DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
Tytherton Village Hall will consider complaints against trustees or volunteers. Any complaint should be sent to events@tythertonhall.co.uk or in writing to the address below. Where possible complaints will be dealt with informally and formal procedures will only be initiated when that has failed to achieve a resolution to the satisfaction of the complainant. When there is any accusation of illegal activity the matter may be reported directly to the appropriate authority, usually the police.
Process
Before a full disciplinary hearing is commenced it will be necessary for a panel to consider whether the complaint comes under the remit of the village hall. The panel will consist of three people drawn from the committee. The complaint will be considered from evidence provided in writing by the complainant. No oral hearings will be held at the initial investigation stage and the panel may be convened electronically.
The panel may come to one of three conclusions:
· The complaint is of misconduct but is rejected;
· The complaint is of misconduct but is minor and is closed with advice about future conduct to the person complained of;
· The complaint is of misconduct and warrants investigation by the Disciplinary Panel.
If the complaint is referred to the Disciplinary Panel further evidence may be required. In those circumstances the complainant will be asked to provide evidence and investigation may be required.
The Disciplinary Panel will be made up of two committee members and a Chair. None of the Panel may be the same as those who originally considered the complaint. The hearing will take place in person and both the complainant and person complained of will be invited to be present. Both may choose to be represented. Evidence will be provided orally with or without the production of relevant documents. A contemporaneous record will be made of all the proceedings of the Panel.
Once evidence has been heard the Panel will consider whether sufficient evidence has been presented to show beyond reasonable doubt that the practitioner displayed misconduct. Once the decision has been made the person complained of may make a statement in mitigation and the Panel will then consider what penalty, if any, should be imposed.
Penalties
Once the Disciplinary Panel has reached a conclusion and heard any mitigating submission from the person complained about they will consider what penalty is appropriate. The options are:
· No penalty;
· A warning about future conduct;
· Suspension from attending village hall events for a defined period;
· Removal from the Tytherton Village Hall membership list and banning from any future events.
The penalty may be appealed in the same way as the decision of the Disciplinary Panel.
Appeal
The person complained of may appeal the decision of the Disciplinary Panel. A further panel of similar composition to the Disciplinary Panel will consider the contemporaneous record of the disciplinary hearing and review the decision and penalty of the Panel. The meeting may be held virtually as set out for the Disciplinary Panel. They may uphold or vary the decision and penalty. The decision of the appeal panel is final.