1. Saddleworth Rangers Amateur Rugby League Football Club recognises its responsibility towards its members and all of those persons with whom the Club is associated and genuinely welcomes and values feedback upon any issue or problem that is seen to require attention. Should this amount to a complaint, this will be taken seriously by the Club and will be addressed positively, sympathetically and with an open mind.
2. A complaint for the purposes of this Procedure is seen to be an expression of dissatisfaction by a Club member, or by any person with whom the Club is associated, in relation to the manner in which they have been treated (including any allegation of discrimination), the standard or quality of the service they have received, or the way in which any of the Club’s policies, rules or Codes of Conduct have been applied or broken. This may, for example, include (but is not exclusive to):
· The safety of Club activities
· The standard of instruction or leadership provided by the Club’s coaches
· The standard of the equipment or facilities used or provided for Club activities
· The standard or availability of suitable activities for a Club member’s level of ability or participation
· The standard of conduct of another Club member, particularly in relation to any of the Club’s activities
· The standard of the Club’s administration
November 2021 Update
· The standard of conduct of a Club Committee Member in their duties or responsibilities towards the Club
· The refusal or removal of membership of the Club.
Sometimes dissatisfaction is expressed without being described as a complaint, although this should not mean that the matter is overlooked and the person concerned should always be asked whether they in fact wish the matter to be dealt with by way of a formal complaint.
Making A Complaint
3. In the event that a person wishes to make a complaint, they should submit their complaint in writing (including by email) saddleworthrangerswelfare@gmail.com to the Club Welfare Officers, as appropriate, and include with this:
· Full details of the incident, occurrence or cause of complaint, including when and where this took place
· The names of any witnesses, including copies of any witness statements that may be available
· The names of any other persons who they know or believe to have been similarly treated or who have themselves made a similar complaint
· Details of any previous complaint(s) made about the incident, occurrence or issue of which they are aware, including (if known) the date(s) of the previous complaint(s) and to whom these were made
· Their preferred solution or resolve on the matter
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Investigation Of A Complaint
4. The Club Welfare Officer (as appropriate) will acknowledge the receipt of any complaint in writing within 5 days of receipt and will nominate a suitable person (or persons) from within the Club to investigate the matter and report back to the Club Committee with their findings in order for the Club Committee to reach a decision. In the event that the complaint relates to or may concern a safeguarding or child protection issue, the investigation will be undertaken by the Club Welfare Officer and will take place in accordance with the procedures required by the Club’s Safeguarding Children Policy and the Rugby Football League’s Club Safeguarding and Protecting Children Policy.
November 2021 Update
5. Should a hearing be requested or considered appropriate following a thorough investigation of the complaint, this will be conducted by the Club welfare officers and nominated members of the Club Committee. A minimum of three members of the Club Committee must be nominated and present for this purpose to provide a quorum for the hearing.
6. The person making the complaint will receive a full response to their complaint in writing, signed by the Club Chairperson or Club Secretary as appropriate, irrespective of whether a verbal response has already been given. This will be provided within 21 days of the complaint being received or, if this is not possible, an explanation and a likely timescale will be provided. The circumstances in which an extension to the 21-day timescale will be necessary will be exceptional.
7. The Club reserves the right to treat as confidential any or all matters relating to a complaint, or to the information or material arising from the investigation of a complaint, where it is satisfied on reasonable grounds that to do otherwise might place any person at risk.
Outcome Of The Complaint
8. Should a complaint against a particular Club member be upheld, the Club Committee will have power to:
· Warn the member as to their future conduct
· Suspend the member from membership of the Club for a specified period of up to 3 months
· Exclude the member from attending at the Club’s premises or at any of the Club’s events or activities (including Club matches, irrespective of the venue) for a specified period of up to 3 months
· In the case of serious or repeated misconduct, remove the member from membership of the Club. This may extend also to the removal of other members of their family in appropriate circumstances and to the exclusion of the member and the persons concerned from attending at Club matches (irrespective of the venue), Club events or activities or from the Club’s premises.
· In the case of misconduct by a Club Committee Member, request their resignation from their position as Club Committee Member or otherwise remove them from that position.
November 2021 Update
Appeals
9. The member against whom the complaint was made shall have a right of appeal against the decision of the Club Committee or against any disciplinary action imposed. Any such appeal is to be submitted in writing (including by email) to the Club Secretary, together with the reasons or grounds upon which it is based, within 7 days of the date upon which the decision of the Club Committee was issued.
10. An appeal will usually be conducted by way of a review of the original decision rather than by a hearing or rehearing of all of the evidence and will be considered by at least three members of the Club Committee who, wherever possible, were not involved in the Club Committee’s original decision upon the complaint.
11. The member against whom the complaint was made will have a right to request a hearing in relation to their appeal and to be accompanied at the hearing by a friend or other Club member, although not by a member of the legal profession acting in that capacity. The member, or the person accompanying them, may make oral or written representations to the Club Committee Members hearing the appeal.
12. The decision upon the appeal will be issued in writing to the member concerned and, where appropriate, to the person making the complaint within 7 days of the conclusion of the appeal.
Data Protection
13. A detailed record of the complaint, the investigation and the outcome or actions taken will be kept by the Club Secretary for a period of twelve months following the conclusion of the matter.
This Club Complaints Procedure for Saddleworth Rangers Amateur Rugby League Club and its members and those persons with whom the Club is associated was accepted and adopted by the club on 20th November 2021 and replaces all previous versions of the club complaints procedures prior to that date.
November 2021 update