News: Code of Conduct for Presidents

It is important that the presidents and vice presidents can communicate openly. A degree of professionalism is expected in these communications but there have been instances where this has not been respected.

Members of all groups must remember that everyone is a volunteer. We all give time and effort freely and must not be subject to any kind of abuse or offensive behaviour from other members.

All members should treat other members with respect both during meetings and in email discussions, irrespective of whether you agree with their opinions. Everyone has the right to express their opinion. If the chair of the committee or board feels the need to intervene in a discussion and to close it down due to the time taken on one subject, then this must be respected.

Some basic points follow:

Language:

It is recognised that English is a convenient language for most of the current board, however, communication is also required in Spanish. All communications should be in both languages.

During meetings, and wherever possible, translations will be made after each person speaks, then the chair will determine who the next speaker is.

Confidentiality:

All discussions are confidential to the board or committee and must not be disclosed externally.

L2 & L3 president should only communicate to presidents in their own area. This includes the use of email groups reserved solely for the use by individual level 2 communities and it is not acceptable to email communities of which you are not a member without explicit consent.

Meeting progress

All members of the board are expected to make positive contributions. Whilst it is appropriate to raise concerns at the meeting, ideally these should be accompanied by proposals for solutions.

a)Please be concise in your comments or answers to questions and keep to the topic being discussed. Remember that your comments will have to be translated for other members and this is much easier if your comments are brief. If you wish to raise points not directly related to the topic, then you must do so under ‘Any Other Business’.

b)The decision of the chair is final. If you feel that you still have something to say in respect of a matter that has been closed by the chair, then you should follow this up by email after the meeting.

Unprofessional behaviour:

Informal comments can often be misinterpreted, and care should be taken to keep things in context and respect the audience. Sometimes a quick reply is unwise and perhaps should be left until the next day. These are areas where we know misunderstandings have arisen in the past and have led to significant issues.

Content that one or more members find objectionable or offensive is unacceptable. It can include abusive, rude, insulting, inflammatory, irrelevant, and sarcastic comment or questioning the conduct of other members.

Once a response is received it is unacceptable to continue with this line of question or resend multiple emails on issues that have been discussed, or closed, just because the outcome is not as expected.

Breach:

A breach of any of these conditions will result in disciplinary action, which will depend on the severity of the breach. This could range from a simple reminder, a formal warning, removal from the email group or other sanctions. If a formal warning has been issued to a member, a further breach is likely to result in temporary or permanent exclusion.

The action to be taken will be decided by a majority vote of the presidents, with the Level 1 board president having the casting vote.

Updated July 2024