Internal Regulations

U3A_LogoInternalRegulations

MEMBERS

 

Members Conditions:

 

  1. Membership is for 12 months, January to December.
  2. Renewal of Membership should be within the first three months of the following year.
  3. Members should not be in full time employment.
  4. Members should be a paid up Member of the U3A before joining a Group.

 

 

Members Duties:

 

  1. To undertake activities at their own insurance risk.
  2. That they agree to comply with all terms and conditions of membership as laid down in the U3A Constitution and Internal Regulations of the Associations (IRA).
  3. The membership as a whole will indemnify the President/Vice President against any liability arising from any legal claim made against the Association.

 

GROUP LEADERS

 

Guidelines:

  1. Arrange date, time and place for meetings of the group.
  2. Maintain a register of group members and Income & Expenditure.
  3. Annually in January of each year a balance sheet for Income and Expenditure to be provided to the U3A Treasurer.
  4. Co-ordinate the activities of the group, in collaboration with the Members
  5. Keep the group’s web page entry up to date via the Webmaster.
  6. Inform the Group Co-ordinator of any interesting group news.
  7. Check that all members of your group are up to date members of U3A Moraira – Teulada on a regular basis. If you have any doubts please check with the Group Co-ordinator.
  8. The Group Co-ordinator will provide assistance when necessary.

 

COMMUNICATIONS

 

Communications to the Members will be via eNews, News Letter, Website and local News Papers.

 

MEETINGS

 

These consist of Monthly Meetings, The Annual General Meeting, and any Extraordinary General Meeting.

  1. Notice of meetings will be 15 days prior to the date of the said meeting.
  2. Any Member of the U3A is entitled to attend.
  3. New members are allowed to join at Monthly Meetings.
  4. At the beginning of each Monthly Meeting a synopsis of the previous Meetings Minutes will be read for approval.
  5. Voting at the AGM or EGM will be with those present and any proxy votes received.

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS RESPONSIBILITIES

 

The Committee as a whole will be responsible for the management of the Association.

 

  1. The members of the Committee will ensure where possible that meetings of the Committee will take place monthly and where this is not possible a maximum of two months shall elapse before the next meeting.
  2. If a Committee member is unable to attend any Committee Meeting they must notify the Secretary.
  3. All members of the Committee will ensure that matters discussed in Committee are confidential and only the minutes prepared by the Members/Committee Liaison is to be published
  4. All members of the Committee are equal with the exception that the Chairman being the President, Vice President or other substitute shall have the casting vote on a tied vote.
  5.  The Committee will ensure that Third Party Insurance will be renewed Annually to take account of the number of members in the Association in any one year.
  6. If a Committee member has a personal interest in any matter which comes before the Committee then they must declare that interest and desist from voting on the same.

Executive Committee

This is made up of the President, Vice – President, Secretary, Treasurer, Group Co-ordinator, Membership Secretary and Travel Group Treasurer.

 

SANCTIONS FOR SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICTS

 

  1. Any member being found to be doing or acting against the interest of the Association shall be sanctioned in accordance with paragraph 3 hereof.  Any member may challenge any other member being an ordinary member or member of the Committee provided they can prove beyond reasonable doubt that an infringement of the Constitution or these Regulations has been committed.
  2. The infringement will be brought before the executive Committee who will decide whether or not the member committing the infringement should be sanctioned or not.  Depending on the seriousness of such an infringement the executive Committee will decide which sanction to impose.  If the member who has perpetrated the infringement is a member of the executive Committee then next highest ranking member of the Committee will be co-opted on to the executive Committee.
  3. If the executive Committee find that an infringement of the Constitution or these Regulations has been committed then they will instigated the following procedure but if the infringement is serious they are able to miss some of the steps to the final sanction:
    1. verbal warning
    2. written warning
    3. second written warning
    4. relinquishment membership with immediate effect.

APPENDIX

 

JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOR THE EXECUTIVE BODY

 

THE PRESIDENT

The President shall have the following responsibilities:

  1. The legal representation of the Association, by delegation of the Monthly Meeting and of the Committee.
  2. Chairing the discussions of the Committee Meetings and executive Committee Meetings.
  3. Signing the notices convening the Monthly Meeting and the meetings of the Committee.
  4. Countersigning the Minutes and Resolutions drawn up by the Secretary of the Association and countersigning expense claims.
  5. All such other duties as pertain to the office as well as those delegated to the President by the Committee.

The President shall be replaced, in the event of absence or illness, by the Vice-President or a senior Member of the Committee.

