Toolbox

Model Rules for Local/Single Interest HASSRA Clubs

Title

1. The name of the Club shall be the HASSRA (Insert Club Name) Sports and Social Club.

Objectives

2. The objectives of the Club shall be to promote and encourage recreation and cultural activities, including games, sports, social activities and leisure opportunities for the advantage of staff located in (Insert Catchment Description). Such activities may be organised directly by the club, offered to members by the regional or national tier of HASSRA or provided by third parties approved by the Management Committee of the club.

3. The Club shall be affiliated to the HASSRA (Insert HASSRA Region) and shall co-operate fully with the policies and procedures of both the regional and national organisation.

Ordinary Membership

4. Membership shall be open to all serving, retired and casual staff employed by the Department of Health, the Department for Work & Pensions and the Food Standards Agency and any of their Executive Agencies, and may be open to other such persons as the National HASSRA Board of Management shall determine from time to time.

Associated Membership

5. i. The Committee appointed under Rule 8(ii) may admit Associate members subject to such terms and conditions as the Management Committee may decide.

ii. Associate Members shall enjoy the privileges of Ordinary Members except that they shall not be entitled to vote or to take part in the management of the Club.

iii. The Committee may make such regulations as to the payment of subscriptions or contributions by Associate Members as they may consider necessary.

Honorary Membership

6. The Committee may admit Honorary Members on such conditions and with such privileges as they may from time to time determine though these members shall not be classed as Ordinary members of HASSRA.

Subscriptions

7. i. Membership subscriptions shall be paid via a voluntary deduction from salary or pension to HASSRA at a rate set by national HASSRA. Where voluntary deduction facilities are not available, membership subscriptions, at the same rate as set by national HASSRA, should be collected, in advance, and forwarded to the HASSRA (Insert HASSRA Region) on a quarterly basis.

ii. The Committee shall be empowered:

a. to levy such additional general subscriptions as may be considered necessary; and

b. to fix special subscriptions payable by members taking advantage of particular sports or facilities specially provided.

Annual General Meetings

8. i. The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held each year within two months of the close of the calendar year. The Agenda together with copies of the audited financial statement for the preceding year shall be circulated to all members not later than 7 days before the date of the meeting.

Copies of the Agenda and audited financial statement shall also be forwarded to the Affiliated Association not later than 14 days before the Annual General Meeting.

Or replace the following from shall be ….

prominently displayed on notice boards within (Insert Location(s)) for at least 14 days immediately prior to the meeting.

Copies of the Agenda and audited financial statement shall also be forwarded to the Affiliated Association not later than 14 days before the Annual General Meeting.

ii. At the Annual General Meeting there shall be elected from the ordinary members of the Club a Management Committee, which shall consist of,

a. A President and Vice-President(s), (this is optional according to local conditions);

b. The Officers of the Committee, including in any case a Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, provided that the Treasurer shall be a permanent officer of the Department; and

c. (Insert Number) other members.

iii. An auditor for the ensuing year shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting. A second auditor shall be nominated by the Business Unit Manager, Club Sponsor or in HQ an equivalent officer. Neither auditor may be a member of the Committee.

Special General Meetings

9. A Special General Meeting of the Club shall be held whenever: -

i. (Insert Number) individual members submit a written request to the Club Secretary for such a meeting

ii. the Management Committee determine that such a meeting is desirable or necessary

iii. In the case of both articles 9(i) and 9(ii) above, not less than 7 days' notice of any Special General Meeting shall be given.

Management Committee

10. i. The business of the Club shall be managed by the Management Committee, subject to any directions which may have been determined by resolution at any Annual or Special General Meeting.

ii. Members of the Committee shall hold office from the date of appointment until the next Annual General Meeting.

iii. In case any member of the Committee shall resign or cease to act, the Committee may at any time appoint a person to fill the vacancy until the next Annual General Meeting.

iv. The Committee may co-opt members of the Club, not exceeding (Insert Number) in number, for such period as they shall from time to time determine, provided that all such co-opted members shall cease to hold office at the Annual General Meeting.

v. Subject to the provisions of these Rules, the Committee shall have power to fix the date of its meetings and to make regulations regarding the transaction of business at such meetings. A special meeting of the Committee shall be called at the direction of the Chairperson or on receipt of a written request from not less than (Insert Number) members of the Committee.

vi The Committee shall have the power to form a Sub-Committee or Sub-Committees to discharge specific functions or tasks delegated to it from the main Management Committee. Subject to paragraph 10(vii) below, any such Sub-Committee(s) shall comprise as many members of the main Management Committee as that Committee shall determine.

vii. The Committee or Sub-Committee may co-opt members of the Club to any Sub-Committee appointed under the rule in paragraph 10(vi) provided that the number of co-opted members of any Sub-Committee shall not exceed one-third of that Sub-Committee.

