Constitution
UK FLORISTRY JUDGES GUILD
CONSTITUTION
The UK Floristry Judges Guild (UKFJG) is a non-profit, unincorporated organisation, comprising of persons qualified to adjudicate at floristry competitions and is affiliated to the British Florist Association (BFA).
1. AIMS
The UKFJG is a national organisation comprising qualified floristry judges with the aim of establishing and maintaining a recognised standard of professional floristry judging in the UK.
The aims of the UKFJG will be:
1.1 To ensure consistency in all aspects of floristry judging in the UK.
1.2 To ensure all floristry judges adhere to professional standards and guidelines set by the UKFJG.
1.3 To ensure that national judging reflects developments and standards utilised internationally.
1.4 To provide companies organising competitions with fully accredited judges.
1.5 To provide continuous professional development for existing UKFJG members.
1.6 To provide training to professional florists wishing to judge nationally and join the UKFJG.
1.7 To benefit the wider floristry industry by supporting and encouraging new competitors through training, guidance, and advice, as appropriate.
2. MEMBERSHIP
2.1 Membership of the UKFJG will incur a yearly membership fee unless there are exceptional circumstances, which the Chair and Executive Committee agree upon.
2.2 Any person who meets eligibility criteria and wishes to become a Member of the UKFJG must submit an appropriate application and have passed the UKFJG judges training programme and be approved by the Chair and officers of the Training Committee.
2.3 Membership of the UKFJG is not transferable to anyone else.
2.4 The membership of the UKFJG shall consist of Full Member, Associate Member, and Retired Member. The detailed definition of such groups being reviewed by the Executive Committee as required. The composition of these groups being defined as follows:
• Full Member: A person who is a qualified national Judge to UKFJG standards and is active in all aspects of judging.
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Retired Member: A person who has retired from active judging but who wishes to continue to support the UKFJG through paying a reduced annual subscription fee. A retired member will have no voting rights but may attend study day and social activities at full cost.
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Associate Member: A person who has completed and passed the UKFJG training programme but who will continue a probationary period until the AGM following their successful award. Membership will be paid pro-rata of the full member cost.
2.5 Membership of the BFA will be mandatory for full and associate members of the UKFJG and they will receive all the benefits of the BFA.
2.6 The UKFJG website will include details of all UKFJG members including a short biography and photograph.
3. COMMITTEES AND ELECTED OFFICERS OF THE UKFJG
3.1 The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Officer, Assignment Officer, and Past chair.
3.2 The Executive Committee may form sub-committees or organise specific events if considered appropriate. The Chair of any such sub-committee shall report to the Executive Committee.
3.3 Chair may, with the permission of the Executive Committee and on a temporary basis, appoint member(s) to fill vacancies on the Executive Committee caused by resignation or illness.
3.4 Sub-Committee members:
Schedule Committee
Judges Training Committee
Photographic Competition Committee
3.5 Co-Ordinators:
Social Media Co-Ordinator
Website Co-Ordinator
Newsletter Editor
3.6 All officers, co-ordinators, and committee members will be elected at the AGM for the term specified – see section 4. These are voluntary positions and duties are outlined in the document Roles and Responsibilities.
3.7 Once a position has been accepted it is the holder’s responsibility to carry out that role for the term indicated unless there are extenuating circumstances and agreement has been made with the Chair.
3.8 UKFJG members who are elected or appointed to serve the UKFJG are paid expenses to cover the cost of travel (not limited to mileage or distance), subsistence and accommodation (where necessary) and are paid a fee of £50 to attend a meeting for the purpose of the UKFJG.
4. ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
4.1 The Chair, and Vice-Chair shall be elected every 3 years and may serve for not more than one term of three consecutive years in any one office.
4.2 The treasurer shall be elected every 5 years and may serve for not more than two terms (10 years).
4.3 The Past Chair shall serve as an officer of the UKFJG for one term of three years.
4.4 All other roles will be elected every 3 years and may serve for not more than two terms (6 years).
4.5 To be eligible for a committee position of the UKFJG all candidates must have been a member of the UKFJG for two years prior to the date of nomination and remain a member at the date of nomination, the date of election and throughout their term.
4.6 Full members of the UKFJG wishing to stand for election are required to deliver a nomination paper signed by a proposer both of whom must be full members of the UKFJG.
4.7 The secretary must provide all members of the UKFJG with a Notice of Election at least 30 clear days before the AGM. This Notice must contain details of the known vacancies of UKFJG that are to be filled at the Annual General Meeting in the following financial year. This notice will include the requirements for nomination and the closing date for all nominations.
4.8 In the event of the resignation or death of an elected member, outside of 30 days prior to the AGM, an EGM vote will take place to elect a member to fulfil the vacant position.
4.9 In the event that there are insufficient candidates to fill vacancies, the Chair will co-opt members to fill the roles available.
4.10 Should there be more than one candidate for the vacancy then the vote will take place by anonymous member vote.
4.11 A newly elected member of the UKFJG takes office immediately after the vote is approved.
4.12 The secretary will arrange for all documents relating to an election, including nomination papers to be retained for a period of at least 12 months after the declaration of the result.
5. UKFJG EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
5.1 The Officers of the UKFJG listed in section 3.1 and elected by members will form the UKFJG Executive Committee.
5.2 Regular executive committee meetings will be held to deal with the ongoing running of UKFJG business, plan the study weekend and AGM and deal with any other matters arising.
5.3 An Executive committee meeting should not be held with less than a quorum of four including the Chair or Vice-Chair.
5.4 The Chair/Secretary will keep all members informed of decisions made and ongoing actions.
6. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING/ EGM/ VOTING PROCEDURES
6.1 The UKFJG shall in each calendar year hold a general meeting as its Annual General Meeting and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it, provided that not more than fifteen months shall elapse between the date of one Annual General Meeting of the UKFJG and the next.
