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Step by step guide

Foreward

This guide sets out what the BEC must do in the branch in the period up to, and immediately following, the group and main conferences of the union and includes what the branch has to do for meetings, elections, and annual conference.

This guide is an updated and expanded version of the guide that was first issued in the MOD group as part of the branch officers’ guide and reissued as a guide to AGMs etc at conference 2007. The intention of the guide is to provide a model for branch officers of best practice, and to remove the need to invent the wheel when they come new to the job.

For this guide to be a model of best practice however, we need the lessons learnt from experienced branches. So although we hope that this guide will be useful, it will be even more useful if you come back to us with corrections and examples of better procedures and circulars that you use in your branch that we can then publish for the benefit of all the members. If you have such changes then please send them to:

Step by Step Amendments, MOD group office, PCS HQ, 160 Falcon Road, London SW11 2LN

Or email them to Industrial Unit 2 ID2-London@pcs.org.uk

It is important to stress the importance of running the branch properly.

During the reorganisations that the group has been conducting there have been a number of branches that have stated that they wished to continue as a separate branch.

The group has then found that they are not calling elections, or holding meetings, or sending delegates to conference.

This is just not the responsibility of the officers who are frequently the unwilling volunteers who pick up the jobs that are going.

This is a responsibility of all the members in the branch. If members are not coming forward to run a branch properly, then it is not a functioning branch, and the GEC will look to reorganising the branch to ensure that it is run properly and all members are properly represented.

Some branches are also very lax about calling elections and AGMs, because they say that members are apathetic and don’t come.

However the union rules require branches to hold AGMs and elections. If they are never run then either members lose interest and leave the union, or they find that there is no way they can participate and they leave the union for that reason, perhaps as a result of a dispute with existing officials.

In a worst case they will take other dissatisfied members with them, who will be difficult to recruit again.

1. This guide sets out what you need to do in your branch in the period up to the Group and Main conferences of the union and includes what the branch has to do for that meeting, and also branch and other union elections, and annual conference. The guide is laid out as follows:

Step 1 - Preparation

Step 2 – Arranging the AGM - Para 17

Step 3 – The annual general meeting - Para 33

Step 4 – After the AGM - Para 38

Step 5 – The first BEC - Para 45

Step 6 – Arranging the mandating meeting - Para 48

Step 7 – The mandating meeting - Para 48

Step 8 – Conference - Para 54

Step 9 – After conference - Para 57

Annexes

A - Checklists
B - Model branch constitution
C - Local admin office letter for facility time
D - AGM calling circular
E - Motions form
F - Elections nomination form
G - AGM poster
H - AGM agenda circular
I - Accreditation letter
J - Facility time guidance
K - Branch officers’ notification form
L - Branch representatives’ notification form
M - Mandating meeting poster
N - Mandating meeting circular

2. More details about getting access to and using the various annexes can be found in the foreword.

3. A checklist of the main actions that you may find useful, or wish to adapt is at Annex A

Step 1 - Preparation

Membership records

4. Nearing the end of the calendar year the branch organiser should check that your branch records are up to date. Your membership at the end of the year will be used to work out how many delegates that you can send to group and annual conference.

The start of November is the best time to start this work because half of December is lost to the Christmas break, not to mention Christmas lunches and other functions, and together with the New Year holiday and other leave; before you know it you are half way through January.

5. Also, if any of your elected posts are contested and you have to run a branch election you must know who your members are so that they can be balloted, and, in the case of your branch representatives, you must know which representative(s) they can vote for.

6. If you have not got a branch organiser then the job must fall to the branch treasurer.

Accounts

7. Just before the end of the calendar year (which is also the union’s financial year) the branch treasurer should ensure that any payments are cleared as this will make dealing with the accounts easier.

Audit

8. As soon as the year is over the branch treasurer must get the books and bank statements together and send them to the branch auditors who must be independent of the BEC. The branch chairperson must ratify the accounts before they go to the auditors.

