Complaints and Disciplinary Procedures

Equity is committed to providing high quality services to all its members at all times. Complaints about our services can be made using this procedure.

The procedure is intended to ensure complaints are dealt with efficiently, fairly, and without unreasonable delay. 

Equity provides its services through its elected members, staff, and agents (such as third-party solicitors). A member who is unhappy with the service they have received can use this procedure to raise their concerns. 

We encourage members to raise issues informally in the first instance. In many cases, concerns can be resolved quickly and effectively by speaking directly with the member of staff involved. However, if your concern cannot be resolved informally, please follow the formal complaints procedure outlined below. 

Where a complaint is found to be justified, Equity will take appropriate measures. 

A complaint by a member about another member, that is not concerned with the provision of the Union’s services, is outside the scope of this procedure. The Union has authority under its Rules to investigate disputes between members in limited circumstances only, and these are set out in the Union’s Rulebook (Rules S1-S16) which can be found here: Rules of the union | Equity 

1. Equity aims to deal with prospective and existing members reasonably, fairly and in accordance with its Rules.

2. If you are not satisfied with how the Union has dealt with a matter or have any concerns about our service then you can make a complaint. Please follow the procedure below so that we can address your complaint effectively.

3. In the first instance, please raise your concerns with the member of staff that you have been dealing with or, if you prefer, with their manager.

4. They will seek to resolve the matter or pass on your concerns to an appropriate colleague.

5. If you remain dissatisfied you can write, by letter or email (marked “Complaint”) to the appropriate staff member listed below:

Sam Fletcher Head of Membership: complaints relating to membership administration, services and benefits

Louise McMullan, Deputy for the General Secretary: complaints relating to industrial policy and negotiations

Paul W Fleming: General Secretary: complaints relating to Equity’s democratic structures, governance and rules.

6. Please set out your concerns as clearly and concisely as possible. Include details of the outcome you are seeking.

7. The staff member (or an appropriate person, delegated to act in their place) will acknowledge your complaint within seven working days of receipt. They will investigate and then aim to provide a written response within a further 14 working days.

8. If a detailed investigation is necessary, there may be a delay but you will be told if this applies.

9. If you remain dissatisfied you can write to the General Secretary to request a review. The General Secretary or another senior staff member delegated by the General Secretary will carry out the review.

10. If the request is to review a complaint response from or about the General Secretary, the President will carry out the review.

11. If the request is to review a complaint response about the President, one of the Vice-Presidents shall carry out any review.

12. Requests for a review must be sent in writing to the General Secretary no later than seven days after receipt of the response at 7. above.

13. The reviewer will aim to provide their review within 28 days of receipt of the request.

1. This procedure sets out the process that the Union’s Disciplinary Committee will follow when determining disciplinary charges referred to it under Rule S5.

2. The procedure will be made available to any member charged with a disciplinary offence (called the Respondent below).

3. The Respondent may bring another Equity member to a disciplinary hearing to act as their companion. The companion may address the hearing and confer with the Respondent but may not answer questions on behalf of the Respondent.

4. The Respondent has the right to appeal the decision of the Disciplinary Committee to uphold the charge against them or to appeal any penalty imposed to the Appeals Committee.

5. Recordings of disciplinary hearings are not to take place unless expressly agreed to by all the parties present.

6. The Secretary to the Disciplinary Committee will take a note of the disciplinary hearing for use by the panel. The Respondent (or their companion) may take a note for their own use and is encouraged to do so.

7. Throughout the process every effort will be made to ensure that the charges are progressed without unreasonable delay.

8. The work of the Disciplinary Committee is supported by a member of Equity’s staff referred to in this procedure as the Secretary.

9. When a charge has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee in accordance with Rule S5, the Secretary will liaise with the Disciplinary Committee to form a panel of not less than three of its members to hear the charge. The panel will nominate one of its members as its Chair.

10. The Secretary to the Disciplinary Committee will write to the Respondent to inform them of the charge/s against them.

