Members: Disciplinary Procedure

Members: Disciplinary Procedure#

The Members’ Code of Conduct gives clear guidance on the conduct expected from members of the College community. Any conduct on the part of a Member that has, or might reasonably be seen to have, an adverse effect on the integrity or the proper functioning of the College, or the health, safety, rights or property of the College or its Members and visitors, may be subject to disciplinary measures.

Under this procedure, a named member of staff may delegate their responsibilities to another member of staff. Similarly, the procedure shall not be invalidated by a member of staff acting in the place of another named in these regulations where circumstances make this expedient.

This procedure covers action taken by the College against members for alleged misconduct. Misconduct may include, but is not limited to, the following:

Disruption of, or improper interference with the administrative, sporting, social or other activities of Goodenough College, whether on College premises or elsewhere;
Obstruction of, or improper interference with, the functions, duties or activities of any Member, member of staff or contractor or other employee of the College;
Violent, indecent, disorderly, threatening, intimidating, discriminatory, offensive behaviour or language, abusive conduct or conduct otherwise detrimental to the wellbeing of another person; engaging in a course of vexatious conduct, harassment, or discrimination that is directed at one or more specific persons and that contravenes any of the protected grounds under the Equality Act 2010; or engaging in unwelcome or persistent conduct that the Member knows, or ought reasonably to know, would cause another person to feel demeaned, intimidated, or harassed which includes sexual misconduct or harassment;
Fraud, deceit, deception or dishonesty in relation to the College or its staff or in connection with holding any office in Goodenough or in relation to being a Member of the College;
Possession or distribution of a controlled or restricted substance or contravention of the licencing laws (sale of alcohol) or the policies of the College governing the possession, distribution and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages;
Action likely to cause injury or impair health and safety on the College, Hotel, Burn or Mecklenburgh Square Garden premises;
Breach of the provisions of the College’s ‘IT Services Acceptable Use’ policy or any use of College computing equipment, facility, network, or system for any disruptive or unauthorised purpose, or in a manner that violates any law;
Damage to, or defacement of, the College or other property or the property of other Members or another community, caused intentionally, negligently or recklessly, and misappropriation of such property;
Misuse or unauthorised use of College facilities or other premises or items of property;
Conduct which constitutes a criminal offence. Incidents that could, potentially, be considered a criminal offence are normally a matter for the police and the criminal justice system in the first instance. The College may invoke disciplinary procedures at the conclusion of police and criminal justice system procedures, irrespective of their outcome;
Behaviour which brings, or is likely to bring, the College into disrepute;
Failure to disclose name and other relevant details to an employee of Goodenough in circumstances when it is reasonable to require that such information be given;
Refusal to comply with a reasonable direction to do, or not to do, something that is made by a College representative authorised to make such a direction;
Failure to comply with a previously imposed penalty;
Any other act or omission which shall, in the opinion of the College Executive, amount to misconduct.

If an alleged breach takes place outside the College estate (for example, threats or harassment posted on external websites), it will not prevent the College from pursuing the breach of discipline nor will it constitute a mitigating factor.

Members subject to proceedings under this disciplinary procedure may wish to obtain guidance from the Members’ Council.

If a Member employed by the College is considered under this disciplinary procedure, the Human Resources team and relevant line manager will be informed.

Procedure for Alleged Misconduct#

It is important, in the event of perceived misconduct, that information is gathered quickly, fully and accurately to ensure that Members accused of breaching regulations are dealt with fairly and appropriately.

Breach of rules on College facilities#

A report of an alleged breach of rules on the use of College facilities, including common areas and private bedrooms, bathrooms or flats, should be made promptly to a senior member of College staff with responsibility for the day-to-day operation of those facilities, if possible in writing. The person making such a report must identify themselves: College staff cannot consider any reports which are raised anonymously. In exceptional circumstances, the senior staff member may permit the identity of the person making the report to remain confidential provided that this is consistent with the principles of natural justice.

The senior staff member shall investigate the report, interview the Member where possible, and determine whether a breach of rules has taken place. In the case of a breach of rules which could not also be considered another type of misconduct, the senior staff member shall be empowered to withdraw access to some or all of the facility for a limited period of time or impose such lesser penalties such as an admonishment or loss of deposit or fine. Such a penalty shall be notified to the Member in writing, and the Member will have the opportunity to discuss the breach of rules and the penalty with the senior staff member, if this has not already taken place during the investigation.

