Introduction

This document covers the means by which Badgers and Jam will manage violations of their Equality and Safety policies.

Our Incidents Policy is constantly evolving and we welcome any constructive feedback to help us improve it.

At events

All our events will have a designated safety manager who will have full and final authority to remove people from an event in progress for any reason, or take any other action they believe is necessary to ensure that the event is safe and remains fun for the largest possible number of players. At the event, their say is final, and no debate will be entered into while an event is running.

The designated safety manager for Hannigan’s is Alasdair Watson.

Reporting

Participants may report any breach of event policies to the designated safety manager in order to make a formal complaint about another participant. The safety manager will decide what action to take at the event, in order to maximise safety and fun for all.

If the matter can be dealt with in a comprehensive manner at the event, it will be, and a log of the incident will be retained. Complainants may request anonymity (from any other participants they are raising a problem with) if they would like, and we will always respect the request to withhold their identity. We will, as a matter of policy, make the nature of the specific violation clear to the person being complained about if action is required, so that they clearly understand what they did wrong, and have an opportunity to correct the behaviour in future.

Resolutions of more complex issues may be deferred until after the event, (when they will be handled by the safety manager and any other appropriate Badgers and Jam staff), provided all event participants remain safe.

We will be happy to listen to complaints ‘after the fact’ – we recognise that people may require time to process events, and do not require any complaint to be made at the event.

Incident Resolution Framework

Broadly speaking, we will err on the side of believing complainants, and prioritising safety at the event. While we will attempt to hear from all sides as far as is practical, where that isn’t possible, we will err on the side of caution, which means believing complainants.

How serious was the incident?

We will take all reported incidents seriously, but we acknowledge is a difference of scale between, say, someone accidentally saying something offensive and upsetting, and someone deliberately physically assaulting another player, with any number of possible points in between or outside those extremes.

Was it intentional?

Accidents do happen, and depending on the situation, “I’m sorry, I honestly didn’t mean to do that, I’ll try not to do it again” can be an acceptable resolution for minor incidents.

Is there a pattern of behaviour to be addressed?

Even allowing for accidents, someone who repeatedly makes the same mistake is as much of a problem as someone who repeatedly contravenes these policies on purpose.

Will a simple apology and promise not to do it again suffice?

If the reporting player would be happy with that and the action in question is not part of a pattern, and does not indicate that that player represents a threat to anyone’s safety, then the safety manager might consider this an acceptable resolution. We will endeavour to centre the wishes of the reporting player where possible.

Does more serious action need to be taken?

If the safety manager judges the incident to be more serious, they may take further action – for example, if the incident represents a risk to someone’s physical safety, or if the incident seems minor, and the complainant would be happy with an apology, but the manager knows that the player has a pattern of this behaviour at other event. Further action may include issuing participants with written warnings or removing them from the event.

Single warning policy

In the event that an official written warning is merited, the participant in question will receive that warning verbally in person (if practical) and then by email after the event. The reason for the warning will be made clear to them, although complainants will continue have the right to remain anonymous.

A subsequent offence serious enough to merit a second written warning will result in exclusion from the event and all future Badgers and Jam events. It should be noted that any cases involving physical assault of any kind will result in immediate expulsion from the event without a written warning.

Removal from events

Participants will be asked to leave the event if they receive a second written warning (whether over the course of multiple events, or at a single event), if they endanger the safety of other participants, or for any other reason at the discretion of the safety manager. For exceptionally serious cases this may involve the police.

Is is possible that someone who is asked to leave one event may be allowed back at future events, if they have no identified pattern of risky behaviour or prior written warnings, but this will be judged on a case by case basis.

Refunds

In the event that a player is removed from an event, or banned from future events, no refunds will be due. Badgers and Jam may issue refunds at their discretion.