11. The Respondent will be invited to attend a disciplinary hearing before the Disciplinary panel to provide their response to the charge/s. Notice of the charges and the disciplinary hearing date will be at least 20 working days.

12. If the Respondent or their chosen companion is not available to attend the disciplinary hearing, it will be postponed to a further date.

13. If the Respondent continues to be unavailable to attend the disciplinary hearing, the disciplinary panel will decide the charge in their absence on the evidence available, including any written representations received from the Respondent.

14. At the start of the disciplinary hearing, the Chair will explain the charge/s to the Respondent.

15. The General Secretary (or the person delegated to conduct the investigation under Rule S3) will present their reasons for believing that a disciplinary offence has been committed and answer any questions from the panel and from the Respondent.

16. The Respondent will then provide their response and answer questions from the panel.

17. The Respondent may call witnesses to the disciplinary hearing to provide relevant evidence if they wish. The panel may also request the attendance of any witness that it believes will assist them in reaching their decision.

18. Witnesses will, at the appropriate time, be called by the Chair into the hearing to give their evidence and answer any questions from the panel and the Respondent. Witnesses will then be required to leave.

19. The Respondent must provide written notice of their witnesses to the Secretary to the panel not less than 10 working days before the disciplinary hearing. The Secretary will provide written notice of any witnesses attending at the request of the disciplinary panel to the Respondent not less than 10 working days before the disciplinary hearing.

20. The Secretary will provide the Respondent with copies of any documents, written statements, or other information that the General Secretary (or their delegate) intends to put before the panel at least seven working days prior to the hearing.

21. The Respondent must provide the Secretary with any documents, witness statements or other information that they wish the panel to consider at the hearing at least five working days prior to the hearing.

22. Should any documentation come to light at any stage after the submission deadlines above, it shall be at the discretion of the Chair to accept or reject this documentation.

23. The Chair may restrict the submission of documents, statements, or other information if, in their opinion, they are not relevant to deciding the charge/s.

24. The Secretary will aim to write to the Respondent with the panel’s decision within 10 working days of the disciplinary hearing.

25. At the same time, the Secretary will inform the Respondent that if they wish to appeal they must do so within 14 days of receipt of the panel’s decision in accordance with Rule S12.

26. The Chair will report the disciplinary charge/s and the outcome to the Council.

1. This procedure sets out the process that the Union’s Appeals Committee will follow when determining disciplinary appeals referred to it under Rule S12.

2. The procedure will be made available to any member found guilty of a disciplinary offence (referred to as the Respondent below).

3. A member may appeal against the decision of the Disciplinary Committee to uphold a charge against them and/or impose a penalty on them by submitting a written notice of appeal to the General Secretary in accordance with Rule S12. The notice must state the grounds of appeal.

4. The appeal shall be by way of a review and will not be a re-hearing of the evidence before the Disciplinary Committee. If the Chair of the Appeals Committee considers that new evidence (evidence that was not before the Disciplinary Committee) is necessary to fairly determine the appeal, the Appeals Committee will consider that new evidence as part of its review.

5. Recordings of appeal hearings are not to take place unless expressly agreed to by all the parties present.

6. The Secretary to the Appeals Committee will take notes of the appeal hearing for use by the panel. The Respondent (or their companion) is free to take notes for their own use and is encouraged to do so.

7. The member may bring another Equity member to an appeal hearing to act as their companion. The companion may address the hearing and confer with the Respondent but may not answer questions on behalf of the Respondent.

8. Throughout the process every effort will be made to ensure that the appeal is progressed without unreasonable delay.

9. The work of the Appeals Committee is supported by a member of Equity’s staff referred to in this procedure as the Secretary.

10. When an appeal has been referred to the Appeals Committee in accordance with Rule S12, the Secretary will liaise with the Appeals Committee to form a panel of not less than three of its members to hear the appeal. The panel will nominate one of its members to act as its Chair.