In more serious cases of an alleged breach of rules on College premises or misuse of College facilities, which could be considered as more than one form of misconduct, the senior staff member responsible for the Goodenough facility shall refer the report to the Dean or Registrar.

Breach of other misconduct regulations#

A report of alleged misconduct other than that relating to specific Goodenough facilities should be made to the Dean or Registrar, if possible in writing. The person making such a report must identify themselves; the Dean or Registrar cannot consider reports which are raised anonymously. In exceptional circumstances the Dean or Registrar may permit the identity of the person making the report to remain confidential provided that this is consistent with the principles of natural justice.

If the alleged offence falls under the definition of misconduct, the Dean or Registrar shall notify the Member. The Dean or Registrar shall attempt to establish whether the Member admits to the misconduct and whether the alleged misconduct is considered a potential serious breach of the misconduct regulations in the event that the allegation is upheld.

In the case of a minor breach of College rules or regulations which is admitted by the Member, the Dean or Registrar shall, as necessary, issue a written warning to the Member. Any failure to comply with a written warning may be taken into account under future consideration of the matter under the disciplinary procedure. Where the Dean or Registrar finds that there is no or insufficient evidence of breach of misconduct regulations to continue under this procedure, this shall also be notified to the Member in writing. If further evidence subsequently comes to light, the College reserves the right to reconsider the matter under the disciplinary procedure. If the Member disputes the allegation of misconduct, discussions with the Member should be exhaustive before moving to the formal disciplinary procedure. This may involve more than one meeting with the Member.

Where the alleged offence is considered by the Dean or Registrar to be a serious case of misconduct, regardless of whether the Member has been notified of the alleged offence or has responded to this notification, the Dean or Registrar shall refer the report to the College’s Executive Committee.

Procedure for Alleged Serious Misconduct#

A report of any alleged serious misconduct shall be made to the College’s Executive Committee through the Dean or Registrar. On receipt of such a report, the College’s Executive Committee may in some cases ask the Member to leave the College, not make contact with certain people or be excluded from a part of the College premises pending further investigation. The College’s Executive Committee shall immediately appoint a College staff member to be the Investigating Staff Member.

The Dean or Registrar shall inform the Member in writing (i) that a formal report has been lodged with the College’s Executive Committee, (ii) the details of the alleged misconduct, (iii) the identity of the Investigating Staff Member, and (iv) of any suspension imposed by the College’s Executive Committee.

The Investigating Staff Member shall gather as much information as possible about the allegation(s) of misconduct and shall, in the presence of another member of staff, interview the Member, and if possible, the person who made the original report. The Investigating Staff Member may consult other Members or members of staff and make whatever further enquiries as appropriate, and shall prepare a detailed report for the Dean or Registrar. Notes shall be kept of all interviews and lodged with the Dean or Registrar. The Investigating Staff Member shall prepare a detailed report for the College’s Executive Committee on the circumstances, with a recommendation for further action, including whether the case should be considered by a Disciplinary Committee.

Where the Member admits to the misconduct, the College’s Executive Committee may resolve the matter by means of an admonishment or warning. If the Member disputes the allegation of misconduct, discussions with the Member should be exhaustive before moving to a formal disciplinary procedure. This may involve more than one meeting with the Member.

Where the Investigating Staff Member reports that there is a clear and evidenced case of misconduct but the Member contests the allegation, the College’s Executive shall establish a Disciplinary Committee, further to investigate the original report and decide on any appropriate penalty. The College Executive may establish a Disciplinary Committee even when a Member has admitted to misconduct. The Dean or Registrar shall notify the Member in writing of the outcome of the investigation and the College’s Executive Committee’s action. Where the matter is not to be taken any further, the Member shall be notified of this.

In serious cases referred to the College’s Executive Committee where there is a likelihood of criminal proceedings, the College’s Executive Committee may suspend the Member and may defer further action. In such cases, a Disciplinary Committee shall not deal with the matters which are likely to be the subject of criminal proceedings until these have been resolved. It is to be understood that the College’s disciplinary proceedings are an internal matter independent of police or court proceedings, although the outcome of these latter, if relevant, may be taken into account by the Disciplinary Committee in reaching its conclusions. In such cases, neither the College nor the Member or Members concerned may choose to opt for the College’s disciplinary procedure in place of police proceedings, as this will be a matter for the criminal law. Allegations of theft and fraud should be routinely reported to the police on completion of or on deferral of the College’s internal investigation.

