South Manchester Association of Driving Instructors
Constitution

1. Name

The Association will be known as the “South Manchester Association of Driving Instructors” (SMADI).

2. Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of this Constitution are to:

2.1 encourage Driving Instructors to be more professional in their attitude and approach to the training of new drivers.

2.2 enable Driving Instructors to meet both formally and socially to discuss matters affecting them professionally.

2.3 to promote road safety; and

2.4 support all ADIs and PDIs and to share industry information where appropriate.

3. Affiliations

The Association is affiliated with ADINWF. The Association will pay £25 per year to ADINWF. Members of ADINWF are eligible to attend SMADI seminars free of charge and vice versa.

4. Membership

Membership of the Association shall be open to ADIs and PDIs. The Association welcomes all ADIs and PDIs from all communities. Driving Instructors may belong to a franchise, be independent and/or run their own driving schools.

The Association shall comprise the following:

4.1 Members An ADI/PDI shall be regarded as a member if their annual subscription fees are paid.
⦁ Honorary members: honorary membership may be granted to any person:

⦁ who has retired from the profession or who is no longer conducting professional tuition,
⦁ who has provided outstanding service to the Association.

Honorary membership will be granted to a person by way of a vote by the members. Honorary members will be eligible to be nominated to stand as a Committee member.

4.2 Guests: any Member can invite a guest to a meeting of the Association after prior approval from the chairperson. After approval from the chairperson has been obtained, the guest can attend meetings and, after their second attendance, can decide to join the Association.

All new applications for membership will be dis/approved by the committee.

4.3 non-Members can attend special events arranged by the Association subject to a prior vote by Members. Non members may be charged an attendance fee for such events.

Members may resign at any time but will not be relieved of any debts due to the Association or be entitled to any refund (whether in whole or in part) in respect of any subscription fees paid for the current year. Resignations must be emailed to the Committee.

All new applications for membership will be dis/approved by the Committee. The decision of the Committee shall be final and binding.

5. Management of the Association and the Committee

Management

The affairs of the Association shall be controlled by the chairperson who will oversee matters with help from the Committee.

The Committee

The Committee consists of five posts. In order to constitute a valid, working Committee at least three posts need to be filled at any one time, including that of chairperson.

The Committee will serve between consecutive AGMs. A person elected to serve on the Committee may offer themselves for re-election.

Only Members with at least 12 months’ continuous membership may be elected to serve on the Committee.

Should a Committee member resign, the rest of the Committee may appoint a Member to fill the vacancy as a temporary measure until the next AGM. In the case of any disagreement between the Committee as to who should be appointed to fill the vacancy, the chairperson shall exercise the deciding vote.

6. Finance

6.1 The treasurer will be solely responsible for the finances of the Association, including the collection and issuing of payments on behalf of the Association. If the treasurer is not available, the vice treasurer shall be authorised to receive monies and issue payments on behalf of the Association.

6.2 All members of the Committee will be permitted to view the Association’s bank account.

6.3 All the Association’s finances will be managed online.

6.4The treasurer (or the vice treasurer, where applicable) will ask the chairperson for final approval before any payments are made on behalf of the Association.

6.5 The treasurer will give an update of the Association’s income and expenses at each quarterly meeting.

6.6 If the Association is disbanded for any reason whatsoever, all money left in the Association’s bank account will be used in accordance with the outcome of a vote by Members.

6.7 in an emergency and/or to deal with any unforeseen circumstances, the chairperson and the Committee shall be entitled to spend up to a maximum of £50. All other expenses shall be voted on by Members. The Committee’s and chairperson’s determination as to what constitutes an emergency and/or unforeseen circumstances shall be final and binding.

6.8 No Member shall be entitled to receive any payment/s from the Association except for the reimbursement of expenses incurred on behalf of the Association. In order to be reimbursed for expenses, the Member must have (i) incurred the expenses in the course of performing duties for the Association; (ii) obtained the prior written approval from the Chairperson; and (iii) submit to the treasurer (or vice treasurer, where applicable) all expense reports and/or such other documents substantiating the expenses as are satisfactory to the treasurer (or vice treasurer, where applicable) and/or the chairperson. Members shall be personally liable for any unauthorised or unsubstantiated expenses.

7. Annual General Meeting / Monthly Meetings

7.1 The Association’s year shall run from 6 April of each year to 5 April of the following year. The Association’s AGM will be held on the second Thursday in June of each year. The chairperson will call for the AGM.

The purpose of the AGM shall be (i) to receive reports from the chairperson; (ii) the reading of the minutes from the last AGM; (iii) election of Committee members; and (iv) any other business deemed relative to the welfare of the Association.

7.2 Association meetings will be held at 8pm on the 2nd Thursday of March, June, September and December of each year at:

Mersey Valley Sports Club
Ashton Upon Mersery
M33 5SL

In the months where there are no formal meetings, a social meeting will be arranged at a suitable venue.

7.3 If we are unable to use the current venue for any reason whatsoever, meetings will be held online via Zoom. The same rules will apply to meetings held via Zoom as to meetings held at the venue.

7.4 Minutes must be taken by the secretary at every formal meeting and made available to all Members as soon as possible after the conclusion of the meeting but by no later than one week after the meeting.

8. Nominations for Committee Members

In order to be elected to serve on the Committee, a member must be nominated. All nominations must be duly proposed and seconded by Members and must contain the consent of the nominee.

Nominations for Committee members will open for one week at least 28 days prior to the AGM.
An official list of all nominees for each post will be made available to all Members via email and WhatsApp groups once nominations have closed. Voting will then take place via email; voting will then close after two weeks. All Members, including Honorary Members will be entitled to participate in the vote.

.Results will be announced at the AGM.

