Equal Opportunities Policy
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY
Policy Statement
Bartley Sailing Club (the Club) endorses the principle of Sports Equality and will strive to ensure that everyone who wishes to be involved in water sports, whether as casual participants, Club members, volunteers, coaches or office-bearers in the Club:
Legal obligations
The Club is committed to avoiding and eliminating unfair discrimination of any kind for water sports participants and will under no circumstances condone unlawful discriminatory practices. The organisation takes a zero-tolerance approach to harassment.
Positive action
The principle of Sports Equality goes further than simply complying with legislation. It entails taking positive steps to counteract the effects of physical or cultural barriers whether real or perceived that restrict the opportunity for all sections of the community to participate equally and fully.
The Club will therefore seek to institute, support or contribute to appropriate measures or initiatives that enable access to water sports and participation in associated activities by people from any group that is under-represented in the sport or has difficulty accessing it.
Implementation
The following steps will be taken to publicise this policy and promote sports equality in water sports:
Complaints and compliance
The Club regards all forms of discriminatory behaviour as unacceptable and is concerned to ensure that individuals feel able to raise any bona fide grievance or complaint related to such behaviour without fear of being penalised for doing so.
The Club supports the RYA Racing Charter which promotes rule observance, sportsmanship and good communication between organisers and competitors while participating in racing.
Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against any member who violates the Club Equality Policy.
Any person who believes that they been treated in a way that they consider to be in breach of this policy by an individual member of the Club, should first complain to that person. If this does not resolve the matter, or in the case of allegations of discriminatory behaviour against the Club itself, the person may raise the matter by writing directly to the Commodore. Contact details are available through the website.
The Commodore will investigate the complaint personally or appoint a committee member to do so. The investigation will be conducted impartially, confidentially, and without avoidable delay. Any person against whom a complaint has been made will be informed of what is alleged and given the opportunity to present their side of the matter.
The outcome of the investigation will be notified to the parties in writing and reported to the Club Committee. If the investigation reveals unacceptable discriminatory behaviour on the part of an individual member the Committee may impose sanctions on that person or organization in line with the Club Constitution. Sanctions may range from a written reminder concerning future conduct up to and including temporary or permanent expulsion from Club membership. In deciding what sanction is appropriate in a particular case the Committee will consider the severity of the matter and take account of any mitigating circumstances.
Where the violation of the Equality Policy by way of harassment, victimisation or discrimination amount to a criminal offence, the appropriate authority will be informed.
In the event that an individual or organisation associated with The Club is subject to allegations of unlawful discrimination in a court or tribunal, the Club Committee will co-operate fully with any investigation carried out by the relevant lawful authorities and, subject to the outcome, may consider taking action as above in relation to the matter concerned.
Commodore
21 Nov 2023
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Last updated 14:02 on 16 April 2024
