How to Manage Bad Behaviour from Members 

Providing a safe workplace for employees is not a new obligation, however, the types of risks that must be identified and managed is evolving.  While a place for community engagement and interaction, clubs are all workplaces and therefore what behaviour is tolerated and accepted within clubs is behaviour that is occurring at a workplace.

Unsafe behaviours, such as unchecked aggression, verbal abuse or racial discrimination, are all such that it is foreseeable that an employee observing or receiving such conduct may suffer injury (e.g. psychological / mental health injury).  These types of environmental matters are known as psychosocial hazards associated with the workplace – a term that was not until recently widespread (there is a new Psychosocial team within WorkSafe).

It is in the above context, that monitoring and managing member conduct is increasingly important the focus of the first part of this article from SIAG – the CCV employment law and HR partner.

Under a club’s rules / constitution, all clubs must abide by their obligations regarding disciplinary processes which aim to promote fairness, transparency and consistency.

This article covers: 

• when you can take disciplinary action; 
• how to conduct a compliant disciplinary meeting; 
• which disciplinary measures you can take; and 
• how to navigate an appeal of the decision made in disciplinary meeting. 

This article provides generic information on the Model Rules of Incorporated Associations in Victoria.

Where do your legal obligations come from? 

As above, the rules to follow in managing member conduct issues are in your club’s Rules.  As an incorporated association, Consumer Affairs Victoria has published model rules to help govern the way clubs operate. They outline the rights and obligations which clubs owe to their members, and which members reciprocally owe to the club. 

Rules 19 to 24 of the model rules outline a club’s obligations when navigating disciplinary action against a member, which will be broken down for you below.  If you are managing conduct issues, please check your rules closely, as the below is based on the Model Rules which may be different to the rules of your club.

When can you take disciplinary action? – Rule 19 

Disciplinary action can be taken against a member if it is determined that the member has:

• not complied with the Rules; or 
• refused to support the purposes of the Association; or 
• has engaged in ‘conduct prejudicial’ to the Association. 

Conduct prejudicial to the Association is a broad category and will include behaviours that pose physical or psychosocial hazards to other members and staff. Examples include physical fighting, harassment, bullying, and discrimination. 

How to take disciplinary action? – Rule 20 & 21 

When a club is satisfied that one of the above grounds applies, they must appoint a disciplinary subcommittee to hear the matter and decide what action to take.  Any person who is unbiased in favour or against the allegedly misbehaving member may be appointed to the subcommittee. 

Once a subcommittee has been appointed, the Secretary must give the member written notice that the club intends to take disciplinary action.  This written notification must specify the grounds for such action and including details of the disciplinary meeting such as the date, place and time. This notice must be issued no earlier than 28 days before or no later than 14 days before the meeting is held. 

The member must also be told that they can either attend the disciplinary meeting and address the subcommittee or give a written statement to subcommittee at any stage prior to the disciplinary meeting.

At the meeting, the member must be given an opportunity to be heard and have any prepared written statement of theirs considered by the subcommittee.
It is clear that societal standards and expectations have shifted and that clubs will need to give significantly more weight as to how member conduct may impact the safety and enjoyment of the workplace (and also the right of other members to the quiet enjoyment of the club’s amenities).

What action can you take? – Rule 22

After allowing the member to respond, the subcommittee must choose one of the following options: 

• take no further action against the member; or  
• reprimand the member; or 
• suspend the member’s membership rights for a specified period; or 
• expel the member from the club. 

Any suspension or expulsion will come into effect immediately after the subcommittee’s vote is passed. 

How to navigate an appeal? – Rule 23 

The member who has had their membership rights suspended or has been expelled from the club is entitled to appeal this decision. They must give notice of their intentions to appeal either immediately after the subcommittee’s vote, or to the Secretary no later than 7 days after the vote. The appeal meeting should be held as soon as practicable and no later than 21 days after the member’s notice is received. 

An appeal subcommittee must be appointed with three new members who were not part of the original disciplinary committee, and do not hold any bias in favour or against the member. 

A new notice of meeting should be circulated to the appeal subcommittee and the member specifying the date, time and place of meeting, the name of the member concerned, the grounds for taking action, and that the meeting will consist of a vote on whether the original decision should be upheld or revoked. 

At the meeting, the appeal subcommittee should restate the grounds for suspending or expelling the member and the reasons for selecting that particular action. The member should again be given an opportunity to be heard.

The vote must be conducted through a secret ballot, with no proxy votes permitted. The decision is upheld if a majority of votes are in favour of the decision.

Summary

The above summary provides you with an overview of the procedural requirements when considering / taking disciplinary measures against a member for conduct / other issues.

It is important for clubs to recognise the importance of the above procedures when addressing and resolving issues or complaints in the workplace, for example from your staff about member conduct / behaviour that represent a safety hazard in the workplace.

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