Policy Documents

Northop Golf Club
Code of Conduct Policy and Disciplinary Procedure

1. Scope
   1.1 The Club expects members and guests to show respect to other users and to club premises at all
   times. Adherence to club regulations and protection of the reputation of the club are explicit
   conditions of membership. On the course, players are expected to show respect for the course and
   fellow players, and practice accepted standards of golf etiquette such as fair play and pace of play.
   1.2 This policy defines “unacceptable behaviour” and outlines the process by which reports of
   unacceptable behaviour will be managed.
   1.3 The policy does not cover the following:

• Complaints regarding the condition of the course: these should be referred to the chair of
  the greens subcommittee directly or the General manager
• Complaints regarding the condition of the clubhouse or facilities: these should be referred to
  the General manager
• Complaints regarding general club management: these should be referred to the General
  manager who will pass it to the Board
• Complaints regarding the behaviour of a staff member should be referred to that staff
  member’s line manager. The General manager will advise who the line manager is.

1. Definitions of unacceptable behaviours
   2.1 For the purpose of this document ‘unacceptable behaviour’ includes, but is not exclusively:

• Any act, or failure to act, that threatens or compromises the integrity or reputation of the
  Club. This may include events occurring on or off the club premises.
• Abusive or aggressive language or behaviour directed at any member of staff, member or
  guest while on club premises, including the golf course.
• Bullying, harassment, and discriminatory behaviour (see appendix one) on club premises.
• Smoking in the clubhouse.
• Serious misuse of alcohol or drugs on club premises.
• Theft or fraud relating to the club.
• Cheating (i.e., knowingly breaking the rules of golf to gain advantage) in a golf competition
  hosted by the club or club professional.
• Wilful and/or repeated breach of current club regulations including, but not restricted to,

restrictions imposed by external regulatory bodies (see appendix 2).
2.2 Unacceptable behaviour may be physical, verbal or in relation to electronic communication e.g.
email, social media etc.

3. Procedure
   3.1 Alleged unacceptable behaviour should be reported to the General Manager or Board member in
   the absence of the general Manager
   The General Manager will decide the seriousness of the incident as quickly as possible, ideally within
   a few days. This assessment may require an interview with the person who reported the incident(s)
   (the complainant), the person who is the subject of the complaint (the respondent) and any other
   person involved.
   He/she may wish to take advice from others in confidence.
   3.2 If there is concern regarding the welfare of a person as result of unacceptable behaviour, the
   General Manager will pass the report to the club H/R Dept to deal with according to the
   club’s “Safeguarding Adults” and/or “Safeguarding Children and Young Adults” policies. In these
   circumstances, the General Manager, in agreement with the H/R Dept, are authorised to
   suspend the respondent’s membership and/or ban the respondent from visiting the club if they
   believe this is necessary to protect staff or club member. The respondent may still be subject to the
   disciplinary procedure outlined in this policy, whether action is taken by another authority or
   body.
   3.3 Following initial enquires there are 4 options:
4. The matter is resolved and closed with no further action
5. The matter is dealt with by a verbal or written warning from the General Manager to a
   member or guest.
6. The matter is referred to the Board. If this option is taken, the respondent
   should, other than in exceptional circumstances, be informed in writing that a complaint has
   been made against them which has been referred on to the Board. This will
   include a brief description of the complaint, an assurance that he/she will be interviewed by
   the disciplinary committee to defend any allegation of misconduct, and inform them that
   they have a right to appeal any decision made.
7. The matter is referred to the police.
   3.2 As a safeguard, regardless of which of these options is taken, all reports of unacceptable
   behaviour received by the General Manager will be logged and presented to the Board

at the next Board meeting. The action taken can at that stage be either approved or
changed.

4. Disciplinary committee
   Membership
   4.1 Members of the disciplinary committee will include The General Manager who dealt
   with the initial assessment. The General Manager will be joined by at least 1 other board member
   from the current board of directors and 1 member of a club committee
   The General Manager will chair the disciplinary committee, and one other club member,
   who may or not be on the management committee. These three must have no direct
   involvement, or have a conflict of interest in, the matter under investigation
   4.2 The disciplinary committee will investigate the claim in detail. The primary purpose is to establish
   as far as possible the facts of the case. The committee may decide how this can be done most
   effectively, and by whom, but must be able to justify their approach in their report.
   4.3 The complainant will be told who is on the disciplinary committee, and asked to submit, as soon
   as possible, details of the complaint in writing to the chairperson. This should include details of the
   alleged behaviour, dates and times, names of persons involved, including witnesses, and any
   supporting evidence that may be available.
   4.4 The respondent will be told who is on the disciplinary committee and, with very few exceptions,
   will be interviewed by one or more of the disciplinary committees. They may bring another person
   to
   the interview if they wish, provided they inform the committee in advance. At the interview, as a
   minimum, all the allegations made in the complaint must be given to the respondent in order that
   they may respond. However, the respondent does not have an automatic right to read the written
   complaint, nor do they have a right to know who made the complaint. This information may be given
   at the discretion of the disciplinary committee. The respondent may choose to give their response in
   full at the interview, or to submit a response in writing within 72 hours of the interview.
   4.5 The process will usually involve interviews with the complainant, and witnesses to relevant
   events. This may be done by telephone, electronically or in person. Regardless of the mechanism
   used, all information given can, at the request of the interviewee, be given anonymously, unless
   doing so puts someone at risk or impedes a legal investigation.
   4.6 Other evidence may be obtained from emails, posts on social media or any other verifiable
   sources.

