Article I
Name
The name of this organisation shall be “SASPA”—‘Staff & Associate Specialist Psychiatrists Association’

Article II
Purpose-Object of SASPA
- to be a coherent voice of all middle grade doctors in psychiatry
- to promote & highlight the importance of the work done by this group of doctors in mental health trusts
- to liaise closely with the BMA with regards to terms & conditions of service & the Royal College of Psychiatrists for any training issues in addition to maintaining business and social links with middle grade doctors in other specialities.

Article III
Membership
Schedule 1- Membership shall be open to any psychiatrist employed in the middle grade i.e. Associate Specialist, Staff Grade, SCMO, CMO, Trust Grade and Clinical Assistant.
Schedule 2- Membership shall be open to full and part-time doctors (minimum five sessions) who all shall have full voting privileges.
Schedule 3- locum doctors shall become associate members with full voting rights but they shall be deemed ineligible for candidacy.
Schedule 4- full members shall be expected to attend Annual General Meeting (AGM), to be rotated in different regions around the UK.
Schedule 5- an annual modest membership fee may be levied, the exact amount to be decided at the AGM.

Article IV
Organisation
Schedule1- There shall be an elected national Chair, Vice-Chair, General Secretary, Social Secretary, Treasurer and chosen Staff Advisor/s. These national office holders shall be elected from amongst the Regional Chairs of SASPA according to the proposed infrastructure (see flow chart) for the organisation. The Local and Regional SASPA shall consist of an elected Chair, Vice-Chair and General Secretary.
Schedule 2- The primary duty of the Chair shall be responsibility for the overall success of the group. The duties of the Local SASPA peer group Chair shall be the same whereas the Regional Chair shall have additional responsibility of Regional CPD representation. He/She may also be required to:
a) Call and preside over meetings
b) Represent the organisation outside the group when & where necessary including liaison with the RCPsych.
c) Fulfill any other role, which the group sees fit from time to time.
Schedule 3-The duty of the National Vice-Chair shall be to perform the duties of the chairman in the latter’s absence. Note: Additional duties may be assigned according to need. On occasions, the duties of the Treasurer may be re-assigned to the Vice-Chairman. Local and Regional Vice-Chairs shall also perform similarly but with emphasis on local and regional issues. Additionally, they shall have the portfolio of being Local Treasurers.
Schedule 4- The duties of the National General Secretary shall be to keep the records of the business of the group, to conduct its correspondence, arrange sponsorships, co-ordinate social events in collaboration with social secretary, conduct elections and take minutes of the meetings. In the absence of Chairman/Vice-Chairman the office-holder will act as chairman pro-tempore. The Local and Regional General Secretaries shall have similar duties.
Schedule 5- the duties of the Treasurer shall be to administer the financial affairs of the organization. All funds to be deposited in a bank account established under the name of SASPA in five working days, with Chairman and Treasurer being co-signatories. All disbursements shall be made by means of a cheque drawn upon this account. Treasurer will be responsible to provide yearly account update at the AGM. The finances of the Organisation will be subject to the control of the simple majority of its entire voting membership. Local Treasurers shall pass on any accumulated funds to the National Treasurer with documentary evidence.
Schedule 6- Social Secretary/Public Relations Secretary shall organise social events and will be responsible for the promotion of the association and its events in collaboration with the General Secretary. This would include making posters, flyers and brochures, maintaining an e-mail address/co-ordination of information received through this route and liaison with the news media wherever applicable.
Schedule 7- Web Master/Secretary shall be appointed to maintain and update a website approved by the Central SASPA Committee (CSC).
Schedule 8-The group shall choose one or more Staff Advisors who should be consulted on procedures and programmes and may become co-opted members of sub-committees, wherever and whenever necessary.
Article V
Elections
The term of office for the Chair shall be one calendar year, running from 1st October to 30th September. The election for the office of Vice-Chair shall be held yearly with existing Vice-Chair being promoted to Chair. The Chair shall call the elections in the second week of June each year with deadline for the receipt of nominations as 1st July. The elections will be held by means of a secret postal ballot.
The process shall be completed by 1st August every year in order to provide an
induction period for the new office bearers. The General Secretary shall be responsible for the coordination of the whole process. These deadlines shall be replicated for the purposes of Local & Regional SASPA.
The term of office for other office bearers shall be two calendar years with elections called by the Chair in January. Nominations must be received by 31st January and whole process must be completed by 1st March.

Article VI
Bye-Laws
Schedule 1- The minimum numbers of members who have to be present at a meeting for the business to be conducted legally is 30%. Ratification of ordinary issues shall require a simple majority vote of those present while Ratification/Amendment of the constitution as well as the bye-laws shall require 2/3 vote of the entire membership with 8 weeks advance notice to all members of the proposed change.
Schedule 2- In the event of a resignation fresh election shall take place within one calendar month. The Chair and Vice-Chair in consultation with other Central SASPA Committee (CSC) members shall have the authority to appoint an interim office holder for smooth running of the association. The interim appointee may continue if there is no nominated candidate for the post.
Schedule 3- There shall be Annual General Meeting (AGM) in June open to all members of SASPA. This meeting shall run over a course of two days and chaired by the Chair. The first day shall be allocated to a scientific session with invited speakers of national and international stature. The business session shall be scheduled for the 2nd day. The business session of the AGM shall open with an Annual Report from the Chair and Treasurer followed by discussion on any tabled motions. The deadline for any motions tabled for AGM shall be 15th May. Social event shall be scheduled for the evening of the 1st day of the AGM.
Schedule 4- There shall an annual audit of accounts. The decision about the appointment of auditors shall be taken by the CSC.
Article VII
Disciplinary Procedure
Schedule 1- the disciplinary proceedings shall be instigated by means of a no confidence motion against any office bearer, Local, Regional or Central and shall be tabled to the Central SASPA Committee (CSC).
Schedule 2- the reasons for the motion will need to be elucidated clearly. Any full SASPA member shall have the right to table a motion.
Schedule 3- In the event of a no confidence motion against any office bearer, the issue shall be discussed as soon as possible at an extra-ordinary meeting. The office bearer in question shall be given an opportunity to put his/her case forward in his/her defence and if the matter is not resolvable on appeal then the member in question shall step down on a 2/3rd majority decision of the Central SASPA Committee (CSC). Depending upon the seriousness of the charge, membership of the individual in question may be suspended or even terminated on a 2/3rd-majority decision of the entire membership.
Schedule 4- Local SASPA peer groups shall have the independence to deal with matters locally in general but a motion of no confidence shall be tabled only to the CSC with this Committee having powers to remove the office bearer in question on a 2/3rd majority decision of the CSC.Article VIII
Non-Discrimination Clause
The association shall not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, colour, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, physical or mental disability and sexual orientation.

Notes