NOTE:  The above Job Description will also apply to the Vice President

 

THE TREASURER

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the custody and control of the funds of the Association, as well as for drawing up the budget, the balance sheet and the statement of accounts for submittal to the Committee, as provided in Article 17 of the By-laws. He/she shall keep a Cash ledger. He/she shall sign the receipts, subscriptions and other cash documents. He/she shall pay the invoices approved by the Committee, which must be previously countersigned by the President. Funds shall be drawn upon in the manner determined in Article 25.

Key responsibilities are:

  1. To submit to a Monthly Meeting for approval, the balance sheet and statement of accounts for each year, and to draw up the budgets for the following year.
  2. To propose to a Monthly Meeting the subscriptions to be paid by members of the Association.

As a member of the Executive the Treasurer is also responsible for determining the financial policy of the Association and to make key recommendations for change and improvements.

 

The duties of the Treasurer include the following:

  1. In conjunction with the Membership Secretary and the Deputy Treasurer to sign up new Members at each monthly U3A Meeting and collect the requisite subscription. At the end of each meeting there should be a reconciliation of membership numbers and subscriptions collected.
  2. To reimburse out-of pocket expenses and make such other payments as are necessary. In all cases these expenses must have been authorised by the appropriate official of the U3A. Such reimbursement will normally take place at either a U3A Meeting or Committee Meeting.
  3. To maintain accurate financial records. These should be in the form of electronic ledgers covering:
  4. Payments In – including subscriptions, bank interest, surplus from events, etc.
  5. Payments Out – including reimbursable expenses, payments to Activity Groups, Insurance Premiums, etc. Bank Transactions – including deposits, withdrawals, bank charges, bank interest, and taxes paid on interest, etc.
  6. To prepare and maintain a Trial Balance throughout the year which should be available for review at all times. The Trial Balance should be presented at each Committee Meeting for discussion and to assist in financial planning.
  7. To present a Treasurer’s Report at each U3A Meeting. This should cover a review of expenditure for the previous period, current financial position, and a statement of proposed expenditure, and be able to answer any questions from the membership.
  8. To prepare the Annual Statement of Income and Expenditure and Balance Sheet, also obtain the Annual Statement of Income and Expenditure and Balance Sheet for the Travel Group from the Travel Group Treasurer.   These should be prepared immediately after the end of the Financial Year ready for Audit by mid-January. Following agreement of the Accounts by the Committee they should be ready for distribution to the members at the end of January.
  9. Maintaining a good working relationship with the Association’s chosen Bank.
  10. To prepare a forward forecast of costs in the form of a budget. An annual forecast of costs for the following year should be prepared and presented for consideration by the Committee in November, together with a recommendation for the proposed subscription. Advice of the agreed subscription will be given to the members at the Annual General Meeting for Members to agree by a vote. Subsequently a report on the progress of actuals versus budget should be provided to the Committee at each of the monthly Committee meetings.

 

THE SECRETARY

The Secretary shall be in charge of the documentation of the Association, shall record and sign the minutes of all meetings, shall prepare and certify any certificates required to be issued.

 

Committee Meetings

  1. The Secretary shall notify all Committee members of the venue, date and time of meetings. Further the Secretary shall be responsible for booking the venue. After due consultation the secretary shall issue an agenda for the meeting and record the minutes of those meetings.
  2. Monthly, Extraordinary and Annual Meetings
  3. The Secretary shall compile, and publish via the web site, the agenda and record the minutes of these meetings. These minutes are to be sent to the webmaster for inclusion on the U3A website
  4. Further, the Secretary should contact Committee members at least bi-annually regarding holidays and notify appropriate Committee Members as necessary, taking note of those unavailable for meetings.
  5. The Secretary must be computer literate and experienced in word processing, having access to a computer and email.

 

GROUP CO-ORDINATOR

 

  1. To facilitate the formation of new U3A groups by asking for new leaders, arranging meetings with potential members of a group, help set up new groups or helping a group to continue with a new leader.
  2. To help new group leaders with venues, sign-up sheets and promoting the new group.
  3. To assist the group leaders in any way possible.
  4. To keep data on groups up to date and advise the Webmaster and Newsletter Editor of any changes.
  5. To ask for any information that Group Leaders may wish to go out in the newsletter or Enews and forward this on to either the Membership Secretary or the Newsletter Editor.
  6. Arrange for the printing of display boards showing Groups and Group Leaders badges.
  7. To promote Moraira Teulada U3A through group matters i.e. exhibitions, photographic shows etc.
  8. To continue planning for new groups, and enhance those in existence by introducing new ideas.
  9. Arrange Annual Meetings with group leaders.
  10. Oversee the setting out of group tables at the monthly meetings.
  11. Accept applications for expenditure from Groups, and approve expenditure if appropriate in conjunction with the Treasurer and the Committee.
  12. Deliver details of group activities to members through a report to meetings.
  13. Keep the Committee informed of all group matters.
  14. Compile and maintain a Wish List from suggestions submitted by members, and advise the Webmaster of the list.

