Grievance Procedure

This is a draft policy - it is not in force yet. Please don't edit it yourself - suggest changes on the mailing list.

Intention

The trustees have the authority to ban anyone from entering the space, and to strip anyone of their membership, but must only do so in circumstances where this is best for London Hackspace as a whole.

We will only apply this policy to repeat offenders who persistently demonstrate unwillingness to cooperate. Throughout the process, every effort will be made to keep clear and constructive communication between the trustees and the offending party.

Process

1. A person may be banned from the space if they are in violation of the rules, if they are causing persistent annoyance, or if they have the potential to harm other users of the space.
2. Before the formal banning procedure is entered into, the trustees must make every attempt to resolve the issue informally.
3. The offending party must be given at least two official warnings before being banned. At every stage, it must be made clear to the party where they are in this process.
4. At every stage, the trustees must be in agreement that allowing the user to continue to use the space would not be in the best interest of the organisation.
5. At every stage, the trustees must make their reasoning available to the offending party and, where appropriate, to all interested members.
6. By default, a ban will be for a year. At their discretion, the trustees can issue a reduced ban period. 
7. Bans of more than one year may only be issued in extreme circumstances. The trustees must review these bans yearly.
8. If the offending party is a member, the third strike will trigger the process to remove the member according to Article 10(d) of the London Hackspace constitution.
9. The trustees must seek feedback from the community to ensure this process remains fair and balanced.