1. The Title of the Association shall be "HASSRA East of England ".
2(a) Membership is open to all serving, including casual, employees and retired staff of the Department of Heath, Department for Work and Pensions, Food Standards Agency and their Executive Agencies and may also be open to such other persons as the National HASSRA Board of Management shall determine from time to time. Members of HASSRA shall be allocated to the Association based on its catchment area as provided for at article 4.
2 (b) The Council as constituted by article 7 may award associate membership to individuals who are otherwise ineligible for full membership. The Council shall determine:
(i) The level of charge to be levied on associate members and the frequency and means by which payments shall be made.
(ii) The services, benefits and extent of access to the Association’s programme to be afforded to associate members.
(iii) A maximum percentage of associate members that shall be permitted to form the membership of any affiliated club.
2 (c) Associate members may not hold an Association officer post, be an elected member of the Board of Management or be an officer of an affiliated club nor shall they have voting rights at meetings of the Council, the Board of Management, Committees or Sub-Committees.
3. The objects of the Association shall be :
(a) to provide a high quality sports, social and leisure programme which is open to all members, cost effective and delivered with integrity.
(b) to work in partnership with sponsor departments and agencies in
promoting the wellbeing and work-life balance of existing and potential members and, in so doing, demonstrate the value HASSRA generates for both sponsors’ businesses and members.
(c) to co-operate as an affiliated Departmental Association with CSSC
Sports & Leisure for the purposes of encouraging and coordinating the pursuit of sport leisure and recreation among the employees and retired staff of the Departments and their Executive Agencies as detailed at Article 2 of this constitution, and Affiliated Associations as hereinafter defined in Article 4 of this constitution
4. The Association’s catchment area shall cover office locations within the boundaries of the East of England Office Regions (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex (not including London boroughs), Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
5.. The Association shall be affiliated to National HASSRA and shall be governed by the rules and policies of HASSRA as determined by the National Council.
6. Members of the Association may form local, single activity or District clubs, and such organisations may apply for affiliation to the Association. The rules of the affiliated clubs shall be subject to approval by the Board of Management of the Association
7. The governing body of the Association shall be a Council comprising of the Officers of the Association, the Board of Management (appointed under Article 9 (b) (iv) and one representative from each affiliated club.
8.. (a) The Officers of the Regional Association shall be:
President, Vice Presidents, Life Vice Presidents, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Regional Business Partner and Regional Finance Manager
(b) The President, Vice Presidents and Life Vice Presidents shall be ex officio non voting members of the Council
(c) The posts of Regional Business Partner and Regional Finance Manager shall be salaried positions with the Department of Work and Pensions normally graded at Executive Officer level. Selection for these posts shall be made by reference to the prevailing personnel rules and procedures of the Department.
9.. (a) An Annual Conference of the Council shall be held within three months after the close of each calendar year, at a date and time of which not less that 28 days notice shall be given. Copies of the audited Financial Statement shall be sent to the National Finance Manager of HASSRA and all affiliated clubs not less than 7 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.
At the Annual General Meeting:
(i) The President and Vice-Presidents of the Association for the ensuing year shall be elected. Any nomination for Life Vice-President shall be considered and voted upon.
(ii) The Chairperson shall be appointed by the business sponsor of the Association (normally the President), in consultation with a small selection of other senior managers representative of the business units from which membership of the Association is drawn. The meeting shall be invited to endorse this appointment
(iii) The Vice-Chairperson shall be elected but only permanent or retired staff of the Department of Health, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Food Standards Agency and their Executive Agencies within the catchment area of the Association who are members of HASSRA shall be eligible for election. This appointment will be subject to the approval of the Association business sponsor, normally the President of the Association.
(iv) A Board of Management consisting the Officers and 16 other members of the Association shall be elected. The number will be as deemed appropriate by the regional chairperson.
(v) The Annual Report, and audited Financial Statement of the
Association for the preceding year, shall be received and, if
accepted, passed.
(vi) An Auditor, who shall not be a member of the committee of
Management, shall be appointed, subject to the approval of the regional Association business sponsor who will normally be the president of the Association
(vii) A representative of the Association to CSSC Sports &Leisure shall be appointed for the ensuing year
(viii) Any item of business can be raised at the Annual General Meeting by the officers, the Board of Management or an affiliated club provided that in each case not less than 14 days formal notice shall have been given to the Regional Business Partner. The Regional Business Partner shall then give Council members at least seven days notice of the business to be discussed.
10.. Further Conferences shall be called at any time on the instructions of the Association President, or the Chairman, or on the written request of 7 affiliated clubs subject to 28 days notice of the meeting being given.
11. Voting shall be limited to one vote each from the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Regional Business Partner, Regional Finance Manager, Committee, Competition Organisers, and the representatives from each affiliated club, provided however, that in the event of a tied vote the Chairman has an additional or casting vote as stipulated in Article 19.
