A Welfare Officer is the person appointed by a group to resolve, informally in the first instance, any issues that may arise within the group, such as a complaint about a member's behaviour or concerns over an individual's ability to ride safely with the group. 

The Welfare Officer may:

• Offer advice and support for members of the group;
• Ensure that all members are treated fairly;

They may also attempt to resolve any issues that may arise by taking the following steps:

• Remaining neutral and impartial;
• Taking advice from the Committee where necessary;
• Calling a Committee meeting to discuss the issue and present a formal response on behalf of the group if the issue cannot be resolved informally;
• For Cycling UK Member Groups, reporting any issue that cannot be resolved informally to Cycling UK's Head of Volunteering using the Accident/Incident Report form, in which case it should be treated as a formal complaint and handled according to Cycling UK’s Complaints Procedure.

Where an issue involves a safeguarding issue such as an allegation of sexual assault or racism, the Welfare Officer must:

• Report any safeguarding issues immediately and in confidence to the Designated Safeguarding Lead at Cycling UK using the Safeguarding Report form.

Please follow the step-by-step guides to see how to report Accidents/Incidents and Safeguarding issues.