Suspending the volunteer

At least 2 Lead Volunteers (except Group Lead Volunteers) need to be involved in the suspensions process. 

When suspending a volunteer you'll need to get this approved by the next Lead Volunteer. If you're a District Lead Volunteer, this'll be your County Lead Volunteer. So, if you're considering suspending a volunteer, you must first agree with them that this is the right action to take.

With that in mind, it’s recommended that the Suspending Authority arranges a conversation with the volunteer in person, by phone or online meeting in private to inform them of the suspension. Communication in writing must follow before the suspension is added to scouts.org.uk.   

During this conversation, the Suspending Authority should explain:  

• Why you’re suspending the volunteer, referencing the appropriate reason from POR Rule 16.7 and the circumstances that led to the suspension. 
• The limitations that are imposed to the volunteer once the suspension is approved, and that breaking these limitations could lead to cancellation of membership. 
• You’ll send them communication in writing with more guidance after the conversation. 
• The volunteer will get a notification on scouts.org.uk once the suspension is approved. 
• You’ll keep the volunteer informed of any progress, sharing updates at least every 14 days.
• The volunteer can request a liaison person, if they wish to. 
• The volunteer will receive communication in writing when the suspension is ended.

Once the suspension is requested on scouts.org.uk, the next Lead Volunteer needs to approve (or reject) the suspension. For example, if the District Lead Volunteer is the Suspending Authority, then the County Lead Volunteer will be the Approver.

The suspended volunteer will receive an automatic notification on scouts.org.uk informing they’re suspended, so it is important that you’ve had a conversation with the volunteer before it is recorded on scouts.org.uk (as described in Prepare the volunteer).  

You’ll find full details of who can suspend and approve a suspension in POR Rule 16.7.  

You’ll find more information on how to do this at the Suspensions Digital Tool Guide.

If you, as the Suspending Authority, haven’t yet had a conversation in person, by phone or an online meeting in private to inform the volunteer of the suspension (as described in Prepare the volunteer), this is a good time to do so.    

In addition to the verbal communication, you must communicate the suspension in writing, sending the volunteer an email or letter.    

Use the general suspension email template or the overdue training suspension email template and send the notes for a person under suspension. You can find the most up to date notes for a person under suspension in POR Rule 16.7.

The suspended volunteer will receive an automatic notification on scouts.org.uk informing they’re suspended. However, this doesn’t replace the Suspending Authorities communication in writing with the notes for a person under suspension which should be sent before the suspension is recorded on scouts.org.uk.

As the Suspending Authority, you might need to notify other volunteers of a suspension. This will be needed if the suspended volunteer has more than one role.   

You should look at all roles the suspended volunteer has to then decide who you should notify. For example, if the suspended volunteer is part of a Trustee Board, you should consider notifying the Chair.   

If the suspended volunteer is part of teams across different Districts or Counties/Areas/Regions (Scotland), you should consider notifying other Lead Volunteers as well.  

Together with the suspended volunteer’s Team Leader or Lead Volunteer, you should also consider if you should notify other team members, if appropriate, and what’s the best way to do this. This might be particularly important if there are interim changes or if new arrangements will be needed.  

Be mindful that you should only notify relevant volunteers, and this should be done in confidence.

All suspended volunteers can have a liaison person, if they wish to. The liaison person’s role is to provide a listening ear and to help the suspended person to not feel completely disconnected from Scouts.  

As the Suspending Authority, you’ll appoint the liaison person, who must be a member of Scouts and be independent of the situation. You should choose someone who’s open-minded, with good listening skills, friendly and approachable, and has the availability to support the suspended volunteer.  

The liaison person should remain impartial. For this reason, the Suspending Authority and the Approver shouldn’t be the liaison person. Depending on the reason for suspension, the Volunteer Safeguarding Lead may not be appropriate either, as they may have a key role to play in supporting the Lead Volunteer.  

It might be helpful to choose someone who knows the suspended volunteer, but this is not essential.  

You must share guidance to the liaison person document with them. You can find the most up to date guidance for the liaison person document and more information on the liaison person in POR Rule 16.7.   

If the reason for suspension is related to a safeguarding concern, the Suspending Authority should discuss the appointment of the liaison person with the headquarters Safeguarding Team. You can contact them on +44(0)20 8433 7164 or safeguarding@scouts.org.uk