Occasions may arise when IMC members have a concern or complaint which they feel should be brought to the attention of the Committee and/or other club members. This might be a concern regarding safe practice on club activities, or a complaint about the way they or other club members have been treated, or about the behaviour of an individual club member.

Climbing and mountaineering are not activities with strict rules. We all have a duty of care for those we climb with, but individual club members will approach what they do on the crags or in the mountains in different ways. Before being critical of other members’ actions it’s useful to read the BMC Guidelines for Clubs on Risk, Responsibility, Duty of Care and Liability.

However, if any club member feels that the actions of another member or members are placing the safety or well-being of themselves or others at risk then they should follow the procedure set out below.

1. Any concerns or complaints should be made in writing to the club secretary (secretary@ipswich-m-c.co.uk) or to another member of the club committee.

2. All concerns/complaints will be acknowledged in writing upon receipt.

3. If appropriate, and agreed to by all parties involved, concerns or complaints may be dealt with via an informal discussion with all parties, plus an impartial third party.

4. Any concerns or complaints not able to be resolved informally will be discussed by the committee or relevant sub-committee within 1 month (unless an extended timescale is agreed with all the parties involved).

5. The outcome will be communicated to all relevant parties within a further 2 weeks.

Individual IMC members are requested not to use the club email list or Facebook page to publicise their concerns or complaints about the behaviour of other members. If the membership as a whole needs to be notified about a specific concern then this will be posted by the club committee after the committee has carefully considered the situation and agreed that the whole club should be informed.

If a member or members feel that the club committee has not dealt satisfactorily with any matter they have brought to the committee’s attention then the appropriate course of action is to raise the matter formally at an annual or extraordinary general meeting in accordance with the club constitution.

NB: Special considerations apply in relation to any concerns with child protection implications. Please see the Club Guidelines on Safeguarding Young Members which link to the BMC safeguarding policy which the IMC has adopted. If a club member becomes aware of any other behaviour that should be reported to the relevant authorities, such as the police, then they should of course do so.