6.2 The annual general meeting in each year shall be held at such time and place as the Executive Committee shall appoint.
6.3 All general meetings other than Annual General Meetings shall be called Extraordinary General Meetings.
6.4 An Annual General meeting may be held by suitable electronic means agreed by the Chair and Executive Committee, in which each participant may communicate with all the other participants. Any individual participating at an AGM by such electronic means shall qualify as being present at the meeting.
6.5 As and when necessary, the Chair and Executive Committee will have the right to arrange an email vote with members of the UKFJG in order to make decisions outside of the AGM. The topic will be forwarded to Full/Associate Members; they will have one week from the date of the original email to consider and comment. One week later, with any amendments, the final wording of the subject will be sent to all members and the voting process will take place. Members will have one week to respond to the vote.
6.6 A proposal or nomination will be approved by a majority vote at either the AGM or EGM or electronic vote. For transparency, the overall result of members’ votes will be shared with all members.
7. ACCOUNTS
7.1 The Treasurer shall maintain financial records on behalf of the UKFJG and prepare and submit to the UKFJG AGM a financial statement showing the receipts and payments, assets, and liabilities of the UKFJG. These statements shall be inspected by the Chair prior to the AGM. The accounts shall be agreed upon and approved at the AGM.
7.2 A banking account shall be maintained by the Treasurer in the name of the UK Floristry Judges Guild. Two signatories will be included, normally the Treasurer and Chair, with both able to access the UKFJG bank account.
7.3 Any agreement to make changes to the amount of subscription payable by members will be notified in writing to all UKFJG members but all such decisions shall be presented for ratification at that next AGM. Changes to subscriptions will be effective from January 1st following the AGM.
7.4 A fee will be paid to the judge for an assignment, often with travel expenses/accommodation, by agreement with the competition organisers.
7.5 The UKFJG will act as a facilitator for obtaining judging assignments for its members, who will in turn be responsible for invoicing the competition organisers.
7.6 Members shall not hold the UKFJG responsible for the non-payment of fees from competition organisers. All financial transactions will be deemed to be a contract between the individual UKFJG member and the competition organiser. The UKFJG will not require members to pay any monies to the UKFJG in respect of the judging fee received from the competition organiser.
7.7 The UKFJG will not be responsible for any individual taxes that may be owed by a UKFJG Judge.
7.8 Members must submit any invoices to the Guild or associated organisation within 30 days of an expense.
7.9 In the event the UKFJG is wound up, the remaining funds will be distributed to an organisation or charity, voted on and agreed upon by the existing UKFJG members.
8. MEMBERSHIP
8.1 Subscription fees will be payable by members annually unless there are extenuating circumstances when the Chair and Executive Committee have agreed that there will be no fee or a reduced fee and will inform all members in writing. A member ceases to be a full member of the UKFJG on non-payment of membership fees.
8.2 All members, by the payment of their annual subscription, undertake to adhere to the terms of the Code of Ethics; the UKFJG Constitution, and judging protocols.
8.3 During the term of office, the Chair will not be liable for payment of the membership fee, nor fees pertaining to the study weekend.
8.4 In the event of a judge who has left or retired from the UKFJG, reapplication for full membership must be applied for in writing and will be considered by the Chair and Executive Committee.
8.5 No member of the UKFJG is to pass any information of a confidential nature to any third parties, nor enter into discussions relating to any individual competitor.
8.6 No member of the UKFJG is to write floristry schedules for any floristry organisation, without notification to the Chair and Executive Committee.
8.7 No member of the UKFJG is to answer questions relating to schedules that have been written by members of the UKFJG, without the approval of the Schedule Committee.
8.8 No member of the UKFJG may enter or work on any floristry competition or exhibit that could qualify for an award.
8.9 Training of Floristry Judges in the UK is the sole preserve of the UKFJG. If a member and/or their associates are found to be participating (directly or indirectly) in the training of floristry judges howsoever, the member will be required to immediately leave the UKFJG.
8.10 A member may only use the UKFJG logo or word mark whilst being a fully paid member of the UKFJG.
8.11 Members must complete CPD as determined by the UKFJG. The current CPD points required over a period of three years is 150 points and will be reviewed every three years. Should a member of the UKFJG fail to comply with the CPD requirements they may lose their right to accreditation with the UKFJG and must resubmit an application for membership to the Chair and Executive Committee.
8.12 To maintain membership of the UKFJG, it is mandatory to attend at least one study day as part of CPD in a consecutive three-year period unless there are extenuating circumstances approved by the Chair in confidence.
8.13 The Chair and Executive Committee reserve the right to cancel a person’s membership in writing in the event of a breach of the UKFJG terms of membership. UKFJG members will then be advised on such a decision in writing.
8.14 A member may take a year’s break from judging for either work or personal reasons confirmed in writing to the Chair and Executive Committee. Fees must continue to be paid and CPD must be maintained during the break. If the member holds any position, it may be offered to another UKFJG member for the full term of this role to ensure continuity within the UKFJG.
8.15 The Membership Officer will hold data of UKFJG members for UKFJG purposes only. On cessation of membership, or by request, personal data will be destroyed in an appropriate manner.
9. CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION
9.1 Amendments to the constitution will be agreed upon at the Annual General Meeting or EGM
9.2 Any proposal to amend the constitution must then be circulated to members with the notice of the meeting.
9.3 Any proposal to amend the constitution will require a majority of those present and entitled to vote.
reviewed 19/10/2023
