Morley Walking Club Constitution April 2023
1. The title shall be ‘Morley Walking Club’.
2. The aims and objectives of the Club shall be:
a. To promote walking and other outdoor activities
b. to conserve footpaths in general and particularly in the Morley area
c. to further the enjoyment and appreciation of the countryside by members and their families.
3. Membership
The terms of membership are as follows:
a. Individual membership shall be open to all, except that the Committee shall have the power to withhold membership at its discretion.
b. Membership shall be within the following categories:
i. Honorary
ii. Adult – people aged from 18 and not still in full time education
iii. Junior – young people up to the age of 18 (21 if still in full time education)
iv. Family – one/two adults plus one or more young people up to the age of 18 (21 if still in full time
education).
c. The Committee shall be empowered at its discretion, to grant honorary membership of the Club for exceptional service to the club. Such honorary members shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of the adult membership. This to be in the gift of the Committee after each case has been made and accepted by the majority of the Committee.
d. Young people up to the age of 18 must be accompanied on walks and any other club activities by a responsible adult with parental responsibility.
e. Guests or prospective members shall normally be allowed to take part in one Club walk without membership.
f. All honorary and adult members shall have full voting rights. Junior members and young people covered by family membership shall not be entitled to vote.
4. Subscriptions
a. Subscriptions shall be fixed at the Annual General Meeting and should be paid within one month.
b. Members joining after January 1st in any year shall pay one subscription to cover the remainder of that and
the following financial year.
c. Subscription rates shall be as follows:
i. Honorary – Nil
ii. Adult – as fixed by the Annual General Meeting
iii. Junior – half the adult rate
iv Family – adult rate, children free
5. Conduct of Affairs
a. The Annual General Meeting shall be held during April and a minimum of 14 days notice given.
b. The management of the affairs of the Club shall be in the hands of an elected Committee which shall have
full executive powers in all matters except alterations to rules and/or subscriptions and the election
or removal/deselection of officers. Should a dispute arise in the latter instance which cannot
be satisfactorily resolved via the grievance procedure (Section 8), the ultimate decision shall be made by
the membership at a quorate general meeting called in accordance with Section 5(m).
c. The Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall consist of:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer and Data Protection Officer
Footpath Secretary
Eight committee members, each of whom may serve a maximum of two years before retiring
and becoming eligible for re-election.
d. The Committee may appoint from its members, other officers at its discretion.
e. The Committee shall have powers to co-opt.
f. The immediate past President shall be co-opted on to the Committee.
g. Any Club officers or committee members newly elected at the AGM shall commence their term of office
from 1st May.
h. The President and Treasurer together with one other Committee member may act jointly, in an emergency,
on behalf of the Committee – such action to be reported to the full Committee as soon as convenient.
Expenditure under this rule to be limited to £200 with this amount subject to review every 3 years.
i. A quorum at a General Meeting shall be one quarter of the membership who are eligible to vote.
j. A quorum at a Committee meeting shall be 8.
k. Decisions at both General and Committee meetings shall be by simple majority.
l. In the event of a tie at Committee meetings, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
m. A General Meeting shall be called by the Secretary at the request of ay ten members or by direction of
the Committee. A minimum of 14 days notice shall be given.
n. Committee meetings shall be held at least twice a year and shall be called by either the President and Secretary
or by any three Committee members.
6. Finance
a. The Treasurer shall prepare a yearly statement of accounts for submission to the AGM. This shall have been
previously audited and accepted by the Club Auditor.
b. The Auditor shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall be an adult member of the club but not
a member of the Committee.
c. The financial year shall run from 1st March of the current year to the last day of February in the following year.
d. A Bank Account shall be opened in the name of the Club. Withdrawals shall be made on the authority of the
Treasurer and either the President or the Secretary. Such secondary approval shall be either by countersigning
a cheque or, for electronic and other methods of withdrawal, by written confirmation by email.
e. On the authority of the Committee, further subsidiary accounts, to cover specified activities may be opened as
deemed necessary. A minimum of two signatories, who will be Committee members shall be required to
authorise withdrawals from any such accounts.
7. Ramblers Association
The Club shall be affiliated to the Ramblers Association.
8. Grievance Procedures
a. The Committee is empowered to deal with grievances that cannot be resolved informally for instance where:
a member’s behaviour is damaging to the Club
a member is not satisfied with an aspect of Club Management, or
questions arise about financial or ethical processes within the Club
b. The Club Secretary should be provided with a full written account of any unresolved grievance. The issues
raised will be considered in the first instance by a sub-committee comprising the Vice-President and two
committee members uninvolved in the dispute. The sub-committee has the right to summon for discussions
any of the parties involved in the grievance.
c. Such a sub-committee may also summon for discussions any member whose behaviour or probity has been
called seriously and persistently into question.
d. A member in discussion with sub-committee will have the right to be accompanied by one person, who will be
there to support, not to take part in the proceedings. Written accounts of the discussions will be kept. These
will be filed separately, and will be confidential between the sub-committee and the member/s concerned.
e. The sub-committee will communicate any decisions resulting from grievance procedures within two weeks.
f. Appeals should be referred to the President, and will be considered by the whole Committee. They will not
affect the decision unless the process of decision-making is deemed unfair.
g In the event that the matter cannot be resolved then it should be referred to an Extraordinary General
Meeting (EGM) in accordance with paragraph 5(m) of this Constitution.
9.(1) Club Liability
a. The Club shall carry liability insurance to indemnify itself against potential claims from both members and non-
members. Such Insurance shall be taken out with a reputable Insurer specialising in group liability and is
regulated by Financial Conduct Authority.
b. To comply with the requirements of such insurance, the Club shall have a written Health & Safety policy.
c. The Club is required to have one Committee member as the nominated Health & Safety Officer. This person
to be responsible for health and safety matters on walks and social events as outlined in the Health and Safety
policy.
d. The Health & Safety Office shall ensure that all walk leaders and organisers of social events are guided by a
safety checklist based on this policy. Copies of the policy shall be held by the Secretary and made available to
Club members on request.
9.(2) General Data Protection Regulations
a. The Data Protection Officer shall be responsible for collection, maintenance and safe keeping of the data
collected.
b. The data shall be restricted to the minimum necessary for purposes of communication with members and
general administration of the Club.
c. The data is expressly for the use of Club officials only in the exercise of their duties and must not be handed to
any other individuals.
d. All members have the right to request sight of their personal data held by the Club and can refuse or withdraw
permission to hold or use such data at any time.
e. The data should be held in a secure form inaccessible to those other than Club officials.
10. Change of Rules
Additions or changes to rules shall only be made at a General Meeting. Proposals for additions or changes to the rules shall be submitted to the Secretary four weeks before the date of the general Meeting and shall be included in the notice of that meeting sent to members.
11. Winding up of Affairs
In the event of the Club having insufficient members to function satisfactorily, any remaining assets are to be disposed to the Ramblers Association.