Introduction
1. The Articles of Association for the Company contains the following provision:
“A person shall cease to be a Member ……..upon the Board’s determination, at its sole discretion (acting reasonably and in the interests of the Company including in particular and without limitation with (i) failure by a Member to pay any subscription or other sum payable by it to the Company, (ii) a Member bringing the Company into disrepute and/or (iii) repeated failure by any Member to attend general meetings).” [Article 26]
2. This policy sets out the procedure for considering whether a Member has behaved in an inappropriate manner, including whether they have behaved in a manner likely to bring the Company into disrepute.
3. The procedure will also apply to members of other membership groups run by the Company, including Associate Members and Future Leaders.
Making a complaint against a Member
4. Complaints about a Member should, in the first instance be sent to the Chief Executive at [email protected]
5. The Chief Executive may also initiate an investigation in response to published reports of inappropriate behaviour.
The investigation of minor complaints
6. If in the opinion of the Chief Executive a complaint is of a minor nature then the Chief Executive shall:
6.1 inform the member who is the subject of the complaint, of the nature of the complaint and request their response within a reasonable period (not less than14 days);
6.2 consider the response received from the member (if any) and such other evidence as seems to them to be appropriate; and
6.3 decide what, if any, further action is appropriate.
7. In the event that the Chief Executive considers a complaint under Section 5 to be upheld, the Chief Executive shall advise the member of that fact and of any further action which is proposed, from the following:
7.1 no further action;
7.2 the issue of a warning to the member that if the conduct is repeated, the matter will be referred to the Board; or
7.3 the referral of the matter to the Board on the basis that the conduct
complained of was more serious than first appeared.
8. In addition, when informing the member who is the subject of a complaint under
Section 5 of their decision the Chief Executive shall also advise the member that
if he/she is unhappy with the manner in which the complaint has been handled and/or the decision of the Chief Executive, they should inform the Chief Executive in writing and request that the matter be referred to the next meeting of the Board.
9. All cases in which a complaint under Section 5 is upheld should be reported to the
next meeting of the Board.
The investigation of serious complaints
10. Complaints involving the commission of a criminal office will be referred to the police or other appropriate regulatory authority.
10. Serious complaints include allegations of:
10.1 deliberate or repeated breaches of confidentiality on matters of significance;
10.2 being the subject of multiple allegations of serious (but non-criminal) abuse of power in a professional context;
10.3 any other conduct which if established could bring the Company into disrepute; and
10.4 the commission of a criminal offence if the police or appropriate regulatory body has confirmed either (a) that it does not intend to investigate the allegations or (b) that it has investigated the allegations but a prosecution will not be brought.
Suspension of membership
11. If in the opinion of the Chief Executive a serious complaint is made against a member then any two of the Chief Executive, the Chair and the Deputy Chair shall decide whether, in their opinion, it is necessary or desirable to suspend
the membership of the member concerned, pending investigation of the complaint.
12. There should be two kinds of suspension:
12.1 the suspension of a member’s membership (such that s/he could not
participate in any British Screen Forum activities;
12.2 the suspension of only some of a member’s rights in cases where it is
reasonably considered to be in the best interests of the Company (e.g. suspending the right to attend events).
13. Full suspension shall be automatic in the event of a member being charged with a serious criminal offence.
14. In the case of a suspension arising as a result of a member being charged with a
criminal offence, the suspension shall remain in place until the member is acquitted or convicted. There is a rebuttable presumption that the suspension will end on acquittal.
15. In other cases, suspension shall be for such period as those making the decision
consider appropriate, not usually exceeding six months except in the case of police
investigations or other exceptional circumstances.
16. Following the decision of any two of the Chief Executive, the Chair and the Deputy Chair Trustee under Section 11, the Chief Executive, the Chair and/or the Deputy Chair shall:
16.1 inform all members of the Board within 7 days if the decision has been made to suspend the membership of the individual concerned;
16.2 inform the member who is the subject of the complaint:
(a) of the nature of the complaint and request their response within a reasonable period (not less than 14 days);
(b) whether their membership has been suspended;
16.3 consider the response received from the member (if any) and such
other evidence as seems to them to be appropriate; and
16.4 decide what, if any, further action is appropriate.
17. In the event that any two of the Chief Executive, the Chair and the Deputy Chair
consider a serious complaint to be upheld, the Chief Executive shall advise the
member of that fact and of any further action which is proposed, from the following:
17.1 the issue of a warning to the member that if the conduct is repeated, the matter will be referred to the Board;
17.2 the referral of the matter to the Board for its view on any appropriate sanction; or
17.3 the referral of the matter to the Board with a recommendation that the matter is serious enough to warrant consideration of termination of membership.
18. In addition, when informing the member who is the subject of a serious complaint of
their decision, the Chief Executive shall also advise the member that if he/she is
unhappy with the manner in which the complaint has been handled and/or the
decision of any two of the Chief Executive, the Chair and the Deputy Chair, they
should inform the Chief Executive in writing and request that the matter be referred to the next meeting of the Board.
19. All cases in which a serious complaint is upheld should be reported to the next
meeting of the Board.
Termination of membership
20. In the event that a serious complaint is upheld against a member, the Board will decide whether to terminate the membership.
21. In the event that the Board is minded to terminate the membership, the member will be notified of that fact and invitedto (a) be heard in person (with or without a representative present) by the Board or (b) submit written representations to the Board within a period not less than 14 days from the date of notification.
22. In the event that the Board, having considered any such representations, decide to terminate the membership, a resolution to that effect will be passed by the Board on the grounds that the membership is no longer in the interests of the Company. The member will be informed of the decision in writing.