9. An Extra Ordinary General Meeting

An Extra Ordinary General meeting (EGM) may be called at any time by the Committee with the approval of the chairperson to deal with any items deemed as special business by the Committee. An EGM may also be called by Members providing the items for discussion are submitted to the Committee in writing and have the signature of at least 10 Members.

10. Amendments to the Association’s Constitution

Amendments to the Association’s Constitution shall be deemed as special business at an AGM or EGM and shall require a majority of 33% of the Members present to carry the motion. Any amendments to the Constitution should be agreed to by a vote of 33% of the Members present, the Committee and then approved by the chairperson.

11. Voting

At the AGM and EGM voting shall be carried out electronically but matters arising at a quarterly meeting can be carried out by either a show of hands (if the meeting is on premises) or electronically. The chairperson will declare the result of all issues voted on. In the event of a draw, the chairperson will have the casting vote. Only Members are allowed to cast votes.

All votes must be proposed and seconded. Then the chairperson must ask all the Members to vote as follows: (i) in favour of the vote, (ii) against the vote; or (iii) abstaining from the vote. The results of all votes must be recorded.

13. Auditor

An auditor can be appointed at the AGM by Members. Once appointed, an auditor must satisfy herself/himself that the books and accounts of the Association are a true representation of the income and expenditure of the Association. The chairperson can also check the books / accounts of the Association at any time to check that all the finances are in order.

14. Subscriptions

14.1 The current annual membership fee is £25. All subscriptions must be paid by the end of April. Any member who has not paid their subscription fees by the end of April will be contacted by a member of the Committee and given a further seven days within which to pay. If fees are still not paid after this period, the Member will be removed from all communication groups and will not be able to attend meetings until the fees are paid.

14.2 If any new member joins mid-term, they would pay £2 for each remaining month, including the current month, of the Association year and a £1 additional admin fee.

14.3 The annual membership fee can be increased by a vote at the AGM.

15. Code of conduct

15.1 The Association will adopt the DVSA’s code of conduct and would expect all Members to follow this code.

15.2 Should a complaint be made against a Member by a fellow Member, it will be given to the chairperson. The complaint will be discussed by the Committee and a Member may be expelled with the final approval of the chairperson, for a period as deemed fit by the Committee. The Member will be allowed to make representation to the Committee in their defense.

15.3 The Association will NOT tolerate any verbal abuse or threatening behaviors or any discrimination (on the basis of, amongst other things, race, gender, sex, nationality, language, age) against any individual. At meetings, all Members must be polite, professional and show respect to other Members.

16. Communication

16.1 Communication with Members will be via email and/or WhatsApp groups. There are WhatsApp groups for the benefit of Members regarding general chat, traffic news and tests and lessons. Appropriate language and behavior are always expected.

16.2 The committee email address is committeesmadi@gmail.com

17. Confidentiality

17.1 Members shall regard any business discussed by the Association as confidential. Any information disclosed to a Member as part of their involvement with the Association must not be disclosed to any third parties or posted on social media.

17.2 Under the new General Data Protection Act (GDPR), all Members of the Association will give their consent to receive information from the Committee of the Association and for their information to be shared with other Members by email, phone, messaging media and post. Only Members who have joined the Association will receive information from the Associations.

18. Subject to the limitations prescribed by statute

The Committee and Sub Committees of the Association along with the auditor shall be indemnified by the Association from all losses and expenses incurred by them arising from or in relation to the performance by them of their duties, excepting those arising from willful act or willful default.

19. A.O.B

19.1 Social Events: The Association will arrange social events and guest speakers to attend the meetings, subject to a vote and with the approval of the Committee.

19.2 Charity Events: The Association will support charity events and sponsor Members only from 6 April of each year to 5 April of the following year, subject to a vote of Members and approval of the Committee. The amount allocated for charity for the year will be capped to £150. This may be changed by a vote of Members at an AGM.

19.3 The Association will run a monthly lottery which has been agreed to by all Members, the Committee. Only Members are allowed to join the monthly lottery. All members MUST understand the rules of the lottery and agree to the rules if they decide to join. All Members can join or leave the lottery in December or June of each year. If any Member fails to pay their lottery after 1 month, they will not receive a payout. Updates will be provided at the quarterly meetings and in the monthly newsletter.

19.4 Any equipment (property of the Association) can go out on loan at no cost subject to the approval of the Committee. A Member who is in use of the equipment must sign out the equipment. If the Association requires the equipment back at any time it must be returned. If the member was to leave the Association, they must return the equipment in good working order. The Committee has a copy of the list of all equipment.

19.5 All members are encouraged to attend each quarterly meeting to keep up to date with any matters arising, to share ideas and relevant information, to make any suggestions to improve the Association, to vote if necessary and to help and support one another in the industry.

19.6 Approved ADIs and PDIs and instructor trainers who are members of the Association can train their own customers. ADIs, PDIs and instructor trainers manage their own diary and manage their own business and they are responsible for their own actions, not the Association.

—– ∞ —-

21. Definitions

For the purposes of this Constitution:

⦁ ADI/PDI means a DVSA approved/potential driving instructor.
⦁ ADINWF means the Approved Driving Instructors Northwest Federation.

⦁ Association means the South Manchester Association of Driving Instructors (SMADI);

⦁ Committee means the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Treasurer;

⦁ Constitution means this constitution and any annexures and/or amendments thereto;

⦁ DVSA means the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency;

⦁ Members means all ADIs and PDIs who have paid their annual subscription fee to the Association;

⦁ Sub Committees means the Lottery Committee, the Social Committee and the Charity Committee and Sub Committee shall mean any one of them as the context may require.

22. Links

22.1 Approved driving instructor (ADI) code of practice – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)