Constitution

2. The aims of the Staff Common Room Association shall be:

(i) the provision of and management of facilities in the Staff Common Room;
(ii) the promotion of social and recreational activities for its members.

3. There shall be three categories of membership of the Staff Common Room Association.

(i) Ordinary Membership

(a) Ordinary membership shall be open, on payment of the appropriate subscription, to all persons who are on the payroll of the University.

(b) The Committee of the Staff Common Room Association may also admit to Ordinary Membership such other persons as it may from time to time determine. Before declaring such persons admitted to membership the Committee shall cause to be displayed in the Staff Common Room for twenty-one days a notice giving the name or names of such person or persons, together with a description of their connection with the University. Any Ordinary Member objecting to any such person being admitted to membership may communicate such objection to the Secretary who shall report all such objections to the Committee meeting at which the admission of such candidates for membership is considered. The decision of the Committee in such matters of membership is final.

Only Ordinary Members may hold office or vote in elections or at meetings of the Staff Common Room Association.

(ii) Honorary Membership

(a) All members of the Council of the University not eligible for Ordinary Membership shall be Honorary Members during their membership of the Council.

(b) Persons whom the Staff Common Room Association particularly wishes to honour may be admitted as Honorary Members. The procedure of posting names, as outlined in Section 3 (i) (b) above, must precede the admission to membership of persons in this category.

(iii) Occasional Membership

Occasional membership shall be open to part-time or retired persons who are, or were, on the payroll of the University, at the discretion of the Staff Common Room Committee. The annual subscription for such members shall be 50% of the ordinary membership subscription.

4. Subscriptions

(i) There shall be an annual subscription for Ordinary Members, any change in the amount of such subscription to be determined by a simple majority of members present and voting at the Annual General Meeting. Not less than fourteen days' notice shall be given of any proposed alteration in the annual subscription.

(ii) Payment of the annual subscription shall be by monthly direct debit payments deducted at source by the University Finance Office from their monthly salary. Those members not paid by the University Finance Office shall pay their subscription direct to the Treasurer

(iii) Occasional membership subscription of 50% of the full subscription will be paid direct to the Treasurer.

5. Officers

(i) The Staff Common Room Association shall have the following officers:

(a) President - the President shall take the chair at General Meetings and shall present an annual report to the Annual General Meeting.

(b) Secretary - the Secretary shall be responsible for the recording of minutes, the convening of meetings, and such other secretarial business as may be required of him. He shall also act as Returning Officer at all elections and ballots of the Staff Common Room Association.

(c) Treasurer - the Treasurer shall be responsible for all the financial affairs of the Staff Common Room Association, and shall present an annual report to the Annual General Meeting.

(d) Reporting Accountant - the Reporting Accountant shall conduct an annual Review of the accounts of the Staff Common Room Association, which should be presented to the AGM. The Reporting Accountant shall not be a member of the Staff Common Room Committee.

(ii) The offices of President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elective offices and shall be held for two years. Each officer shall be eligible for immediate re-election for a second term of two years but shall not at the end of the fourth consecutive year of office be eligible for re-election until a further period of two years has elapsed. The terms of office of the President and Treasurer shall not expire in the same year as that of the Secretary.

(iii) Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. Nominations for office, which shall be proposed and seconded and have the consent of the nominee, may be made to the Secretary before the meeting or may be made during the course of the meeting.

(iv) In the event of the resignation of an officer the Secretary shall invite nominations for a successor by displaying a notice on the Staff Common Room notice board. Nominations, which shall be proposed and seconded and have the consent of the nominee, shall be handed to the Secretary within fourteen days of the posting of the notice. The Secretary shall then conduct a ballot of the members. The person elected to the vacancy shall serve for the remainder of the term of office.

6. Committee

(i) There shall be a Staff Common Room Committee. The Committee shall be empowered:

(a) to conduct the day-to-day affairs of the Staff Common Room Association and to take such decisions and to make such rules concerning the operation of the Staff Common Room as it thinks fit.

(b) to appoint representatives to such bodies, both within and outside the University, as require Staff Common Room Association representation.

(c) to fill casual vacancies among its number in such manner as it thinks fit.

(d) to co-opt other persons, being Ordinary Members of the Staff Common Room Association to membership of the Committee.

(e) to establish such sub-committees with such terms of reference as it deems necessary.

(ii) The membership of the Staff Common Room Committee shall be as follows: the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer and six other members who shall be Ordinary Members of the Staff Common Room Association. Those members of the Committee who are not officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. Nominations for membership of the Committee, which shall be proposed and seconded and have the consent of the nominee, may be made to the Secretary before the meeting or may be made during the course of the meeting. Such members shall hold office for one year from the date of election and shall be eligible for re-election for a further period of one year, after which one further year shall elapse before the member shall be eligible for election again.

7. General Meetings

(i) Ordinary General Meetings shall only be held during University terms. The Secretary shall give twenty-one days' notice in writing of an Ordinary General Meeting.

(ii) There shall be an Annual General Meeting which shall be held during the Autumn Term. The Secretary shall give fourteen days' notice in writing of an Annual General Meeting.

(iii) An Ordinary Member may place an item on the agenda of a General Meeting by submitting such item in writing to the Secretary at least seven days before the meeting.

(iv) An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened by the Secretary at the request of the Committee or of at least fifteen Ordinary Members given in writing. The Secretary shall give ten days' notice in writing of an Extraordinary General Meeting. Notice of such a meeting shall only be given during term.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting no business shall be transacted other than that for which the meeting has been called. Notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting shall state the business for the transaction of which the meeting was called.

(v) The quorum at a General Meeting shall be twenty Ordinary Members.

8. Alteration of the Constitution

(i) The Constitution may be altered or amended by a resolution passed by a two-thirds majority of the Ordinary Members present and voting at a General Meeting. The Secretary shall send details of any proposed change in the Constitution to all Ordinary Members of the Staff Common Room Association and shall cause to be displayed prominently in the Staff Common Room details of any such proposed change at least fourteen days before the Meeting. At any time between the announcement of the proposed change and seven days after such General Meeting, any Ordinary Member may require a postal ballot to be held and, in such case, the Constitution may be altered or amended only if a two-thirds majority of all Ordinary Members vote in favour in the postal ballot. Such ballot shall be held not less than seven nor more than twenty-one days after the receipt by the Secretary of the notice requiring a postal ballot.

(ii) If in the opinion of the Committee a proposed alteration is unlikely to prove controversial, the Committee may proceed as follows:

(a) The Committee may authorise the Secretary to send details of such proposed change to all Ordinary Members of the Staff Common Room and to cause to the displayed prominently in the Staff Common Room details of such proposed change.

(b) If within twenty-one days of University term of the Secretary's taking action as in (a) above no Ordinary Member shall have notified in writing to the Secretary to such change, the Committee may declare the alteration of amendment carried.

(c) If within twenty-one days of University term of the Secretary's taking action as in (a) above an Ordinary Member shall have notified in writing to the Secretary objection to such change, the Committee shall instruct the Secretary to call an Extraordinary General Meeting.

9. Suspension of Members

Membership of the Staff Common Room Association implied acceptance of the Constitution and such rules as are from time to time in force. Any member may be suspended from membership by a resolution carried at a General Meeting summoned in accordance with this Constitution.

10. Guests

Members of the Staff Common Room Association may bring guests into the Staff Common Room and are responsible for the conduct of their guests. The Committee has the right to exclude any guests from the Staff Common Room.