4.7 The disciplinary committee will take all reasonable steps to prevent, mitigate and correct any
adverse effect that may arise because of the offence, to maintain the integrity of the club and
protect members, staff, and guests. This can include, at any time during the investigation,
suspension
of an individual’s membership of the club if, and only if, the member represents a risk
of harm to staff other users of the club while the investigation proceeds. A guest can be banned
from the club premises under the same conditions.
Report and recommendation
4.8 The disciplinary committee will submit a report to the management committee within 15 days of
their appointment. The report will include:

• Confirmation of the members of the disciplinary committee
• A copy of the written compliant
• A copy of any written response(s) from the respondent
• Details of procedure
• Details of the facts determined by the investigation, and any limitations to the authenticity
  of the facts presented. They must ensure that anonymity requested by witnesses is
  respected.
• Either:
• A recommendation that the case be dismissed, or
• A recommendation that the complaint is upheld, and the sanction(s) to be imposed
  on a member or members based on the information reported.
  4.9 The committee will, by majority vote, decide to:
• Accept the recommendations of the report, or
• Increase or decrease the recommend sanction(s) or
• No sanction is required.
  4.10 The committee chairperson will write to the respondent, within 72 hours, the informing him or
  her of:
• Outcome of the investigation and the sanction imposed if any
• his/or her right to appeal according to the appeals procedure, stating the grounds on which
  an appeal may be based, documented in section 6.

1. Possible sanctions
   5.1 Following an investigation, if a case is upheld, the Club may impose sanctions or other penalties
   on the individual(s) concerned. Any sanctions imposed will reflect the seriousness of the situation
   that has occurred. Sanctions will usually, but not always, be one or more of the following:
   a) A written warning about future conduct
   b) Temporary ban from the course and/or competitions
   c) Temporary ban from club facilities
   d) Financial penalty
   e) Membership suspended and/or withdrawn, with or without refund of subscription
   f) Access to the course or Clubhouse as a visitor/guests denied
   g) Notification to the Police
2. Appeals procedure
   6.1 An appeal against a disciplinary decision can be lodged by informing the Club Board of directors
   in writing
   within 5 working days of the notification of decision. This must set out the grounds on which the
   appeal is based, which should be either:

• New evidence that was not considered by the disciplinary committee, or
• Evidence that the investigation procedure was flawed.
  6.2 The Board of Directors will appoint an appeal panel comprising 2 club members who have
  not been involved with the original investigation, and have no conflict of interest in relation to the
  complaint. These may or may not be current members of the management committee.
  6.3 The appeal panel will be given the letter of appeal from the appellant, the report from the
  disciplinary committee, and all the evidence assimilated during their investigation (but ensuring that
  anonymity requested by witnesses is respected).
  6.4 The appellant will be invited to meet with the appeal panel within 2 weeks of the appeal being
  lodged. The appellant will be informed who is on the panel. Both the appeal panel and the appellant
  have the right to be accompanied by one other named person at this meeting, and must declare this
  in advance.
  6.5 At the meeting, the appellant will be given the opportunity to state in detail the grounds for
  appeal, verbally or in writing. The appeals committee may ask questions to clarify the appellant’s
  statement.

6.6 The appeal panel will decide and inform the appellant, and the chair of the disciplinary
committee, in writing within 72 hours of the meeting. The outcome of the appeal will take one of
three forms:
1 The original decision is upheld, and the disciplinary sanction stands.
2 The original decision is substantially confirmed, but a less severe sanction should be
imposed.
3 The original decision is overruled, and the disciplinary sanction is withdrawn.
6.7 The decision of the appeal panel final, and there is no further right of appeal.

7. Miscellaneous provisions
   7.1 The disciplinary committee and the appeal panel are not obliged to follow strict rules of
   evidence. They may review any evidence as they see fit, and accord it such weight as they think
   appropriate and reasonable.
   7.2 The standard of proof in all cases before the disciplinary committee and the appeal panel is the
   balance of probabilities.
   7.3 The time frames stated are recommendations that should be met in most cases. They may be
   extended provided there are reasonable and credible extenuating circumstances for doing so.
   7.4 If the disciplinary committee or appeal panel deems it appropriate, bearing in mind all the
   circumstances surrounding the case, they may request an independent person to act as adviser to
   the committee/panel.
   7.5 The Club will not be liable to any person or body for any loss arising out of, or in connection with,
   any disciplinary action taken under these procedures.
   7.6 Any stipulation in this policy that a communication should be given “in writing” includes
   correspondence by email, but not by text message or using social media
   7.7 A record of all complaints investigated by the disciplinary committee will be kept securely and
   confidentially at the club. As a minimum, this will comprise the disciplinary committee’s report, and
   a record of the appeal meeting (if applicable), and all correspondence to and from the club relating
   to the investigation. The record will be stored for a minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 15 years,
   and will be accessible later only to members of the incumbent management committee.
   The record will have external labelling showing the name of the respondent, date on which the case
   was concluded, and the proposed date for destruction.