Disciplinary Committee#

Where a Disciplinary Committee is appointed, it shall normally reach its conclusions within two weeks of the report to the College’s Executive Committee of alleged misconduct. The Disciplinary Committee shall consist of any combination of:

i. in the Chair, a College staff member not involved at any earlier stage of the procedure; this may be the Dean or Registrar if not involved at an earlier stage;
ii. a second member of staff;
iii. an individual with relevant skills and experience from one of the College's partner organisations or the Chair of the Members' Council or their nominee.

A Clerk to the Committee should be appointed, who does not participate in the Committee’s deliberations.

Written notice of the matter shall be sent to any Member whose case is referred to the Disciplinary Committee. The Clerk to the Committee shall notify the Member and the College staff member nominated by the College’s Executive Committee to present Goodenough’s case - hereafter called ’the parties’ - of the identity of the Committee members and the date of the proposed hearing. The Clerk to the Committee shall send the Member any papers the College intends to rely upon at the hearing at least five working days prior to the hearing date. The Member shall then have until two working days before the hearing date to respond in writing and submit to the committee members and the staff member presenting Goodenough’s case (through the Clerk to the Committee) any other papers on which he or she intends to rely.

The parties will be required to attend the hearing in person. In the event that the Member indicates an intention to withdraw from the College rather than face the Disciplinary Committee, the College reserves the right to continue to pursue disciplinary action. If either party fails to attend without reasonable explanation, the Committee may consider the case in their absence. The Chair will have discretion as to what constitutes a ‘reasonable explanation’.

The Member shall have the right to be accompanied by a friend, relative, Members’ Council member, member of staff or other representative. The Disciplinary Committee shall also have the right to be advised and represented. Any party intending to be accompanied or represented must notify the Clerk to the Committee more than two working days before the hearing of: (i) the identity of any third party attendees; and (ii) the capacity in which they will attend, to enable parity of representation, if desired.

Members of staff, Members and others relevant to the case may be asked to give evidence to the hearing by either party. The Disciplinary Committee may also call upon other persons (whether or not a current Member of Goodenough) to provide advice on specific aspects of the case in writing or in person.

The hearing shall be conducted as a formal committee rather than as a quasi-judicial hearing. The committee members shall take the leading role in asking questions and the Chair shall have discretion to allow flexibility in procedures aimed at ensuring that all parties are able to present their arguments and evidence, and the committee members have a full and fair understanding of these. The detailed procedure for the hearing shall be at the discretion of the Chair, but shall include provision for: an initial private meeting of the committee members, explaining the procedures to be followed; introducing those present and their role; explaining the powers of the committee; allowing each party to make a statement and call witnesses; other persons to make a statement; questions to be asked of the parties, witnesses and other persons by committee members; discretion by the Chair to allow reciprocal questioning by the parties.

At the conclusion of the presentation of statements and evidence, all persons except members of the Disciplinary Committee shall withdraw, except that the Clerk to the Committee may attend to give procedural advice, which will be recorded in the committee’s report. The members of the committee shall deliberate on their conclusions and recommendations and shall produce a written report, giving reasons for any decisions, including any penalty to be imposed. The Clerk to the Committee shall, within two working days of the date on which the Committee met, send in writing, the findings and recommendations to the College Director for a decision.

Sanctions may include (but are not limited to): (i) permanent expulsion of the Member from the College, with or without notice, dependent on the severity of the breach; this would include advising the Member that they are not eligible nor invited to renew their membership or re-apply to the College in the following or subsequent academic years; (ii) exclusion (for a specified period of time) of the Member from parts or all of the College premises; (iii) a period of voluntary work; (iv) a period of external assistance such as anger management, counselling, antidiscrimination training, mediation; (v) a formal warning to the Member with regard to their future conduct; (vi) making good, at the Member’s expense, in whole or part, of any damage they have caused, whether alone or with others; (vii) a written apology to any person or persons affected by the breach of discipline; (viii)formal reprimand of the Member.

Appeals#

A Member may request the College’s Executive Committee to review the outcome of a disciplinary procedure and establish an Appeals Committee to hear an appeal against any decision taken. For details on taking forward an appeal process, please see ‘Members’ Appeal Procedure’.

Any doubt over the interpretation of this procedure or any matter on which this procedure is silent shall be determined by the College Executive Committee.