Quorum

11. The quorum of the Committee or of any Sub-Committee shall be (Insert Proportion) of its members.

Voting

12. i. Every member present at any Annual or Special General Meeting of the Club shall have one vote, and in the event of an equality of votes, the then presiding officer shall have an additional or casting vote.

ii. Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every member of the Committee or any Sub-Committee shall have one vote. In the event of an equality of votes, the then presiding officer shall have an additional or casting vote.

iii. Subject to the provisions of these Rules, any resolution passed by a majority of the members present and voting at any Annual or Special General Meeting of the Club or at any meeting of the Committee or Sub-Committee shall be deemed to be a decision of the Club or of the Committee or Sub-Committee.

Secretary

13. The Secretary shall cause adequate records to be kept of all proceedings at General Meetings of the Club and all proceedings of the Committee. S/he shall on all occasions in the execution of her/his office act under the direction of the Committee, and between meetings of the Committee, s/he shall be responsible for the conduct of the business of the Club in consultation with the Chairperson.

Finance

14. i. The financial year of the Club shall end on 31 December of each year.

ii. All monies received for, or on account of the Club, shall be paid to the credit of the Club's banking account.

iii. Cheques drawn on the Club's banking account will be signed by the Chairperson or the Treasurer and countersigned by one other member of the Committee. A panel of signatories shall be furnished to the bank.

iv. The Treasurer shall maintain accounts of all sums received and expended in a form to be approved by the Committee.

v. The account of the Club shall be audited by two auditors appointed under Rule 7(iii).

Amendment of the Club Constitution

15. The constitution of the Club shall not be revised or amended unless:

i. Notice of the proposed change shall have been included on the Agenda of an Annual or Special General Meeting.

ii. The proposal shall have received the assent of at least two-thirds of the members present and voting thereon.

iii. The proposed change has been approved by the Regional Association.

Bye-Laws

16. The Committee shall have power to make such bye-laws as are not inconsistent with these rules to cover any matter arising in the management of the Club.

Surrender of
Books

17. All officers of the Club who, under these rules, or in pursuance of these rules, have the custody of any books, documents, records, property or monies belonging to the Club shall, on request, surrender them to the Committee. They shall also at any time furnish them for inspection by Secretary (or Treasurer).

Dissolution of the Club

18. i. The Club may be dissolved by a resolution passed at any Annual or Special General Meeting of the Club provided that:

a. notice of such proposed resolution has been given in writing to all members of the Club and to the Regional Association not less than (Insert Number) weeks before the date of the meeting, and that

b. such resolution shall not be deemed to be passed unless it has received the assent of at least two-thirds of the members of the Club present at the meeting and voting thereon.

ii. The Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work & Pensions in consultation where necessary with the Permanent Secretary of State of the Department of Health shall have power to instruct the Club to dissolve should at any time s/he deem the continuance of the Club unnecessary or undesirable, and the Committee shall comply with such instructions within such period as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work & Pensions may appoint.

iii. In the case of both articles 18(i) and 18(ii) above, if, after payment of all debts, any funds or property remain, such funds shall be transferred to the Regional Association and such property shall be dealt with in agreement with the Regional Association.

Election of First Officers and Committee of Management

19. Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, first officers of the Club and members of the first Committee of Management shall be elected at a General Meeting of staff of the Department(s) stationed in (Insert Location(s)).

Interpretation

20. i. In these rules the following words and expressions shall have the meanings following unless such meanings are inconsistent with the subject of the context:

"The Departments" means the Department of Health, the Department for Work & Pensions and the Food Standards Agency.

"The Club" means the HASSRA (Insert Location) Sports and Social Club.

"The Committee" means the Management Committee.

"The Affiliated Association" means the HASSRA (Insert HASSRA Region).

Words importing the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.

ii. Nothing in these rules shall be interpreted as conflicting with the rules of the HASSRA (Insert HASSRA Region).

iii. In any case of doubt as to the meaning of any rule or its applicability the Affiliated Association shall have power to decide the issue.