The statement must show the income and expenditure over the previous year. Forms are issued by the finance department in November. Full details of what is expected of the branch treasurer are covered in the PCS Treasurer’s guide or available from HQ. You do not have long to do this before they have to be issued to members (see below). The treasurer must also produce a brief financial report that highlights the main points in the accounts.

Annual report

9. The branch secretary needs to prepare a report for members on what the branch has been doing over the past year. The best way of refreshing your mind on this is to look at BEC Whitley minutes and correspondence over the past year. While you are about it you should also look up the minutes of last year’s AGM.

10. Your annual report should be brief (or members will not read it) but cover issues such as:

  • Chairperson’s and Secretary’s reports
  • Organisation and recruitment (but not your percentage membership – you do not want to give management any ammunition).
  • Equality and diversity.
  • Learning initiative.
  • Branch campaigns.
  • Training and development.
  • Health, safety, environment and fire.
  • Sub committee reports (if you have any).
  • Representatives’ reports.
  • Any other relevant branch issues.
  • Activity on personal cases, but usually not the issues involved and certainly no personal details.

Constitution

11. You must circulate a copy of the latest branch constitution with the branch annual report or tell members where they can get a copy. If you do not have a constitution then you must draw one up in line with the model and guidance that is attached at Annex B. A brand new constitution can be adopted by a simple majority at a general meeting. A replacement one or amendments require a two-thirds majority of those present to vote in favour.

12. Each year there is at least one branch in the group where there is a dispute on the way a branch is operating. Most branches have had their constitutions approved by HQ, but in some cases the process was less than thorough and some important points were missed. To lessen the opportunity for any dispute you should check your constitution against the model at Annex B and especially the following aspects:

(i) You must have the 5 officer appointments: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Organiser.

(ii) You may have other branch officers, for example an Assistant Secretary, but also see (iv) below.

(iii) Although branches have the ability to ask the NEC not to split the branch into constituencies, no MOD branch has asked for this. Therefore each representative must represent a constituency of members, whose views they represent and to whom they report when organising campaigns etc. This can be on a geographic, work branch or grade basis or a combination of these.

(iv) The number of representatives on the branch committee must form a majority of the branch committee.

13. Having representatives with a clear responsibility ensures firstly that everyone on the BEC has work to do and that, if at any time an area has a problem, then they have, or can elect, a representative to the BEC. Also make sure that your branch has a sensible and useful name. There are hundreds of branches in the union and nobody in HQ, or for that matter, even in other MOD branches, has a complete knowledge of which branches look after which locations. (See footnote 1 in Annex B for further guidance).

14. Check that the constitution covers all the locations that your branch looks after, including those that do not currently have members. Note that locations are not necessarily the same as workplaces, only locations need to be listed.

15. If your constitution does not abide by these requirements then you must seek to correct your constitution by putting amendments before the next general meeting. If there is not time before the AGM you must include it in the business for the mandating meeting and publish the proposed amendments 2 weeks before the meeting.

16. Your Regional Liaison Officer (RLO) can provide additional advice on these matters.

Step 2 – arranging the AGM

Timetable

17. The main milestones for the timetable for the AGM are set out in the branch constitution as follows:

a. Issue Annual Report, Branch Constitution, Financial Report, audited Statement of Accounts and Calling Notice for nominations and motions to all members. You may also wish to circulate minutes of the last AGM at this time. This must be done 4 weeks before AGM, more if possible.

b. Return of nominations and motions for the AGM to the branch secretary. This must be done 3 weeks before AGM.

c. Issue Agenda (including motions) for AGM to members. This must be done 2 weeks before AGM and no later.

(Note. All branches must adopt a constitution that conforms to that set out in the national rules. Even where branches have yet to do this, they must still run the branch in accordance with the model constitution, especially as regards elections and nominations.)

18. Date. You must set a date that is after January 1st but early enough to give you enough time to submit any motions and nominations to HQ in time to meet their deadlines. Do not forget that the rules sometimes preclude faxing some items, and you should note that faxing is also not a dependable method. In practice you need to hold the meeting as late as possible to allow members time to see the national and group annual reports that are issued 14 weeks before conference. Many members do not like meetings on Fridays, and half-term weeks and weeks with bank holidays can be a problem although they sometimes cannot be avoided. Mondays do not allow you to send reminders the previous day but they can be days on which members will have few other meetings or are less likely to be absent on detached duty. While looking at dates you may also wish to fix the date of the branch mandating meeting so that this can be publicised at the same time.

