Disciplinary Procedure

Purpose of the Procedure

This Disciplinary Procedure sets out the process that shall be applied by the IEHF in the event of a complaint being raised against a member of the Institute in respect of their conduct as an ergonomist. It shall not be used for complaints against the actions of the IEHF or its staff.

Definitions

Member: Any member regardless of grade, and therefore including Honorary Fellows, Fellows, Registered Members, Technical Members, Associate Members, Student Members, Retired Members.
Cited Member: A member of the IEHF or a Registered Consultancy against whom a complaint has been raised
Misconduct: Actions that are in contravention of the Code of Professional Conduct or the Rules of the IEHF, or which are considered to bring the Institute or profession into disrepute.
Rules: The rules and bylaws of the IEHF in effect at the time of the alleged misconduct.
Code of Conduct: The Code of Professional Conduct of the Institute, as in force at the time of the alleged misconduct. The Code of Conduct shall form the basis of the criteria for judging misconduct.
Complaint: An allegation of misconduct by a member of the Institute.
Complainant: The individual or company bringing the complaint against the cited member. The complainant does not need to be directly affected by the alleged misconduct. Where a complaint is raised by the IEHF against one of its members, that complaint shall be raised in the name of an Officer of the Institute.
Complaints Panel: The duly constituted panel of the Institute that is charged with fact finding on receipt of a complaint, to determine how the complaint should be addressed subsequently.
External Matter: Alleged misconduct that affects, or has the capability to affect, a member of the public.
Internal Matter: Alleged misconduct that does not affect, nor has the capability to affect, a member of the public.
Internal Disciplinary Panel: The duly constituted panel comprising members of the Institute, and which will consider in Internal Matter unless that matter is referred to an Independent Disciplinary Board at the request of the complainant.
Independent Disciplinary Board: The duly constituted Board comprising members who are not members of the Institute, and which will consider an External Matter. A Board may also be convened to consider an Internal Matter at the request of the complainant.
Appeals Panel: An independent panel convened to hear an appeal against the judgement of a duly convened Independent Disciplinary Board or Internal Disciplinary Panel.

Scope

This Disciplinary Procedure shall be followed in the event of an allegation of misconduct being raised against a Member. This Procedure covers both the process for raising a concern, and the manner in which it is dealt with and resolved. The IEHF shall be bound by the Procedure in handling a complaint.
Under this Procedure, the sanctions available include formal admonishment through to expulsion from the IEHF, as noted in Paragraph 13. No financial penalties may be levied, although costs may be awarded against a party to the complaint under certain circumstances.
This Procedure is governed by English Law.
If legal proceedings are being pursued by either the Complainant or the Cited Member in respect of the matter to which the complaint refers, or if such proceedings commence at any stage before a conclusion is reached under this Procedure, then all actions under this procedure will be suspended until such legal proceedings are concluded.

Initial actions

Complaints of infringement by any member or Registered Consultancy against the Code of Professional Conduct or the rules of the Institute generally shall be addressed to the Registrar in the first instance.
On receipt of a complaint, the Registrar shall inform the Chief Executive of the Institute of the existence, but not the substance, of a complaint. The Registrar may, at his discretion, attempt informally to resolve the complaint without invoking the remainder of this Procedure. Should it not be possible to do so to the satisfaction of either the complainant or the cited member, following receipt of a written complaint the Registrar shall inform Council and the Professional Affairs Board of the complaint in writing, and also the member or Registered Consultancy against whom the complaint has been made (the cited member). The Registrar shall also ensure that both the Complainant and the Cited Member are aware of this Procedure.
PAB, on behalf of Council, shall appoint a Complaints Panel consisting of the President of the IEHF or the Chair of Professional Affairs Board and two Fellows of the Institute, not being members of Council or PAB. The Complaints Panel shall undertake an independent fact-finding process in order to inform consideration of whether there is a case to be made. Information shall be sought from the cited member. Misconduct shall be considered as any breach of the Institute Code of Conduct or Rules.
The Complaints Panel shall make one of the following decisions:
a) there is a prima facie case of misconduct AND it is an external matter in that it relates to conduct affecting a member of the public. The case shall be immediately referred to the Independent Disciplinary Board. The Complainant and the cited member shall be informed of the decision.
b) there is a prima facie case of misconduct AND it is an internal matter in that it relates to a breach of the Institute Rules or Code of conduct but does NOT directly affect a member of the public. The case shall be referred to the Internal Disciplinary Committee. The Complainant and the cited member shall be informed of the decision. The complainant or the cited member have the right to require referral to an Independent Disciplinary Board.
c) there is no evidence of a case to answer. The matter shall be considered closed and the complainant and the cited member shall be informed. The Complaints Panel may offer advice and guidance to the cited member. The complainant has the right to require referral to an Independent Disciplinary Board.
In the case of 8b, if the complainant does not request referral, then they shall be bound by any subsequent decisions of the Internal Disciplinary Committee.
In all cases of alleged or proven unprofessional conduct or other disciplinary matters that are referred onwards by the Complaints Panel, the cited member shall not be permitted to resign from the Institute until the full disciplinary procedure is complete. If the disciplinary procedure continues into a new subscription year, the annual subscription of the cited member shall not be payable until the conclusion of the disciplinary procedure and the final Council decision.

