Grievances, Harassment, Assault, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault

Threats of violence, actual violence, harassment, sexual harassment, assault and sexual assault will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Accusations of such will always trigger a suspension while we investigate unless the alleged victim would prefer otherwise.

If you wish to report any form of grievance about any Camp Instructor then please contact a member of the Management Team or Craig Geddes as soon as possible. You may be asked to send us an email so that there is a record of the report. 

If you wish to report any form of grievance about any member of the Management Team then please contact Craig Geddes as soon as possible. You may be asked to send us an email so that there is a record of the report.

If you wish to report any form of grievance about Craig Geddes please contact him directly if you feel able to do so or do one of the following:

• Contact Clair Giles ‭(Management Team) 07919337679

• Contact any other member of the Management Team

• Use the anonymous web form available in the staff portal

In cases of a serious accusation or grievance then Craig Geddes may step aside from his duties where possible and appoint an outside organisation or individual to conduct an impartial investigation.

Complaints Procedure 

If a client makes a complaint about The Outdoors People, our camps, or our team, we will:

• Respond immediately to inform them that we are looking into the matter.

• Conduct an investigation or discussion amongst the management team if appropriate.

• Contact them within 14 days with a full response or to request an defined extension to investigate further.

Disciplinary Procedure 

The Outdoors People is a small employer with primarily freelance staff. As such, our disciplinary procedure is not extensive. In all cases, we will attempt to resolve conflicts through open and professional conversation in the first instance. 

Suspension

Suspension is not taken as a disciplinary action but may occur when an investigation needs to take place. Freelance staff are not entitled to paid suspension.

Possible Disciplinary Actions

In all cases, we will attempt to resolve conflicts through open and professional conversation in the first instance. This may be followed by the following steps in an order dependant on the severity of the incident. As we work with primarily freelance staff, it may be that some of the steps become redundant during the disciplinary process. This process will be overseen by a Company Director.

• Verbal Warning (it will be made clear to you that we have escalated beyond a conversation to a formal Verbal Warning)

• Written Warning

• Final Warning

• Demotion

• Reduced priority when being assigned to upcoming work

• Removed from “Staff Needed” email list

• Removed from “Staff Needed” email list and all upcoming work cancelled

Appeal

You will always be given an opportunity to present your viewpoint at all stages in the process, if you disagree with a Company Directors final decision then please talk to any member of the management team and we will schedule a meeting for internal review of the incident and process.