Complaints and disciplinary process

Summary

The Cleveland League (which shall be henceforth referred to as the ‘League’) is committed to providing a positive experience for all participants and is always aiming to improve its service by listening and responding to the views of participating clubs and players. We ask for feedback on a regular basis and, where appropriate, involve clubs in the decision-making process.

If a club or individual expresses dissatisfaction, then it will be treated as a complaint. This could be:

• About the League (e.g. its organisation) or the behaviour and/or actions of a member of the League Committee 

• About the conduct of a club, player or any individual that has impacted a League fixture or a dispute that occurred during a fixture

In all scenarios we will endeavour to deal with the complaint promptly and fairly, and make sure the process is as transparent as possible.

Please note that this policy may be amended at any time by the League and shall be effective from the date stated, with clubs being notified accordingly. The League shall not be liable to any person, including without limitation, for any loss, howsoever caused, whether direct, indirect, financial or consequential arising out of or in connection with any action taken under this Policy.

Responsibilities

It is the complainant’s responsibility to:

• Bring their complaint, in writing or email, to the notice of the League, as soon as possible (referred to as a ‘Notice of Complaint’).  If it is in relation to a specific incident, and if no safeguarding risk is identified, the complaint must be made within three weeks of the incident taking place for it to be considered by the League

• Explain the complaint as clearly and as fully as possible, including the teams involved and dates, if it is concerning a competitive fixture

• Provide any further information requested by the League in a timely manner

It is the League’s responsibility to:

• Acknowledge the complaint in writing, within five days of it being received

• Provide a full response within ten days if the nature of the complaint is not concerning an individual or club (for example, a complaint concerning the arranging of fixtures or dissatisfaction with a league rule)

• Deal with the complaint sensitively and, where possible, treat in confidence

• Take action where appropriate and inform the complainant and, if applicable, any respondents of their decision 

• Raise the complaint directly with the LTA if a safeguarding issue is identified and in other circumstances if they feel if it is appropriate or if they require further guidance

Initial Investigation

An investigation is instigated if the complaint is in reference to the actions or a behaviour of a club or individual. The scope and timing of the investigation will vary depending on the nature of the complaint and will vary from case to case.

Members of the League Committee will not be involved in the investigation, other than to provide evidence, if they are either the complainant or the respondent and/or if any club of which they are a member is the complainant or respondent.

On receipt of the Notice of Complaint, the League Chairperson shall, within 5 days, make the Committee aware that a complaint has been raised and appoint an individual on the Committee to investigate the complaint. This individual shall over the next 14 days:

• Gather any further information and evidence from the complainant 

• Forward a copy of the Notice of Complaint to the respondent and invite a written response from the respondent, together with any supporting evidence

• Undertake any further investigation as appropriate to determine the best course of action to resolve the Complaint

Participating clubs and players are expected to co-operate fully and reply in a timely fashion. The standard time given to clubs to reply/provide further information will be 5 days.

Once the initial investigation has been completed the investigating individual will share their findings with the entire League Committee. The Committee will decide, following a majority vote, what action to take. In the event that a vote is tied the deciding vote will be given to the Chairperson. The options available are:

• Dismiss the complaint and decide that no further action is taken (either due to lack of evidence/information or as they feel there has been no breach of any rule or code of conduct)

• Request further evidence is required before making a decision

• Recommend that an oral hearing would be beneficial before making a decision

• Decide that the club or individual has breached the League Rules or Code of Conduct and that disciplinary action should be taken

In each case the League will inform the complainant and respondent of the action to be taken within 3 days of the decision being made. 

Oral hearing

The League may decide that, in rare and more complex cases, an oral hearing is most appropriate so that they can better understand the circumstances that led to the complaint.  A respondent may also request an oral hearing directly, but in this instance it is up to the League to decide if they feel it is suitable.

In the event that an oral hearing shall be held, the League Secretary shall make such arrangements for the hearing to be held within a reasonable time and shall provide the respondent with the details of the hearing. If the respondent cannot attend a scheduled hearing, the respondent should immediately inform the League Secretary who will arrange an alternative time. 

If the respondent fails to attend a hearing without notice or good reason, the League is permitted to reach a decision in the respondent’s absence, based on the available evidence. 

The respondent may be accompanied by another individual who may attend the hearing in a support capacity. The identity of the companion must be confirmed to the League in advance of the hearing. The League may object to the attendance of the companion if, in its sole discretion, there are reasonable grounds to do so. The respondent will be afforded an opportunity to choose an alternative companion. 

This companion shall not be permitted to make submissions to the League on behalf of the respondent nor to answer any questions on the respondent’s behalf. The procedure for an oral hearing shall be flexible and shall be at the discretion of the League, who may make such decisions as necessary to ensure the orderly and effective conduct of the hearing, subject to the overriding requirement of fairness. The Chair of the Disciplinary Committee will outline the manner in which the hearing will proceed and will ensure that details of the complaint are put to the respondent and that the respondent is afforded an opportunity to respond.

Disciplinary action

When deciding that a breach has occurred the standard of proof, in all cases, is the balance of probabilities. 

The League appreciates that tennis is a competitive sport, that emotions can run high and individuals can make decisions that they may later regret and this will be factored into any decision. However, it is the League’s role to ensure that the League Rules and Code of Conduct are followed at all times. Any act of deliberate cheating by an individual or club will be particularly frowned upon.

Each situation is different and so there are no limitations to the action that can be taken, but outlined here are the standard course of potential sanctions and more than one may be implemented:

• Issue a written warning or reprimand in respect of the misconduct or rule breach committed. Such a warning will set out the nature of misconduct/breach, the change in behaviour required, the duration of the warning and the likely consequence of further misconduct / breach in that period

• Along with a warning request that individuals apologise (in writing) to an individual, team or club, outlining likely consequences if such an apology is not forthcoming

• Suspend or exclude individuals from the current competition or future editions of the competition

• Suspend or exclude individuals from undertaking any roles within the League Committee

• Invalidate individual’s results from a competition – including multiple matches, if felt appropriate

• Deduct points from one or multiple teams that a club has entered, either for the current or future edition of the competition

• Exclude one or multiple teams from a competition, withdrawing their results

• Prevent a team from obtaining promotion from the division

Consideration may be given to the respondent’s previous disciplinary record. A club may be sanctioned if the League feel that a higher than expected number of individuals that represent the club are named in a number of different complaints over a short period of time.

Appeals process

Should the Respondent wish to appeal a decision of the League, the Respondent must submit a notice of appeal to the Secretary in writing and within 14 days of the decision being issued to them. The notice of appeal must set out the grounds upon which it believes the League reached an erroneous decision and provide details of any new evidence upon which the Respondent seeks to rely.

The League Committee will discuss the appeal, as with any initial investigation no Committee member considered to be directly involved will not be included. The appeal may be heard by way of an oral hearing or be considered based on written submissions alone, a decision to be made by the League. The League will consider the appeal and communicate its decision in a timely manner.

The appeal process will result in the following:

• dismiss the appeal and therefore confirm the original decision

• overturn any finding and any sanction imposed

• come to an alternative decision

• reduce or increase the original sanction; and/or

• make such further order as it considers appropriate.

This is version 1 and was last updated on 22/02/25.