11. The Secretary will write to the Respondent to confirm their grounds of appeal and to invite them to attend an appeal hearing. At the appeal hearing the Respondent will have the opportunity to present their grounds of appeal. Notice of the appeal hearing will be at least 20 working days.

12. The Respondent may submit written submissions in support of their appeal if they wish. Submissions must be sent to the Secretary not less than 10 working days before the appeal hearing.

13. If the Respondent or their chosen companion is not available to attend the appeal hearing, it will be postponed to a further date.

14. If the Respondent continues to be unavailable to attend the appeal hearing, the panel will decide the appeal in their absence, taking account of the written grounds of appeal set out in the appeal notice and any written submissions in support.

15. At the start of the appeal hearing, the Chair will confirm the grounds of appeal.

16. The Respondent will then have the opportunity to address their grounds of appeal and answer any questions from the panel.

17. The Respondent may submit written submissions in support of their appeal if they wish. Submissions must be sent to the Secretary not less than 10 working days before the appeal hearing.

18. The panel and the Respondent may not call any witness at the appeal hearing unless:

(a) the witness’s evidence is new evidence within the meaning of paragraph 4. above; and

(b) the Chair of the panel has determined that the witness’s attendance is necessary to fairly determine the appeal.

19. A request by the Respondent to submit new evidence and/or have a named witness/es attend the appeal hearing must be submitted to the Secretary not less than 15 working days before the appeal hearing. The request should include the new evidence.

20. The Respondent will be told at least 10 working days before the appeal hearing if their request has been granted by the Chair

21. The Secretary will prepare an appeal bundle and provide copies to the panel and the Respondent at least five working days before the appeal hearing. The appeal bundle will contain a copy of:

(a) the Secretary’s note of the disciplinary hearing;

(b) the documents including any written statements that were before the Disciplinary Committee panel at the disciplinary hearing;

(c) the written decision of the Disciplinary Committee panel sent to the Respondent;

(d) the grounds of appeal;

(e) any new evidence and/or any witness statement dealing with new evidence if admitted by the Chair; and

(f) any written submissions by the Respondent in support of the appeal

22. The Appeals panel may confirm or dismiss the Disciplinary Committee’s decision to uphold the charge. If confirmed, the Appeals panel may confirm or vary the penalty decision to a lesser penalty or no penalty. The Appeals panel cannot increase the penalty.

23. The Secretary will aim to write to the Respondent with the appeal decision within 10 working days of the appeal hearing.

24. The decision of the panel is final and binding on the Union and the Respondent.

25. The Chair will report the appeal decision to the Council.

1. This procedure sets outs the process that will apply to disciplinary action by the Council against the General Secretary under Rule P24.

2. A member of the Council may bring a motion to the Council that the General Secretary has committed one or more of the disciplinary offences at Rule P24.

3. The motion must:

(a) identify which of the disciplinary offence/s at Rule P24 the General
Secretary is said to have committed; and

(b) be proposed and seconded by two Council members.

4. Notice of the meeting at which the motion is to be discussed must be sent to all Council members at least seven days before the date of the Council meeting.

5. The Council will vote on whether the General Secretary has a case to answer. A case to answer means that the action/s and/or omission/s concerned:

(a) must be capable of amounting to one or more of the disciplinary
offences at Rule P24 on the facts stated in the motion; and

(b) are not trivial or vexatious.

6. The motion is passed if two-thirds of those voting for and against, vote in favour of it.

7. Members of the Council who sit on its Disciplinary Committee shall not be present when the Council discuss and vote on whether there is a disciplinary case to answer.

8. If passed, the complaints will be referred to the Union’s Disciplinary Committee who will form a panel of not less than five of its members to hear the charge/s.

9. The proposer and seconder of the motion are not permitted to sit on the panel.

10. The panel will nominate one of its members as its Chair.

11. The Chair of the Disciplinary Committee will write to the General Secretary to confirm the charge/s against them.

12. The General Secretary will be required to attend a disciplinary hearing before the panel to provide their response to the charge/s. Notice of the charges and the disciplinary hearing date will be at least 20 working days.

