Club Policies

Complaints

Complaints Procedure

This procedure is applicable to any member or coach working at Repton Tennis & Rackets Club (henceforth known as “the Club”) and any event run solely by the Club.

Complaints should be made directly to one of the following Club Officers

  • Chair
  • Secretary
  • Welfare Officer

Written complaints may be sent to Repton Tennis & Rackets Club, Willington Road, Repton, Derby DE65 6FH or by e-mail to the appropriate officer above (contact details available on the club website)

Verbal complaints may be made by phone or in person to the appropriate officer above, or to any of the Club’s Committee at any of our events or activities. Complaints received by telephone or in person need to be recorded. The person who receives a phone or in person complaint should:

  • Write down the facts of the complaint
  • Take the complainant's name and address, telephone number or email as required
  • Note down the relationship of the complainant to the club
  • Tell the complainant that we have a complaints procedure
  • Tell the complainant what will happen next and how long it will take
  • Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send a written account by post or by email so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.

Stage One – Small Confidential Group Review

In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they may be able to resolve it swiftly and should do so if possible and appropriate.

Whether or not the complaint has been resolved, the complaint information should be designated to the Chair, Secretary or Welfare Officer within one week to be recorded and investigated. If the complaint is about one of these three, they should not be the Designated Officer for the complaint.

During Stage One, all information will be kept confidential and only discussed by this Designated Officer and those involved in resolving the issue. Only one of the Chair, Secretary or Welfare Officer should be involved at this stage.

On receiving the complaint, the Designated Officer records it. If it has not already been resolved, they should delegate an appropriate person to investigate and take appropriate action.

If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a fair opportunity to respond.

Complaints should be acknowledged by the Designated Officer within a week. The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint and when the person complaining can expect a reply. A copy of this complaints procedure should be attached.

Ideally complainants should receive notice of a definitive resolution within four weeks. If this is not possible because, for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

Stage Two – Club Committee Review

If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, they can request that the complaint is reviewed at Committee level.

At this stage, details of the complaint and actions to date will be passed to other members of the Committee (excluding the original Designated Officer and any Committee members who may be the subject of the complaint) One of the other three main officers will agree a Committee member to be the point of contact for the complaint - henceforth known as the Committee Representative.

Once again, although the issue will now be being discussed at a slightly wider level, it will be kept confidential amongst the Committee and not shared with the wider Club.

The request for Committee level review should be acknowledged within a week of receiving it. The acknowledgement should say who will deal with the case and when the complainant can expect a reply.

The Committee Representative and remaining Committee members will investigate the facts of the case. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the Designated Officer from Stage One.

If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond.

The Designated Officer at Stage One should be kept informed of what is happening.

Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

Whether the complaint is upheld or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

If formal actions are to be taken against a club member, coach, etc then they will be informed of the potential action prior to a final decision. They will be given an opportunity to appeal in person or in writing and this will be considered prior to a final meeting of the Committee to agree the final action.

The decision taken at this stage is final.

Potential Complaint Outcomes

There are several potential outcomes for each complaint, for example:

  • Changes to procedures or arrangements
  • An explanation or apology for particular behaviour
  • An agreement to behave differently in future
  • Taking no action

Sometimes it may be necessary to take more formal measures, such as:

  • Formal disciplinary action against a member or coach, etc. This may include expulsion or a temporary ban from the Club
  • Changes to contracts or other formal agreements
  • Referring the case to the LTA, or to another authority

Regardless of the outcome agreed, the need for appropriate confidentiality when discussing outcomes or making formal changes will always be respected. Disciplinary proceedings require particular care and should only be shared in appropriate circumstances. Likewise, formal action against a child should not normally be shared and only when the child and their parents agree to it.

Variation of the Complaints Procedure

The Board may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about the Chair should not also have the Chair as the person leading a Stage Two review.

Monitoring and Learning from Complaints

Anonymised complaints will be reviewed annually at the AGM or general Committee Meeting to identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action.