Outline of Constitution, Functions & Procedures
1. DEFINITIONS
“Club” means the Beggsboro AFC
“Committee” mean the members of the Appeal Committee appointed by the Executive Committee.
“Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Appeals Committee appointed by the Executive Committee
“Executive Committee” mean the persons appointed to the executive committee at the precedin Annual General Meeting
2. COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEES
Appeal Committee:
The Appeal Committee shall consist of three (3) members and not more than five (5). The Chairperson of the committee will be either the Chairperson of the club or the Secretary of the club.
The same elected member as Chairperson cannot have served serve on the initial Complaints and Disciplinary committee that decided the original case.. The remainder must be elected executive committee members. One nominated person will be appointed secretary to the committee for the purpose of minute taking and preparation of documentation for each convened meeting.
The members of the committee should be independent of
• the incident surrounding the complaint
• the person making the complaint
• the person defending the claim
• any person who sat on the Disciplinary and Complaints Committee that heard the original complaint
Any person with involvement with the above must recuse themselves from the process and a valid replacement be appointed. A panel of alternates should be created so additional/replacement members can be appointed at short notice.
3. FUNCTIONS OF THE APPEAL COMMITTEE
The members of the Committee shall ensure the maintenance of standards, good order and discipline within the Club, or outside the Club as far as it affects the smooth running and good reputation of the Club.
The Appeal Committee shall:
(a) Endeavour to lift and maintain the general standard of discipline and etiquette within the Club.
(b) Ensure the rules of conduct are implemented considering the spirit and intentions of this document.
(c) Establish and update rules of conduct that relate to the behaviour of members of the
Club, in accordance with the accepted practices of the Club. This includes matters that may cause or bring discredit upon the Club or any of its teams or members. Make sure that all managers/coach’s are aware of and are practicing the rules and regulations as per the club rules and ethics
(d) Give guidance to managers/coaches where necessary on matters relating to standards, discipline and good order.
4. APPEAL GROUNDS
Appeals can only be forwarded to the Appeal Committee Chairperson under the following conditions:
(a) The Disciplinary & Complaints Committee was improperly constituted
(b) Information provided to the Disciplinary & Complaints Committee was misinterpreted
(c) Information provided to the Disciplinary & Complaints Committee was not considered
(d) Additional information has become available that was not available to the Disciplinary & Complaints Committee that may affect the decision taken
(e) The Disciplinary & Complaints Committee considered information that was outside their remit
(f) The penalty given was either too harsh or too lenient
5. MEETINGS:
(a) A quorum for a valid meeting shall be three members of the Disciplinary & Complaints Committee.
(b) Meetings shall be held as required.
(c) Notice of meetings of the Disciplinary & Complaints Committee will include an agenda together with the minutes of the last Committee meeting. Normally fourteen clear days will be given as to the business, time, date and place of meetings. However, in the case of an emergency the Chairperson can authorise the giving of lesser notice as may seem reasonable.
6. APPEAL COMMITTEE PROCEDURE
(a) All intentions to appeal the decision of the Disciplinary and Complaints Committee must be sent to the Chairperson of the Appeal Committee.
(b) A letter of reply to acknowledge receipt of the complaint will be sent by the Chairperson within 10 working days.
(c) The Chairperson will call a meeting of the Committee and inform the members of the Committee in writing of the business, time, date and place of the meeting. The meeting should be held, where possible, within 30 days of receipt of the complaint.
(d) The complainant as well as the person or persons to whom the complaint relates may, at the Chairperson’s discretion, be invited to attend the meeting to present their appeal to the Committee.
(e) Any other parties who may be affected by the matter at hand may also be invited to attend the meeting, again, at the Chairperson’s discretion.
(f) The Chairperson may, at his discretion, arrange to for the parties concerned to meet with the Committee either separately or together, depending on the nature and sensitivity of the complaint.
(g) At the commencement of the meeting the Chairperson should inform all parties that minutes of the meetings will be taken and forwarded to the parties involved.
(h) In investigating a complaint, the Committee will consider all relevant facts to the appeal and evidence in the light of the Constitution, Rules & Regulations of the Club
(i) Parties are then to be advised in writing of the results by the Appeal Committee at the earliest possible time.
(j) The Appeal Committee will make recommendations regarding the proposed penalty imposed as per section 7 below. The decision of the Appeal Committee is final.
(k) Any other parties who may be affected by the matter at hand may also be invited to attend the meeting, again, at the Chairperson’s discretion.
(l) The Chairperson may, at his discretion, arrange to for the parties concerned to meet with the Committee either separately or together, depending on the nature and sensitivity of the complaint.
(m) At the commencement of the meeting the Chairperson should inform all parties that minutes of the meetings will be taken and forwarded to the parties involved.
(n) In investigating a complaint, the Committee will consider all relevant facts and evidence in the light of the Constitution, Rules & Regulations of the Club
(o) Where it is deemed necessary, the Committee may make recommendations regarding penalties as per section 7 below.
(p) Parties are then to be advised in writing of the results at the earliest possible time and their right to have the decision appealed.
7. PENALTIES
(a) Upon satisfactory evidence being produced, the Disciplinary Committee/Appeal Committee may take any of the following actions:
• Recommend no action
• Recommend a verbal warning
• Recommend a written warning
• Recommend training on the matter in question
• Recommend meetings with a nominated person to assist/coach the person
• Recommend a probationary period without suspension but monitoring the person
• Recommend a temporary suspension
• Recommend expulsion from the Club
(b) In emergency cases only (cases deemed Gross Misconduct listed in Appendix I) the Disciplinary and Complaints Committee, upon satisfactory evidence and where deemed prudent, shall counsel, warn, or suspend a member from the Club until an ultimate decision is made by the Appeal Committee. The member suspended shall be fairly informed of the reason for the suspension in writing. No unnecessary delays shall be caused, where suspension is implemented, before a final decision is made by the Executive Committee on the matter causing suspension.
(c) A manager may counsel, warn or recommend suspension of a member from the Club to the Committee for breaches of rules or etiquette.
(d) As in parts (a) and/or (b) above, where any member is suspended or expelled from the Club, no other manager/coach shall allow that member to train, formally or informally at a school or otherwise.
(e) Matters involving breaches of Irish Criminal Law will be reported to the relevant authorities.
APPENDIX I
SCHEDULE OF CASES DEEMED GROSS MISCONDUCT
• Criminal acts
• Theft
• Intentional damage to property
• Assault
• Dereliction of duty of care
• Deliberate breach of health and safety procedure
• Fraudulent behaviour
• Falsification of records
• Abuse of club policies/procedures
• Abuse of trust
• Sexual harassment, harassment, bullying
• Deliberate breach of data protection policy
• Violent behaviour