13. The General Secretary may be accompanied at the hearing by an Equity colleague or member, a trade union representative or other official
employed by a trade union.

14. If the General Secretary or their chosen companion is not available to attend the disciplinary hearing, it will be postponed to a further date.

15. If the General Secretary continues to be unavailable to attend the disciplinary hearing, the disciplinary panel will decide the charge in their absence on the evidence available, including any written representations received from the General Secretary.

16. At the start of the disciplinary hearing, the Chair will confirm the charge/s.

17. The proposer of the disciplinary motion will present their reasons for believing that a disciplinary offence has been committed and answer any questions from the panel and from the General Secretary.

18. The General Secretary will then provide their response and answer questions from the panel.

19. The General Secretary may call witnesses to the disciplinary hearing to provide relevant evidence if they wish. The panel may also request the attendance of any witness that it believes will assist them in reaching their decision.

20. Witnesses will, at the appropriate time, be called by the Chair into the hearing to give their evidence and answer any questions from the panel and the General Secretary. Witnesses will then be required to leave.

21. The General Secretary must provide written notice of their witnesses to the Chair not less than 10 working days before the disciplinary hearing. The Chair will provide written notice of any witnesses attending at the request of the disciplinary panel to
the General Secretary of not less than 10 working days before the disciplinary hearing.

22. Recordings of the disciplinary hearing are not to take place unless expressly agreed by all parties present.

23. The Chair (or another nominated panel member) will take a note of the disciplinary hearing for use by the panel. The General Secretary (or their companion) may take a note for their own use and is encouraged to do so.

24. The Chair will provide the General Secretary with copies of any documents, written statements, or other information that the proposer of the disciplinary motion intends to put before the panel at least seven working days prior to the hearing.

25. The General Secretary must provide the Chair with any documents, witness statements or other information that they wish the panel to consider at the hearing at least five working days prior to the hearing.

26. Should any documentation come to light at any stage after the submission deadlines above, it shall be at the discretion of the Chair to accept or reject this documentation.

27. The Chair may restrict the submission of documents, statements, or other information if, in their opinion, they are not relevant to deciding the charge/s.

28. The panel will make a decision on whether it upholds the charges and if so, what penalty, if any, it considers is appropriate (the panel’s decisions).

29. The Chair will provide a report to the Council setting out the panel’s decisions and a summary of their reasons. A copy of the Chair’s report will also be provided to the General Secretary.

30. The Council will discuss the Chair’s report at a meeting of the Council.

31. Notice of the meeting at which the report is to be discussed must be sent to all Council members at least seven days before the date of the Council meeting.

32. The General Secretary is not permitted to be present during the Council’s discussions at 30. or any vote below.

33. The Council may not vary the decision by the panel on whether to uphold the charge/s. If the panel decision is not to uphold the charge/s, the charge/s are dismissed.

34. If the panel decision is to uphold the charge/s the Council will vote on whether to adopt the panel’s penalty decision. The proposer and seconder of the motion at 2. above are not permitted to be present during the Council’s penalty discussions or to vote.

35. If the Council vote not to adopt the panel’s penalty decision, a motion may be proposed and seconded for the Council to impose a lesser penalty. The motion must identify the lesser penalty sought. If passed, the lesser penalty shall be imposed.

36. The Chair will write to the General Secretary to inform them that the charge has been upheld, the penalty that will apply and of their right to appeal to the Union’s Appeals Committee.

37. If the motion at 34. is not passed or if no motion is moved, the Chair will write to the General Secretary to inform them of the panel’s decision to uphold the charge and the Council’s decision to impose no penalty and of their right of appeal to the Union’s Appeals Committee.

38. A vote is passed for the purposes of 34. and 35. above if:

(a) at least 50% of the Council’s members are present when the vote is taken; and

(b) at least two-thirds of those voting for and against, vote in favour.

