7. Complaints procedure

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Reigate Lawn Tennis Club (RLTC) is committed to providing a friendly, positive and safe sporting and social environment for its members. The Management Committee therefore aims to:

• Retain contractors that are committed to achieving a high professional standard in their work, and in their interaction with peers and members of RLTC.

• Ensure members uphold a high standard of behaviour on a tennis court, within RLTC's premises and whenever representing RLTC.

Objectives

To deal with all complaints in a fair and transparent way.

To provide clear instructions to contractors and members so they are aware of the procedures that will be taken if a complaint is received about a contractor or member.

Procedures

Confirmation and acknowledgement of complaint

A complaint must be formalised in writing and sent to either the Chairman or Secretary. However, if for some reason a complaint cannot be put in writing, a Management Committee member may receive the complaint verbally, make a written note of the conversation and its date, and sign the note as a record of the conversation before submitting it to the Chairman or Secretary.

Where the complaint is regarding someone's conduct or behaviour, the report should include:

a) details of what occurred, the time and the date;
b) details of when and where the occurrence took place;
c) any witness details and copies of any witness statements;
d) names of any others members or visitors who have been treated in a similar way (provided that those people consent to their names being disclosed);
e) details of any former complaints made about the incident, including the date and to whom such complaint was made; and
f) an indication as to the desired outcome.

The Chairman or Secretary will acknowledge the complaint and confirm the process by which the complaint will be handled. All communication will be noted. (Notification can be by email or by telephone.)

The member or contractor mentioned in the complaint will be contacted by the person leading on the complaint and notified that a complaint has been received.

Junior members

If a junior member is involved in a complaint, the child’s parents will be contacted directly and then the standard procedures for handling a complaint will be followed and will include RLTC's Welfare Officer if they are not a member of the investigating committee.

Consideration of complaint

The complaint will be investigated by one or more members of the Management Committee (the "investigating committee"). The investigating committee may request a meeting with some or all of the parties named in the complaint independently to consider their account of what happened. Notice of no less than 24 hours will be given for the meeting(s).
Following the investigation, the investigating committee:
• may request that any of the parties to the complaint submit written evidence regarding the incident(s);
• may decide (at its sole discretion) to uphold or dismiss the complaint without holding a hearing; and / or
• may (at its sole discretion) hold a hearing (whether or not such a hearing is requested by either party) at which both parties will be entitled to attend and present their case.

All discussions and meetings must be documented via minutes throughout this process and held on file by the Chairman or Secretary.

Complaints will be finalised as soon as possible but no later than 28 days after the complaint was made.

Action

The seriousness of the nature of the complaint will determine the action taken. The investigating committee will reach a decision on the action to be taken and report it back to the Management Committee.

If the complaint is about an employee or contractor, the Management Committee will hold an emergency meeting to consider the complaint and the action to be taken.

If the complaint is about a member or other non-employee, the Management Committee or investigating committee:

• will have the power to impose any one or more of the following sanctions on any person found to be in breach of any policy (subject to any conditions set out within the Rules of RLTC):
-- warning as to future conduct;
-- suspension from membership;
-- removal from membership;
-- (for non-members) exclusion from the facility, either temporarily or permanently; and
-- (for non-members) refusal to accept current and / or future membership applications.
• will provide both parties with written reasons for its decision to uphold or dismiss the complaint within one calendar month of such decision being made.

Appeal process

If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of their complaint they have a right of appeal to the Management Committee. A letter must be sent to the Chairman or Secretary detailing why they wish to appeal and stating the outcome they hope to achieve.

The Management Committee will review the complaint and respond to the complainant.

Either party may appeal a decision of the Management Committee to the County Association (including any decision not to hold a hearing) by writing to the County Secretary within three months of RLTC's decision being notified to that party.

Following the conclusion of the complaints process, the Management Committee will review all policies and procedures in light of the complaint in order to try to avoid similar complaints reoccurring in future where possible.

Approved by the Management Committee in April 2017