Misconduct not affecting a member of the public

Council shall appoint an Internal Disciplinary Committee consisting of the President or immediate Past President and two Fellows of the Institute, not being members of Council and not having been members of the Complaints Panel that undertook the initial fact-finding. A member of staff of the Institute may be appointed to act as clerk to the Panel but shall not be involved in any judgement of the panel.
The Internal Disciplinary Committee shall meet to consider the complaint within six weeks of the complaint being referred to them. Not less than 21 days notice shall be given of the date of the hearing, by which time the cited member shall be given in writing full details of the allegations to be answered. At the hearing the cited member shall be given a full and fair opportunity of being heard, of calling witnesses and of cross-examining any other witnesses. The cited member may speak for him/herself or may be represented by a solicitor or barrister or by any other person of his/her choosing. The complainant shall be invited to attend the hearing, may present their complaint, may call witnesses and may be called as a witness, but shall not have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses. The complainant may be represented. Their representative may present their complaint on their behalf.
In the event that the allegations against the cited member are upheld the Internal Disciplinary Committee may a) reprimand or severely reprimand the member or b) impose conditions on the member’s membership, breach of which will itself constitute grounds for further disciplinary action, or c) suspend the member from the Institute or from any office within the Institute for a period of no more than two years or d) expel the member from the Institute. The Board may require the cited member to pay all or a proportion of the costs of the hearing.
The cited member shall have a right of appeal to an Appeals Panel as set out in paragraph 25.
The Internal Disciplinary Committee shall inform Council of the outcome of the decision, which shall be binding on Council. Unless an appeal is lodged within 28 days, the decision shall be published in ‘The Ergonomist’ if the complaint is upheld or if requested by the cited member.

Misconduct affecting a member of the public

If so advised by the Complaints Panel, or if requested by the complainant in accordance with paragraph 8c, Council shall convene an Independent Disciplinary Board.
An Independent Disciplinary Board shall consist of three members and be chaired by a solicitor or barrister of at least ten years standing. The other members of the Board shall be independent persons not being members of or employed by the Institute.
A member of the staff of the Institute may be appointed to act as clerk to the Independent Disciplinary Board and the Independent Disciplinary Board may ask Council to appoint a Fellow to advise on scientific and technical matters.
Neither the clerk to the Independent Disciplinary Board nor the Fellow adviser shall be involved in any judgment of the Independent Disciplinary Board.
The cited member shall be given at least twenty one days notice of the date of the hearing of the Independent Disciplinary Board, and also full details in writing of the allegations to be answered. At the hearing the cited member shall be given a full and fair opportunity of being heard, of calling witnesses and of cross-examining any other witnesses. The member may speak for him/herself or may be represented by a solicitor or barrister or by any other person of his/her choosing. The complainant shall be invited to attend the hearing, may present their complaint and may be called as a witness, but shall not have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses. The complainant may be represented. Their representative may present their complaint on their behalf.
In the event that the allegations against the cited member are upheld the Independent Disciplinary Board may a) reprimand or severely reprimand the member, b) impose conditions on the member’s membership, breach of which will itself constitute grounds for further disciplinary action, or c) suspend the member from the Institute or from any office within the Institute for a period of no more than two years or d) expel the member from the Institute.
The Independent Disciplinary Board may require the cited member and/or the complainant to pay all or a proportion of the costs of the hearing.
The cited member shall have a right of appeal to an Appeals Panel as set out in paragraph 25.
The Independent Disciplinary Board shall inform Council of their decision, which shall be binding on Council. Unless an appeal is lodged within 28 days, the decision shall be published in ‘The Ergonomist’ if the complaint is upheld or if requested by the cited member.

Appeals

The cited member may appeal against the findings of the Internal Disciplinary Committee or the Independent Disciplinary Board on the grounds that a) further information has become available which would have been likely to have led to a different decision had it been available to the Board/Committee and/or b) that the Board/Committee did not conduct its procedures in a proper manner and/or c) that the penalty was unduly harsh. An appeal on the grounds of fresh information shall be lodged within three calendar months of the conclusion of the hearing. An appeal on grounds of improper process or excessive penalty shall be lodged within 28 days of the conclusion of the hearing.
An appeal shall be heard by an Appeals Panel consisting of three persons appointed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators one of whom shall be a solicitor or barrister of at least ten years standing and none of whom shall be members of the Institute. The Appeals Panel may ask Council to appoint a Fellow to advise on scientific and technical matters. The appointed Fellow shall not participate in any decisions of the Appeals Panel.
In the event of an appeal against the penalty imposed the Appeals Panel may as it sees fit remit reduce or increase the penalty or remit the penalty and impose a different penalty. The penalties and powers available to the Appeals Panel shall be the same as are available to the Internal Disciplinary Committee under paragraph 13 above or as available to the Independent Disciplinary Board under paragraph 21 above.
The findings of an Appeals Panel shall be binding on all parties. It shall be published in ‘The Ergonomist’.

Disciplinary Process agreed by Council & Professional Affairs Board May 2010.

See the IEHF’s Code of Conduct.

PDF