19. Timing. You can hold the AGM wholly in work time because you are allowed facility time for the AGM, but many branches find that members are not happy to do this and instead hold the AGM at lunch time or after work so that only part of the time taken at the expense of ‘official‘ work. If you have shift workers you must ask them the most convenient time which may be at shift change.

20. Venue. You must take account of the numbers who will attend and whether you can only use certain rooms because you have disabled members. You must bear in mind any members who have special needs (e.g. visual/hearing impairment). When booking the room remember to allow time to set the room up and clear it afterwards particularly if you are providing refreshments.

21. Guest Speakers. You may wish to invite a guest speaker. This can be one of the group officers, national officers, full time officers or your regional liaison officer. Their availability may affect the date on which you hold your AGM. You must decide when in the meeting that you wish the guest to speak at the AGM. It is usual to place this after the debate on motions but some branches do it before. You must let your guest speaker know in advance if there are any particular topics that you wish them to speak about. If you are inviting a senior officer to your branch and it is a headquarters, then a senior member of management may be interested in meeting them before or after the AGM.

22. Facility Time. You must write to each of the admin offices that cover your members. An example letter is at Annex C. You must check that you are referencing the latest version of the policy if you include the details of the policy in the letter.

23. Calling the AGM. Having made these decisions you must issue a calling notice, an example of which is at Annex D. These details may be sent by email but when members do not have this facility they must be issued on a 1:1 basis. A form for nominations is at Annex E and elections at Annex F. On the examples provided you will need to change the dates and amend both the annexes to take account of how your branch is organised.

24. Initial Publicity. You should put up posters advertising the AGM (see Annex G for an example) and nearer the date can consider fliers (small A5 size notices that you place on desks etc) as a reminder. If you have email then many of the circulars and notices about the AGM can also be circulated by this means but do not forget the members who do not have such access who will need their own paper copy. Get your BEC and distributors to encourage members to attend.

25. Motions. You may wish to hold a BEC to consider any motions that the BEC itself wishes to propose at the AGM. You must do this in time to meet the same deadline that you have set the members. When you have received motions from members you must put these together with those put forward by the BEC and publish them to members. (Note. Although the BEC can propose motions it must not put forward nominations for any of the elections or nominations that are being called for.)

26. Elections. By the same date you will have hopefully received nominations for many of your committee posts. Where there is only one candidate proposed then there is no ballot for that post because they are elected unopposed and this can be announced at the AGM, if not before. Members can be nominated for more than one post, in which case they are elected to the most senior post for which they are successful. (Note. Even though you may know the names of the new committee before the AGM, it is the outgoing committee that run the AGM.)

27. Ballots. Where there is more than one candidate you must hold a ballot. This will usually be a postal ballot. When electing constituency representatives, only members of that constituency can vote in that election.

28. Re-advertising. Where you do not have a candidate you can seek to fill these posts at the AGM, or if none if forthcoming, re-advertise the post.

29. Refreshments. You should by now have a good idea of how many members are attending and can order refreshments accordingly. Sandwiches, tea and coffee can be paid for out of branch funds.

30. Agenda Notice. An example agenda notice for an AGM is set out at Annex H. It must include details of all the motions that you have received and also those nominations that are going to be considered at the AGM. If you are having a guest speaker you will need to add them to the agenda.

31. Pre-AGM BEC. You may wish to hold a special BEC to consider motions that you have received from members so that you can consider whether the BEC wishes to make a recommendation on any of the motions at the meeting and what that line should be.

32. Final Publicity. The day before the AGM you can send out a reminder and another on the actual day. If you do not have Email then phone round the representatives and distributors on these days and ask them to walk round and remind their members.

