The purpose of the Wellbeing & Conduct Escalation Process is to provide student groups with support on how or when wellbeing issues within your group may need to be escalated to the Students’ Union. The code of conduct empowers you to deal with certain situations yourselves, but this process is for those times when the situation is beyond what is expected of a committee members and therefore should be escalated to the Student Opportunities team.

The process looks at:


1) How the Student Opportunities team can support you 

There is a dedicated team to support student groups so make sure to reach out if you ever need any support. In relation to wellbeing and conduct issues the team can support by:

  • Providing resources through wellbeing themed articles on Freshdesk as well as training 
  • Arranging meetings to discuss any issues and next steps. We can map out conversations, put support plans in place, and help guide you.
  • Reaching out to individuals to discuss what is happening
  • Offering mediation sessions if there is conflict between two parties
  • Stepping in and referring to relevant teams within the University and supporting those involved
  • Acting as a sounding board or simply just listening when things get too much

 

 

2) Knowing when to escalate 

It’s never easy to know when to escalate things but you should always come and speak to the Student Opportunities team about any issues you may be facing, even where you may have been able to deal with it internally, it’s good to keep us in the loop. Some examples of when to escalate:

  • If you’re worried about someone’s safety or wellbeing
  • You’ve spoken to the individual in question and there has been no change in conduct
  • The individual has become reliant on you or your group for wellbeing support
  • An individual has broken the code of conduct
  • There is uncertainty about what the next steps are
  • The issue is beyond your remit as a committee member
  • You feel there is a threat to someone’s safety
  • You feel as though your own mental health is now suffering

 

3) When there is a potential risk to safety

On occasion, there may be a situation where members or the committee feel that there is a risk to safety as a result of a member’s actions. Therefore, in order to deal with this situation as fairly as possible, we have set out a clear process:

  • The code of conduct states that if the committee believes the safety of an event or activity will be jeopardized by an individual attending an event, they can refuse the individual access to the event
  • If the committee feels the safety will continue to be jeopardized if the individual attends any further events, they should reach out to the team to set up a meeting.
  • If the Student Opportunities team agree that there is a safety risk, they can give permission to the group to ask the individual to refrain from attending events and activities for a little while – it’s really important to note though that this is not a permanent solution
  • Where there is a welfare concern, the team will reach out the University’s wellbeing team so they can offer support the individual in question
  • If it is a conduct issue, the team will inform the SU President and advise the group of the next steps as outlined in Byelaw L
  • Before the individual’s return to group activity, the committee should work with the Student Opportunities team to put together a plan on how to approach the situation going forward