted and any other evidence it has gathered (as outlined above).
Alternatively, the disciplinary panel may decide to call a meeting to discuss the
Complaint, in which case it shall give both the Complainant and the Individual(s)
sufficient advance notice of the meeting date. Wherever possible the meeting shall
be held within 14 days of the disciplinary panel calling the meeting.
3.12 The disciplinary panel shall ensure the case is handled justly and without undue
delay. All hearings must be conducted fairly, by an objective panel, with the
Individual(s) given a full opportunity to answer the allegations and produce any
evidence or witnesses in support of their case. The Individual shall be entitled to be
assisted or represented by a person of their choice.
Stage 6 – Reaching an Outcome and Sanctions
3.13 The disciplinary panel may uphold the Complaint, dismiss it, or partially uphold the
Complaint, and will provide written reasons for its decision. If the disciplinary panel
is satisfied that an offence of Misconduct has been committed, then it may impose
one or more of the following actions:
a. note the Misconduct but take no further formal action. The panel may ask the
Individual(s) to issue an apology if appropriate;
b. formally warn the Individual concerned as to future conduct;
c. suspend or disqualify the Individual from Club activity, coaching and/or
administration and/or use of the Club's premises for a defined period up to a
maximum of 12 months;
d. cancel the Individual’s membership of the Club (with no requirement to refund
the membership fee) and refuse future membership; or
e. a combination of the above or such other penalty as the Disciplinary Panel considers appropriate, which could include more specific restrictions on activities and club premises/locations, depending on the set up of the club and the specific outcome of the disciplinary hearing.
3.14 All parties concerned will be provided with the disciplinary panel’s written reasons
outlining the decision made.
4. Appeal Process
Should the Individual(s) or the Complainant wish to challenge the decision of the
disciplinary panel and/or the sanction imposed, the following steps shall be followed:
Step 1 – Challenging the Decision of the Disciplinary Panel (an Appeal)
4.1 The Individual(s) or the Complainant may appeal the decision of the disciplinary
panel and/or the sanction imposed by serving a Notice of Appeal on the Club
Secretary within seven days of the Club Secretary communicating the disciplinary
panel’s decision to them. The letter notifying the Individual and the Complainant of
the decision of the disciplinary panel shall also set out the right to appeal.
4.2 The Notice of Appeal must clearly state the grounds on which the Individual or the
Complainant is appealing the decision and not just repeat the original complaint or
the response to the original Complaint (dependent on who is bringing the appeal).
The grounds on which a decision can be appealed are as follows:
a. the decision (including as to sanctions) was based on error of fact or could not
have been reasonably reached by the disciplinary panel when faced with the
evidence before it;
b. serious procedural or other irregularity by the disciplinary panel. As an example,
the panel did not speak to a reasonable cross-section of people who
witnessed the Misconduct. If this is found to be the case, the Appeal Panel
shall hear the matter over again, from the beginning, without being bound in
any way by the decision being appealed; or
c. significant and relevant new evidence has become available which was not
available at the time the disciplinary panel made its decision but, had it been
available, may have caused the disciplinary panel to reach a materially
difference decision.
4.3. It is important that the Complainant or the Individual recognise that the appeal is not
an opportunity to repeat the original disciplinary hearing. The same arguments and
evidence as were submitted to the disciplinary panel must not be submitted in
isolation to the Appeals Panel. The appeal must identify one of the above three
grounds only and explain why they are met. Otherwise, the appeal will be
dismissed.
4.4 The Club Secretary shall acknowledge the Notice of Appeal within seven days of its
receipt and, if necessary, ask for any further evidence or reasons why the appeal is
being submitted.
Step 2 – setting up the Appeal Panel
4.5 The Club Secretary shall appoint either an individual (such as the Club Chair) to
review the Appeal or three new Committee members (or other individuals with
appropriate and relevant experience) who have not been involved directly with the
Complaint, either in the events giving rise to the Complaint or in the initial
disciplinary panel itself.
4.6 The Club Secretary shall inform the Individual and the Complainant of who is
reviewing the appeal (“the Appeal Panel”). If the Individual or the Complainant has
any objections to the Appeal Panel these must be raised promptly, providing
reasons for the objection (and no later than 5 days of being informed) to the Club
Secretary who shall review the objection and decide in their reasonable discretion
whether it is appropriate to alter the composition of the Appeal Panel.
Step 3 - what the Appeal Panel can do
4.7 The Appeal Panel shall determine the appeal and may either invite the Complainant
and the Individual(s) to provide any further statements or set up a meeting. The
Appeal Panel may at its sole discretion disregard any failure by a party to adhere to
this appeal procedure and may give such further directions as may be appropriate.
4.8 Where the Appeal Panel is formed of three individuals, the Appeal Panel shall
decide any issue by majority.
4.9 The Appeal Panel shall have power to make a decision on the facts as it thinks fit
and may:
a. uphold the original decision and sanction;
b. overturn the original decision and remove any sanction imposed by the original
Disciplinary Panel;
c. overturn the original decision and impose a new sanction;
d. confirm the original decision but increase the sanction;
e. confirm the original decision but reduce the sanction;
f. make such further orders as it considers appropriate
4.10 The Appeal Panel shall inform all parties of its decision together with written
reasons. The decision of the Appeal Panel shall be final with no further right of Appeal.
5. Records of Hearings and Appeals
The decision of a disciplinary panel and the Appeal Panel shall be in writing and
retained as confidential records for a period of six years by the Club. Supporting
documents shall also be retained for the same period of time alongside the
decision.
6. Notification to Paddle Scotland
6.1 The Club Secretary, once the Appeal notice period has expired and any appeal has
concluded, should inform Paddle Scotland of the outcome of the disciplinary
process. This is particularly important for:
a. compliance with a sanction, especially where the Individual has been suspended
from competing or participating in any canoeing activity; or
b. for the welfare and safety of those engaged in canoeing or paddlesport activity.
7. Co-operation
7.1 This Policy assumes that all parties will cooperate in the interest of resolving the
issue in question. In the absence of such cooperation, or if it is withdrawn at any
stage, the Club reserves the right to proceed with a disciplinary panel or an Appeal
based on such evidence and information as it is able to obtain.
7.2 When dealing with a Complaint, the Club Secretary or nominated Club
representative shall be entitled to take, or omit to take, such action as is
recommended pursuant to legal advice received from a legal practitioner whom the
Club Secretary reasonably believes is competent to provide such advice.
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