33. Spare Copies. Ensure that you make spare copies of the various papers that have been circulated ready for the AGM.

Step 3 – The annual general meeting

34. You already have the agenda for the AGM and this forms your order of business. There is no quorum required for an AGM.

35. Elections. As described in paragraph 18 above, the decision on BEC posts are taken by ballots held outside of the AGM. There are a number of branch posts that are not elected by the general membership, for example, Whitley, learning, and usually, health & safety representatives. These are appointed by the BEC, because that is to whom they are accountable; although those appointed do not necessarily have to be on the BEC. There are two other forms of election at AGMs:

a. Other Branch Positions. Such positions (for example conference delegates) are filled by voting at the AGM, but on the basis of nominations made before the AGM as a result of the calling notice. Again, if there is only one nomination then that person is declared elected unopposed – the AGM is not asked to approve the nomination. If there is more than one post being elected (eg 2 delegates to group conference) then everyone has a vote for each position.

b. Nominations for Group & National Elections. Here a nomination merely requires a majority of those at the AGM to support it. It cannot go through unopposed; there has to be a vote and a majority of those voting to approve it. If there are more nominations than there are positions then you must make a decision on which of the nominations the branch prefers. However having done this they will then each require a separate vote to check that there is approval for each nomination to go forward.

36. Voting. Voting on motions at the branch need a simple majority of those voting, except for amendments to the branch constitution which must have the support of two-thirds of those present at the meeting. Motions to amend the Group or National constitution only require a simple majority at the AGM.

Other points for the branch chairperson

37. Make sure that:

a. You have all the papers with you including the branch, group, and national constitutions. (You will find the current group constitution at the back of the group Annual Report; you may need the national constitution (properly described as the rules) for any issues on which the branch constitution is silent.)

b. All members have a copy of the agenda with the nominations and motions on it. Spare copies of other papers and the branch constitution should also be available.

c. The meeting is friendly and welcoming and that members who have not attended before do not feel intimidated by union activists but are encouraged to participate and speak.

d. Everyone can see the top table but make sure that members in the body of the meeting can hear the speakers and can be heard if they speak. Try and avoid requiring speakers to come up to the front of the meeting because this can be intimidating for new speakers.

e. You welcome everyone to the meeting and introduce your guest speaker. Thank everyone for coming, for their support throughout the year, and the activists for their work over the past year.

f. You avoid the use of jargon. Explain any abbreviations.

g. Each motion is debated separately.

h. When debating motions ensure that:

(1) The motion is moved by the proposer who may wish to speak on the motion.

(2) Seconded by another member, who may also wish to speak.

(3) Opened to debate for members to express their own views.

(4) Any opposition, if there is any, is heard.

(5) That if there has been opposition, then the mover of the motion has the right of reply before the vote is taken.

(6) Ensure that everyone who wishes to speak has a chance to do so as far as possible.

38. Amendments to motions, which have not been notified before the meeting, are not usually accepted. However many branch chairpersons accept amendments intended to correct or clarify the intention of motions. If there is an amendment to a motion you must firstly allow the motion to be moved and seconded but not voted on.

Then take the amendments, one at a time, each being proposed, seconded, debated and voted upon before the next is considered. The mover of the original motion also has the chance to speak on each amendment. You cannot discuss two amendments at the same time. The debate then returns to discuss the original motion as amended. At the end of each debate on the motion the mover of the motion or the amendment (as appropriate) has the chance to sum up and reply but should not produce any new material. Wrecking amendments (amendments that completely negate or alter the purpose of a motion) are not allowed.

39. At the end of the meeting get the new BEC together and agree a date for your first BEC.

40. Make sure that the forms for Group or National nominations and motions are completed and returned immediately. The persons needed to sign them should be at the AGM. In addition, the forms for the conference delegates can be signed and sent.

Step 4 – after the AGM

41. You should produce a accreditation letter for those members of your committee who will be accredited representatives for them to give to their line managers. An example is given at Annex I.

42. In their turn they should calculate the facility time they will need and apply for it from their Line Manager. Guidance on this is set out in Annex J

43. You must tell HQ of the results of the elections of the branch officers using the form at Annex K.

44. It is also a good idea to put the rest of your committee on the HQ distribution list using the form at Annex L. This should also be used for your distributors.

