CONSTITUTION

1.        NAME AND AIMS

1.1  The name of the organisation shall be the “Highways and Construction Training Association”.  Here after referred to as the Association.

1.2   The aims for which the Association is formed is to promote and facilitate co-operation between members on matters of common interest; to enhance customer confidence in the Highways related training provided by the members; to offer a unified view to policy makers at local and national level; to promote the excellence of members; to co-ordinate a nationally agreed approach to training and assessment; to influence national policies on training and development issues; to provide a professional and structured network; to co-operate in the development of quality training opportunities; to ensure the continuing development of members; to collaborate with other training providers and institutions.

2.       MEMBERSHIP

2.1  Any individual or organisation that is involved with training related to highways and construction work shall be eligible as a candidate for membership.

2.2  For the purpose of this Constitution a “member” shall be considered to be the individual member or a representative of the organisation.

2.3  The Association, on the recommendation of the Management Committee, may in general meeting elect honorary members.  Such honorary members may not stand for election as an officer but may stand for election as one of the five other members.

2.4   Every candidate for membership shall be nominated by one member and seconded by another member and the name and address and any other particulars the Management Committee may require shall be sent to the Honorary Secretary.

2.5   Members other than honorary members may be elected by a simple majority vote at a meeting of a Committee duly convened for that purpose.  Candidates may, and on request of any one member of the Management Committee shall, be elected by ballot by a simple majority vote.

2.6   Any member desirous of retiring from the Association shall notify the intention in writing to the Honorary Secretary on or before the 31st March otherwise the member shall be liable for the next year’s subscription.

2.7   Every member on joining the Association impliedly undertakes to comply with the Association’s aims and rules and any refusal or neglect to do so or any conduct which in the opinion of the Management Committee is either unworthy of a member or otherwise injurious to the interests of the Association shall render a member liable to expulsion by the Management Committee provided that before expelling a member the Management Committee shall call upon the member for an explanation of the conduct and shall give the member an opportunity of offering a defence or of resigning the membership.

2.8   The vote on a resolution for expulsion shall be by ballot and the resolution shall only be carried if not less than three-quarters of the members of the Management Committee present vote in favour of the resolution.

3.       ENTRANCE FEE AND SUBSCRIPTION

3.1   There shall be an entrance fee and subscription of such a sum the Management Committee may from time to time propose to the membership for acceptance by ballot.  This will be determined by a simple majority of the responses.

3.2   The annual subscription shall be payable on election and on 1st April in each year.

3.3   Any member who has not paid the fees due by 30th June may be removed from the list of members by the Management Committee.  The name may be restored at the discretion of the Management Committee on payment of a fee declared by the Management Committee and approved by members.

3.4   No member shall in any year be entitled to exercise any rights or privileges of membership until the subscription for that year and all arrears (if any) are paid.

3.5   The Management Committee may approve reductions in Membership fees for new members who wish to join part way through the Association’s financial year.

3.6   The classes of membership shall be as defined in the Association Rules.

4.       OFFICERS

4.1   Officers of the Association shall be the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Membership Secretary.  They shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting in each year and hold office until the conclusion of the next annual General Meeting.  The retiring Officers shall be eligible for re-election.

4.2   No candidate for election to any office (other than the retiring officers) shall be proposed unless the name of such candidate and the proposers shall have been sent to the Honorary Secretary before the 1st April.

5.       COMMITTEE

5.1   The Management Committee shall consist of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Membership Secretary plus five other members.  A quorum shall consist of five of these, of whom at least two shall be officers.

5.2   Candidates for election to the committee shall be those members of the retiring committee who shall offer themselves for re-election and such other members of the Association whose nominations, duly proposed by two or more members of the Association in writing, shall have been sent to the Honorary Secretary on or before 1st April.

5.3   If a casual vacancy occurs by death or resignation the Committee may co-opt a member to fill the vacancy. The committee may also co-opt a maximum of two additional members when the need arises for additional specific expertise or experience. All co-opted members shall only hold these positions until the next Annual General Meeting when they may stand for election or may be co-opted again.

5.4   If the number of candidates duly proposed exceeds the number of vacancies to be filled the election shall be by ballot.

5.5   The Management Committee may establish other committees as it considers necessary to promote special interest of the Association.  The Chairman of any such Committee shall report back to the Management Committee.

5.6   All Committees shall manage the affairs of the Association according to the constitution and shall apply funds of the Association to the aims of the Association.