39. The panel may consider (and the Council may impose) any of the following penalties having regard to the severity of the offence/s and any mitigating factors:

(a) removal from office;

(b) suspension from office;

(c) disqualification from any future office;

(d) a formal written warning or reprimand;

(e) any combination of the above.

40. The General Secretary may appeal against the decision to uphold a charge against them and/or impose a penalty on them by submitting a written notice of appeal to the President within 14 days of receipt of the Council’s decision. The notice must state the grounds of appeal.

41. On receipt the President shall refer the appeal to the Union’s Appeals Committee and appoint a member of Equity staff to act as its Secretary for the appeal.

42. The Secretary will liaise with the Appeals Committee to form a panel of not less than three of its members to hear the appeal. The panel will nominate one of its members to act as its Chair.

43. The appeal shall be by way of a review and will not be a re-hearing of the evidence before the Disciplinary Committee. If the Chair of the Appeals panel considers that new evidence (evidence that was not before the Disciplinary panel) is necessary to fairly determine the appeal, the Appeals panel will consider that new evidence as part of its review.

44. The Secretary will write to the General Secretary to confirm their grounds of appeal and to invite them to attend an appeal hearing. Notice of the appeal hearing will be at least 20 working days.

45. The General Secretary may be accompanied at the appeal hearing by an Equity colleague or member, a trade union representative or other official employed by a trade union The General Secretary (or their companion) may take notes for their own use and is encouraged to do so.

46. If the General Secretary or their chosen companion is not available to attend the appeal hearing, it will be postponed to a further date.

47. If the General Secretary continues to be unavailable to attend the appeal hearing, the panel will decide the appeal in their absence, taking account of the written grounds of appeal set out in the appeal notice and any written submissions in support.

48. At the start of the appeal hearing, the Chair will confirm the grounds of appeal.

49. The General Secretary will then have the opportunity to address their grounds of appeal and answer any questions from the panel.

50. The General Secretary may submit written submissions in support of their appeal if they wish. Submissions must be sent to the Secretary not less than 10 working days before the appeal hearing.

51. Recordings of the appeal hearing are not to take place unless expressly agreed to by all the parties present.

52. The Secretary will take a note of the appeal hearing for use by the panel.

53. The panel and the General Secretary may not call any witness at the appeal hearing unless:

(a) the witness’s evidence is new evidence within the meaning of 43. above; and

(b) the Chair of the panel has determined that the witness’s attendance is necessary to fairly determine the appeal.

54. A request by the General Secretary to submit new evidence and/or have a named witness/es attend the appeal hearing must be submitted to the Secretary not less than 15 working days before the appeal hearing. The request should include the new evidence.

55. The General Secretary will be told by the Secretary at least 10 working days before the appeal hearing if their request has been granted by the Chair.

56. The Secretary will prepare an appeal bundle and provide copies to the panel and the General Secretary at least five working days before the appeal hearing. The appeal bundle will contain a copy of :

(a) the Chair’s (or other panel member’s) note of the disciplinary hearing;

(b) the documents including any written statements that were before Disciplinary Committee panel at the disciplinary hearing;

(c) the Disciplinary Chair’s report submitted to the Council;

(d) the relevant minutes from the Council meeting at which it made its penalty decision;

(e) the grounds of appeal;

(f) any new evidence and/or any witness statement dealing with new evidence if admitted by the Chair; and

(g) any written submissions by the General Secretary in support of the appeal.

57. The Appeals panel may confirm or dismiss the decision to uphold the charge. If confirmed, the Appeals panel may confirm or vary the penalty decision to a lesser penalty or no penalty. The Appeals panel cannot increase the penalty.

58. The Secretary will aim to write to the General Secretary with the appeal decision within 10 working days of the appeal hearing.

59. The decision of the panel is final and binding on the Council and the General Secretary.

60. The Chair will report the appeal decision to the Council.