Grievance Policy

Grievance and disciplinary policy

Please refer to our Club Constitution.

Complaints and Disputes

  1. All concerns, allegations or reports of malpractice or abuse relating to the welfare of children or vulnerable adults will be recorded and responded to swiftly and appropriately in accordance with the Club’s and UK Athletics Safeguarding 2021 final policy and procedures. The Welfare Officer shall be the lead Officer for all Members in the event of any safeguarding concerns (please see steps below).
  2. Any complaints of misconduct (improper or unprofessional conduct) regarding the behaviour of Members or Officers shall be dealt with by the Club in accordance with its discipline and appeals process and must be presented in writing to the Secretary (and where the matter relates to the Secretary, the complaint must be submitted to the Welfare Officer). Unless exceptional circumstances apply, the Secretary will hear complaints within fourteen days of receiving a complaint. If the complaint is sufficiently evidenced, the Secretary will appoint 3 (three) Club Members (who have no direct or indirect interest/involvement in the matter) to sit on a disciplinary panel. Subject to rule 3 below, a decision of the disciplinary panel shall be final and conclusive.
  3. Any appeals must be received by the Secretary within 7 (seven) days of receiving the written decision and, if appropriate, the appeals process will be followed.
  4. Any complaints of serious misconduct (including, without limitation, theft, doping violations, fraud, physical violence, safeguarding policy breaches, serious breach of applicable health and safety, gambling and/or ticketing regulations or any act or omission of the Member or Officer which in the opinion of England Athletics, acting reasonably, brings or is likely to bring the sport of athletics into disrepute) regarding the behaviour of Members or Officers shall be reported and dealt with by England Athletics in accordance with its Disciplinary Procedures.
  5. If a dispute arises between any Members or Officers of the Club about the validity or propriety of anything done by any Member or Officer under these Rules and the dispute cannot be resolved by agreement, the parties to the dispute must first try in good faith to settle the dispute by mediation before resorting to litigation.

 

Grievance Process

Step one

If you have a grievance that involves another member (including coaches, volunteers, committee members …etc.), you should first of all try to resolve the matter by speaking directly with the other member about the matter, if possible. The discussion should be conducted with courtesy and to reach a resolution as soon as possible.

Step two

If you do not wish to discuss the matter directly with the other member or would like additional assistance, you can contact the Secretary or in the case of a safeguarding issue the Welfare Officer who can investigate and assist on the matter. Please note that with a Safeguarding matter we will follow UKA’s guidance on managing such incidents. To the extent that you can, please provide as much detail as possible on the following:

  • What has been happening or has happened?
  • Who are the members involved?
  • What contact (if any) have you made with the member?
  • What steps (if any) have you taken to resolve the matter on your own?
  • What would you like to happen, e.g. ideal resolution?

Step three

The relevant officer above will investigate the matter as soon as practicable. If the grievance is against an individual, such individual may be invited to respond to the grievance at the earliest opportunity. In seeking to resolve the grievance, the Secretary may request for more time to investigate, suspend the investigation or defer the decision if more information is required.

Step four

After the investigation is completed, the Secretary shall inform you and all relevant parties on how the matter should be settled and update the Committee on the matter and related settlement at the next earliest Committee meeting.

If you are not satisfied with the settlement/resolution provided by the Secretary, you may request the Committee to review the matter. In the event that the matter involves a person on the Committee, then that individual shall excuse him/herself from the review process.

If the settlement/resolution involves disciplining or excluding a member from the Club’s membership, such decision must be made in accordance with the Club Constitution.