45. Prepare and issue the minutes of the AGM to members.

Step 5 – the first BEC

46. At your first BEC you must formally appoint the reps for your various Whitley’s. Where there are Whitley’s on satellite sites that have their own reps then it is expected that the representative for that site will be included in the Whitley delegation, if they are not actually the lead for that delegation.

47. The BEC can also decide its nominations for the officers of the TUs at the Whitley, namely the TU Chairperson and Secretary. These may, of course come form other unions on the TU side, and it is usual to share the posts between the unions. Filling one or more of the TU officers does not affect the number of union reps that are also sent by the union to meetings.

48. The BEC must appoint or approve its H&S representative and learning representatives. Such representatives do not have to be members of the branch committee, and if there are a large number, then it is unlikely that they will be. However the BEC must also appoint an equality representative and a learning representative who will be the lead for such matters in the branch. The names of these reps must be notified to HQ on the forms at Annex L.

Step 6 – Arranging the mandating meeting

49. This must be arranged before the last working day before conference, but usually some days in advance of this to meet any deadline for references back or emergency motions. It must be arranged on a date that allows members to have seen and considered the motions that will be debated at conference, which is after the agendas for the conferences (otherwise known as standing orders report no 1), have been circulated. It is especially important that you find a day on which your delegates can attend and take notes but if this is not possible then someone must take notes for them.

50. The notice convening the mandating notice must be circulated to members at least 14 days before the meeting. AGMs are always better attended than mandating meetings. However, although AGMs are important, from the point of view of members, Mandating meetings are more important than AGMs, or at least as important, because this is the opportunity for members to directly influence the union’s policies that will be decided at conference.

51. If your BEC wishes to make any recommendations to the meeting on the way its delegates should vote then you will also need to arrange a BEC to discuss this before the mandating meeting.

52. The chairperson and/or secretary, or the BEC if you hold one, should identify those motions that they believe will be of particular interest to members and on which they want guidance at the meeting. However the members at the meeting must also be asked whether there are any motions that they particularly wish to discuss.

53. Apart from the date, the other issues that need to be considered for the mandating meeting are almost the same as those for the AGM:

a. Venue and disabled access.
b. Facility time
c. Publicity
d. Refreshments
e. Final publicity

54. A model notice as attached at Annex M and a model poster is at Annex N.

Step 7 – The mandating meeting

55. There is no need to discuss any motions that the branch itself has submitted except where the BEC needs advice on any action to take because the motions have not been placed on the main agenda.

56. The branch must ask whether there are any views on the elections that will be held at conference.

57. It is not necessary to get a firm mandate on every motion, indeed it is advisable that this is avoided because if all branches did this there would be little point in holding any debate at conference. However there will be some issues over which members will be well informed and firmly decided and will wish to mandate their delegates to ‘Support’ or ‘Oppose’. On others they will declare the line 'Listen and Decide' perhaps 'with a view to Opposition’ or ‘with a view to Support’.

Step 8 - conference

58. This section is brief because PCS HQ issues a comprehensive guidance on conference and its procedure. If the branch has submitted motions then they must be ready to give speeches to move the motion, as well as being ready to reply to the debates. They also need to keep an eye on the timetable at conference to make sure that they do not miss the deadline for any of the elections that are held at conference.

59. Those who are delegates must keep an eye on the branch’s mandate. It is unusual for delegates to ignore their mandate, but it sometimes happens that new information is given at conference. If the delegate believes that had the branch had this information they would have given a different mandate then the delegate can vote accordingly. However, the delegate must highlight this and the reasons for it in their report back to members.

60. Lastly delegates must keep a record of the way that they vote, (particularly if they vote differently to the outcome of the debate), so that they have the material they need for the report back to branch members. There will however be a number of circulars issued detailing the outcome of votes but branch members still require their own report.

Step 9 – after conference

61. After the conference the delegate(s) must circulate a report to the branch on the outcome of the motions and the way in which the branch voted together with any other interesting points.