12 a) The Board of Management shall meet no less than four times each year unless the Chairperson and Regional Business Partner consider that a meeting should be dispensed with.
b) The Board of Management shall be responsible for the management of current business of the Association between General meetings of the Council.
c) The Board of Management shall have the power to fill vacancies on the Board which arise during its term of office and to co-opt such other members as may from time to time be necessary. Co-opted members shall have voting powers unless it is otherwise decided at the time of their appointment.
13. The Council shall have the power to appoint committees additional to the Board of Management to deal with specific matters and the Board of Management shall have the power to appoint sub-committees for the same purpose. Unless otherwise directed by the Council such committees and/or sub-committees shall report to the Board of management. All such committees in being at the close of the Annual General Meeting shall continue in office until discharged or reappointed.
14. The Regional Business Partner shall cause adequate records to be kept of all proceedings of the Council, the Board of Management and any additional committees appointed by the Council.. The Board of Management shall ensure that adequate records of the meetings of any committees and sub committees appointed are also made, and retained either by the Regional Business Partner or by some other appointed person.
15. The Regional Finance Manager shall be responsible for the funds of the Association and shall maintain records of all sums received and expended in a form approved by the Council. The Regional Finance Manager shall also be responsible for the safe custody, and production of the Association’s securities, property, and assets.
16. The Regional Business Partner and Regional Finance Manager shall on all occasions in the execution of their office act under the superintendence and direction of National HASSRA. They shall also, in consultation with National HASSRA, be responsible to the Chairperson and Board of Management for the conduct of the day to day business of the Association.
17. The Council or the Board of Management may appoint voluntary assistants to the Regional Business Partner, Regional Finance Manager or other officers as may be required. The holders of these appointments may attend meetings of the Board of Management and General Meetings but shall have no voting rights.
18. A quorum of the Council shall be one-third of its members and a quorum of the Board of Management or any committee or sub-committee shall be one half of its members, for which purpose the President, Vice President, and Life Vice Presidents shall not be counted as members.
19. The Chairman at any General Meeting of the Council, or at any meeting of the Board of Management, or any committee or sub-committee shall, in the event of an equality of votes, have an additional or casting vote.
20. (a) The financial year of the Association shall end on the 31st December of each year
(b) All monies received for or on account of the Association shall be paid to the credit of the Association's banking account
(c) Payments drawn on the Association's banking account shall be signed by two members of the HASSRA National finance team one of whom must be a regional finance manager.
(d) The accounts of the Association shall be audited by the approved auditor in accordance with Article 9 (b) (vi)
(e) The Board of Management will propose the amount of the regional levy on HASSRA subscriptions and CSSC grant receipts to be retained by the Association and this levy to be ratified by Council
(f) The Council shall have power to borrow money and to purchase or lease property
(g) The Board of Management shall have power to disburse payments of honoraria up to a maximum of £500 in any one year. Any sum in excess of this amount shall first have the approval of the Annual General Meeting.
(h) The income and property of the Association shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objectives of the Association as defined at Article 3 of the Constitution and no portion shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus or by way of profit to the members of the Association (otherwise than on winding up or dissolution). This does not prevent the payment in good faith of remuneration to any officers, any member of the Association, or to any other person in return for any services actually rendered to the Association.
21. This Constitution may be amended by resolution at a General Meeting provided that
(a) such resolution shall not be held to be passed unless carried by a majority of at least two thirds of its members present at the meeting and voting therein
(b) any amendment to the Constitution shall be subject to the notification to, and approval of National HASSRA Board of Management
22. The Committee shall have the power to make such bye-laws as are not inconsistent with the Constitution to cover any matter arising in the day to day management of the Association or in relation to any specific matter.
23. Notice of any matter shall be deemed to have been delivered to any member of the Council, Board of Management, committee, sub-committee or to any club representative provided that such notice has been posted to the member’s last known official address or to the last known official address of the Secretary of the appropriate affiliated club.
24. In any question as to the interpretation of this Constitution the decision of the Chairman shall be final.
25. (a) The Association may be dissolved by a resolution of the General Meeting provided that :-
i) notice of the motion has been given in writing to all members of the Board of Management, the Chairman and National Operations Director of HASSRA and all affiliated clubs at least 4 weeks prior to the meeting; and that
ii) such a motion shall not be passed unless carried by a majority of at least two thirds of the members present at the meeting & entitled to vote therein.
(b) The Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions shall, in conjunction with the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency, have the power to instruct the Association to dissolve should at any time she/he deem the continuance of the Association unnecessary or undesirable and the Association shall comply with such instructions within such period as the Permanent Secretary may stipulate.
(c) In all cases of dissolution, if after the payment of all debts any funds or property remain, such assets shall be transferred to National HASSRA and dealt with in agreement with that organisation.
April 2011