Purpose and status

This policy explains how The Association for IEMT Practitioners considers allegations that a current member has breached its policies, standards or conditions of membership. The Association is a voluntary professional membership body. It is not a statutory regulator, court, employer or law-enforcement body and cannot determine criminal or civil liability.

The ACAS Code applies principally to employment relationships. Its fairness principles may be useful by analogy, but this membership process is governed by this policy and the Association's rules, not by an employment disciplinary code.

Core principles

• Safety, fairness, independence and proportionality.
• No assumption that an allegation is true before the evidence is considered.
• Clear notice of the material allegations and a reasonable opportunity to respond.
• Separation, wherever practicable, between investigation, decision and appeal.
• Management of actual or apparent conflicts of interest.
• Confidentiality limited by fairness, safeguarding, legal duties and necessary external reporting.
• Reasonable adjustments for disability, communication needs and vulnerability.

Scope

The policy applies to current members, including practitioner, associate, trainer and other membership categories. Matters may include client safety, scope of practice, competence, dishonesty, misleading advertising, confidentiality, safeguarding, discrimination, harassment, misuse of IEMT status, non-cooperation with a reasonable investigation, or breach of another Association policy.

Concerns about a person who is not a current member may be recorded, but the Association cannot discipline that person. It may correct misleading claims about Association membership or approval and may direct a complainant to an appropriate external route.

Initial assessment

The Complaints Officer or an appointed case officer will acknowledge a complaint, check membership and jurisdiction, identify urgent safety or safeguarding issues, consider conflicts, and decide whether clarification or supporting material is required. Anonymous information may be considered, although anonymity can limit investigation and may make a fair determination impossible.

A matter may be closed, redirected, resolved informally or referred for formal investigation. Informal resolution will not be used where the allegation indicates serious harm, abuse, dishonesty or a continuing public-protection risk.

Interim measures

Where necessary to protect clients, evidence or the integrity of the process, the Association may impose a temporary measure while enquiries continue. This may include a temporary directory notation, restriction of Association functions or interim suspension. An interim measure is precautionary, not a disciplinary finding, must be proportionate, recorded, communicated with reasons and reviewed regularly.

Investigation and response

1. The member receives the substance of the allegations and sufficient relevant material to understand the case, subject to lawful redaction and safeguarding needs.
2. The member is given a reasonable period to respond, normally in writing, and may identify relevant evidence or witnesses.
3. The investigator gathers material that supports and undermines the allegation and keeps an audit trail.
4. Facts are determined on the balance of probabilities. Serious allegations require correspondingly careful and cogent evidence, without changing that standard.
5. The decision maker considers only relevant evidence and records findings, reasons and any sanction.

There is no guaranteed completion deadline. The Association will act without avoidable delay and provide proportionate updates when a case takes longer because of complexity, illness, safeguarding, parallel proceedings or availability of evidence.

Possible outcomes

• No case to answer or allegation not substantiated.
• Advice, education, supervision, reflective work or a time-limited improvement plan.
• Formal warning or conditions on membership, listing, training or Association activity.
• Suspension for a stated period or pending specified requirements.
• Termination of membership and removal from the voluntary register.
• Withdrawal of an Association or British Board certificate where the applicable certification rules permit it and the finding justifies that consequence.

The outcome must be proportionate to the seriousness, harm, risk, insight, remediation, previous relevant findings and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances. Membership fees are handled under the Membership Policy and applicable law.

Appeal

A member may appeal in writing within 21 calendar days of the outcome on one or more of these grounds: a material procedural unfairness; significant new evidence that could not reasonably have been supplied earlier; a decision not reasonably supported by the evidence; or a clearly disproportionate sanction. An appeal is not automatically a complete rehearing. It will be considered by a person or panel not materially involved in the original decision wherever practicable.

An appeal may uphold, vary or overturn the decision, remit the matter for reconsideration, or order a new investigation. The written appeal decision is final within the Association.

External action, records and publication

Emergency, safeguarding, criminal, regulatory, insurance and data-protection responsibilities are separate from this process. The Association may pause or adapt its work to avoid prejudice or harm, but an external process does not automatically prevent proportionate internal action.

Information will be retained and shared only where necessary, lawful and proportionate. Directory status may be updated following suspension or termination. Any public or external statement will be accurate, limited to what is necessary, and consistent with the separate Process for Informing Relevant Bodies of Complaints Outcomes.

Related routes

• Complaints, feedback and adverse-event reporting
• Scope of Practice Policy
• Standards of Competence
• Safeguarding Policy
• Data Protection and Online Privacy Policy