This document tells you how to make a complaint at Lymington Tennis Club (the Club). You may wish to

consider making a complaint in the event that any member, visitor or visiting team feels that someone

has behaved in a way that is unsafe, unprofessional, discriminatory, offensive or intimidating or that the

Club’s policies, rules or code of conduct have been broken.

 

Values and principles

You have the right to complain. We take complaints seriously. You should not be harassed, bullied or

put at a disadvantage because of making a complaint.

Equality: you should receive a proper response to your complaint, regardless of your age, gender,

disability, race, religion, nationality, social status, sexual orientation or political persuasion.

Fairness: we believe that complaints should be dealt with fairly and openly. Unless it would put other

people at risk, those affected by a complaint should have a chance to contribute and respond to any

investigation.

Safety and welfare take priority: we will always give priority to concerns that affect safety and welfare.

Issues affecting children will be treated very seriously and in accordance with our Safeguarding Policy.

Confidentiality: we treat complaints as confidentially as possible. Sometimes we have to discuss

complaints with other organisations. If we are worried about a risk to a person or to the public, we

might need to pass on our concerns to the right authorities. If necessary, we will get advice from other

organisations such as the Police, Social Services or the LTA.

 

How to make a complaint?

If you have a complaint, it is often best to start by having a conversation with someone at the Club.

There are some suggestions below about who to speak to. They may be able to help to resolve your

problem. You could also make a written complaint. The address for written complaints is Lymington

Tennis Club, The Sports Ground, Avenue Road, Lymington, SO41 9GJ. If your complaint needs to be

looked into further, you will normally be asked to put your complaint in writing. It is easier for us to

handle your complaint if you provide as much detail as possible.

 

Who to contact to make a complaint?

If you are unsure who to talk to, you can approach any of the following:

- Management Committee: you can speak to any of our committee members on the following emails:

- lymingtontennisclubchair@gmail.com

- lymingtontennissecretary@gmail.com

- lymingtontennistreasurer@gmail.com

- lymingtontenniswelfare@gmail.com

- lymingtontennismembership@gmail.com

- Welfare Officer, if you are a child, or if you are worried about the safety or welfare of a child;

- Anyone else involved at the Club that you trust.

 

 

What will we do to investigate?

We will give an initial response to your complaint within five working days. If the matter is urgent, we

will respond more quickly. We will investigate your complaint fairly. This means that we will discuss the

complaint with all of the relevant people. We will try to gather any information that may be relevant to

handling your complaint. Sometimes we will ask to show copies of information from the investigation to

other people to allow them to respond. This is because we believe in fairness and openness. We will not

share information if we think that this will endanger someone’s safety or welfare. All complaints are

routinely reported to the next committee meeting in order to be fair and transparent.

 

How will I know what is happening?

You will be given the details of a person who will be your point of contact at the Club. That person will

make sure that you understand the process, and will help to answer any questions or concerns that you

have. If the complaint cannot be resolved swiftly, you will be given an update on the progress of your

complaint every two weeks. If there are delays in handling your complaint for any reason, we will keep

you informed. If your complaint leads to formal disciplinary action against someone, we will usually

inform you about the outcome. We will not tell you the outcome if that person is a child, or if we believe

that telling you would create a risk to other people. In this situation, we will still try to tell you about

how you are affected by the action that we have taken.

 

What are the possible outcomes or results of my complaint?

In many cases, we are able to resolve problems informally. This might include:

- A change in arrangements for particular activities

- An explanation or apology

- An agreement to communicate or act differently in future.

If an informal resolution is not suitable, then a small committee of senior officials will look at the

information about the case. We will try to make sure that this committee does not contain anyone

directly implicated in or involved with your complaint. They might decide to take the following action:

- Formal disciplinary action under the rules of the place to play

- Formal disciplinary action against a member of staff

- Changes in formal contracts or arrangements put in place by the place to play

- Decide to refer the case to another organisation such as the LTA, Police, or Social Services.

- Closure of your complaint without action

 

Is there anyone else I can talk to?

Sometimes it can be useful to speak directly to someone outside the Club, if:

- You need urgent advice about someone’s safety or welfare

- You don’t want to discuss the issue with someone at the place to play

- Your complaint is very serious

- Your complaint involves other organisations

- You need specialist advice.

 

The LTA is able to advise on a range of different complaints, and in some cases will handle the complaint

directly (LTA Legal Services Department, Lawn Tennis Association, National Tennis Centre, 100 Priory

Lane, London SW15 5JQ; https://www.lta.org.uk/about-the-lta/contact-us

Tel: 0208 487 7008, Email: info@LTA.org.uk ;

 

If you are worried about a child’s welfare, you can contact the following people:

• The Child Protection Officer at the County LTA

• The National LTA Child Protection Department (24hrs)

• Childline, or the NSPCC advice line, local Social Services, Police

 

In the event that any member, visitor or visiting team feels that someone has behaved in a way that is

unsafe, unprofessional, discriminatory, offensive or intimidating or that the Club’s policies, rules or code

of conduct have been broken, they should follow the procedures below.

1. The Complainant should report the matter in writing to any of the club committee members listed

above. The report should include:

(a) details of what occurred;

(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 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.

2. If the person accused of discriminatory behaviour is an employee of the Club, the Club will regard the

incident as a disciplinary issue and will follow any disciplinary procedure set out for employees or (if

none exists) the statutory disciplinary procedure.

3. If the person accused of discriminatory behaviour is a non-employee of the Club, the Club’s

management committee or representatives of the committee will meet and:

3.1 request that both parties to the complaint submit written evidence regarding the incident(s);

3.2 may decide (at its sole discretion) to uphold or dismiss the complaint without holding a hearing;

3.3 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;

3.4 will have the power to impose any one or more of the following sanctions on any person found to be

in breach of any Club policy, (including the Equality Policy):

(a) warn as to future conduct;

(b) suspend from membership;

(c) remove from membership;

(d) exclude a non-member from the Club, either temporarily or permanently; and

(e) turn down a non-member’s current and/or future membership applications.

4. If a complaint is made about a member of the Committee, the person complained about will absent

themselves from that Committee’s meeting called to determine the outcome unless called to give their

account.

5. The Club 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.

6. Either party may appeal a decision of the committee to the County Association (including a decision

not to hold a hearing) by writing to the County Secretary within one month of the Club’s decision being

notified to that party.

7. If the nature of the complaint is with regard to the club’s management committee or

other body or group in the club, the member/visitor has the right to report the

discrimination or harassment directly to the relevant County Association.

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Updated  February 2025