5.7   The Management Committee shall make such byelaws, rules and regulations as they think fit as to the management of the Association.

5.8   It shall be the responsibility of the Honorary Treasurer to keep a complete and accurate account of the Association’s Finances.

5.9  Officers of the Association shall submit a report to the Annual General Meeting.

6.       HONORARY AUDITOR

6.1   At the annual meeting in each year a member shall be appointed as Honorary Auditor whose duty it shall be to audit the accounts of the Association for the current year.  In the event that the member is unwilling or unable to act the Committee shall appoint a substitute.

7.       GENERAL MEETINGS

7.1   An annual general meeting shall be held on a day in the month of May to be fixed by the Committee.  The Honorary Secretary shall at least 21 days clear before the date of such a meeting post or deliver to each member notice thereof and of the business to be brought forward thereat.

7.2   No business, except the minutes of the previous A.G.M., the minutes of any E.G.M., the reports of the officers, the passing of the accounts, the election of the officers and Honorary Auditors and any business that the Management Committee may order to be inserted in the notice convening the meeting, shall be discussed at such meeting unless notice thereof be given to the Honorary Secretary 30 days prior to such meeting.

7.3   The Management Committee may, on given fourteen days notice, call a general meeting of the Association for any specific business, the nature of which shall be stated in the summons convening the meeting and the discussion at such meeting shall be confined to that business only.

7.4   The Management Committee shall also call a general meeting on the written request of 10 full members.

7.5   At a general meeting of the Association each member (with voting rights) shall have one vote.   In case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

8.       ADDITIONS, AMENDMENTS AND ALTERATIONS

8.1   Notice of any alteration or addition to the Constitution intended to be proposed by a member of the Association shall be given to the Honorary Secretary in writing before the 1st April if the same is to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting or at least one month before any special general meeting at which the same is to be brought forward and full particulars of any such proposed alterations or additions shall be set out in the notice convening the meeting.

8.2   All such proposed alterations or additions and any amendments to them which may be proposed and seconded shall be put to the vote of the meeting and provided that on a show of hands or, if demanded, on a poll, a majority of two thirds of the votes of those members present and voting shall be cast in favour of any proposed alterations or additions or amendments then the same shall be deemed to be carried.

RULES

1. GENERAL

All members shall be subject to these rules and any member in breach thereof shall be penalised in such manner as the appropriate Committee shall think fit.

• Members shall comply with the requirements of the Constitution as to payments of subscriptions and shall pay such subscriptions and fees as laid down by the Management Committee from time to time.

• The Management Committee may make alterations to these Rules but any such alterations shall be submitted the next AGM for ratification.

2. CORPORATE IMAGE

•  The Association shall have a logo and other promotional material as it is considered necessary at any time.

• Fully paid up members and honorary members may use the Association logo on their own stationery to signify that they are members of the Association.

• Any member who is removed from the list of members or resigns from the Association shall immediately cease using the Association logo on any stationery or other publicity material.

3. CLASSES OF MEMBERSHIP

•  A Member (or full member) shall be an individual or an organisation providing training related to highway work. (Section 2.1 of the Constitution)

• Where the membership unit is an organisation there shall be no limit on the size of the organisation so long as it appertains to only one site. In pursuance of section 2.2 of this Constitution, such an organisation may nominate a representative to act on its behalf as the ‘‘member’’. Only the ‘‘member’’, may vote at any AGM or EGM, although other employees of the organisation may attend. Similarly only a named ‘’member’’ may stand for election to the Management Committee or vote for candidates in any such election..

• An Associate Member shall be an individual or organisation providing training and/or assessment services related to highways and construction.

Such a member will be entitled to the same benefits of membership as a full member except that their name will not appear on any advertising material published by the Association.

Associate Members cannot stand for election as an officer or as a committee member or vote in any such election.  However they may be co-opted to meet a particular need and may attend a general meeting in a non-voting capacity.  Their name will be held on a register of members who are training/assessment service providers to be furnished to all members.

3.4      An Honorary Member shall be a person who has been involved with training related to highways and construction work and is a person that the Association wish to honour for their achievements.  Such a member wishing to retain voting rights will pay a subscription at a level determined by the Management Committee.

4. SUBSCRIPTIONS

• The annual subscription for a Member shall be £300.
• The annual subscription for an Associate Member shall be £70.
• The entrance fee for a Member shall be £300
• The entrance fee for an Associate Member shall be £70
• The fee for an Honorary Member to exercise voting rights shall be £70