 

U3A MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

  1. Maintaining and Updating Membership List following meetings.
  2. Making up labels for new members and existing members where necessary.
  3. Checking the Receipt Books against the Membership List and reporting membership findings to the President, Treasurer, Travel Treasurer, and Group Co-Ordinator and giving the Attendance figures at the Annual Monthly Meeting.
  4. Updating the Email Distribution List as required.
  5. Sending out the ENews Bulletin to the membership.
  6. Sending out the Newsletters i.e.  General, Travel & Cultural to the membership.
  7. Attending the meetings whenever possible.
  8. At Committee Meetings reporting on any matters relevant to the membership where necessary.
  9. Arranging in conjunction with the Committee the Renewal Dates for membership.
  10. Retaining Application Forms of Members for a period of up to 6 years maximum.
  11. Purchasing of Receipt Books, Labels and Membership cards where necessary.
  12. Setting up the Membership, Treasurer/Receipt and Signing In desks at the meetings.

 

TRAVEL GROUP TREASURER’S DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Be a member of the Moraira Teulada U3A Committee, attend Committee meetings regularly, and keep the rest of the Committee advised of the financial stability of the Travel Group.
  2. Prepare the Travel Accounts for Audit by the 1st of January every year.
  3. Keep records of all monies and payments made in respect of Travel Group business.
  4. Authorise payment of expenses to Travel Group Members out of the Travel Group’s petty cash.
  5. Ensure that monies paid by members for Trips organised by the Travel Group are applied correctly.
  6. Read out the Travel Report at the Monthly Meetings.
  7. Hold regular meetings with the rest of the Travel Group to decide on future trips, and advise them of decisions taken at Committee Meetings which affect the Travel Group.
  8. Read out the financial report, when required by the Committee, on behalf of the Travel Group at Monthly Meetings.

 

NOTE:  The above Job Descriptions will also apply to any Deputy

NOTE: Insurance

At the start of the U3A, a sub-committee was appointed to look into the question of insurance for the U3A.  The headed the sub-committee had their background as a lawyer prior to moving to Spain, not to mention other members of the subcommittee who held responsible posts in the UK.

The sub-committee looked at the necessity of insuring for different aspect of the U3A’s actives, namely Third Party Public Indemnity Liability (PPI), Personal Injury, Theft of money and insuring Equipment.

Over several months these areas of insurance were discussed not only in meeting between the sub-committee but also with a Representative of Liberty Segruos from their head office in Valencia.  The subcommittee reported back to the main committee that PPI was available and a full description of the cover provided was explained in detail.  However, Personal Injury, Theft of money and insuring Equipment was not available and the reasons given were as follows:

1.      Personal Injury and theft of money.   This was a risk that the insurers were not prepared to cover because the times of transporting and amounts of money could not be ascertained.  Likewise the person or persons transporting the money would not be known.  The U3A’s main concern regarding this type of insurance was, obviously money taken at meetings.  In the light of the response from the insurance company the U3A’s only recourse was to ensure money was not transported by any person on their own, not making it obvious who had money on them and if money was lost it lost would be covered by the contingency fund set out by the U3A.  Those members who transport money from meetings are aware that they do this at their own risk.

2.      Equipment owned by the U3A.  Again we were told that the insurance company would not cover this risk.  The main reason why they will not cover the risk is because the U3A does not own the property in which the equipment is kept.  The equipment which appears on the U3A’s asset list is spread amongst members who use the same and much of this equipment has depreciated greatly since purchased.  This obviously now applies to the band equipment which in future will be treated as other equipment has been in the past.  Therefore lost or damage is covered by the U3A’s contingency fund, which unfortunately we cannot increase at the moment because of the discount on renewal fees which have been awarded to existing members.  As for the care of equipment, all members who have U3A equipment are responsible adults and are well aware of the need for care when handling such equipment.

As a query was recently raised re U3A equipment insurance, we reviewed the issue with a number of companies, who tell us it is not something Spanish Insurance Companies will cover.

The contingency fund was set up very soon after the U3A Teulada/Moraira was started because even if equipment was not damaged or stolen at some stage it would need replacing.  Therefore, what we have within our U3A is a self insuring system.  This method of insuring the equipment, is at present, the only one open to us has thus far has proved effective.