Standing Orders

 
Definition
The Standing Orders are the guidelines of the Council and express the method by which it may achieve its objectives. The abbreviation NA used in this document means ‘National Association’.

 

1 Responsibilities of Member Associations:

 

1.1. To maintain professional standards within their own country by evaluating and reviewing educational programmes to ensure that they meet at least the minimum standards of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT).

1.2. To further the development of occupational therapy in their own country.

1.3. To disseminate information to all occupational therapy schools in order to engender interest among students in the work of the Council.

1.4. To disseminate relevant information about the activities of the Council to members of the National Association.

1.5. To report to the Council on activities of the National Association.

1.6. To appoint or elect a Delegate and an Alternate to represent the National Association and instruct these Delegates on all points of policy. The term of office should be a minimum of 4 years to encourage continuity. This may be extended if compatible with the constitution of the national association. From time to time the Council may make a special request to Member Associations to keep the same representative in order that continuity is maintained.

1.7. To send a Delegate to the Council meetings at least once a year and fund this as far as possible. Financial assistance may be applied for (see 3.2 and 5.5). Attendance at meetings is necessary to ensure continuity of on-going projects and the exchange of information between Delegate and national association and within COTEC.

1.8. To assist the Delegates in carrying out their work for COTEC by encouraging other members of the national association to be involved.

1.9. To pay the annual membership fees in accordance with the Constitution as requested by the Treasurer before the first meeting of the year.

 

2 Responsibilities of Delegates and Alternates:

 

2.1 General

It is recommended that delegates

· Have a working knowledge of English, both written and spoken;

· Have regular access to Internet and Email;

· Pass on the Delegate’s Manual (see 7.3) and all other relevant documentation and information to their successor when leaving office.

 

2.2 Ongoing tasks

· To increase the understanding, purpose and functions of COTEC within their own country;

· To obtain the opinion and have ongoing communication with the NA on the strategic plan of COTEC, forthcoming issues and meetings;

· To vote on behalf of the NA at council meetings, or if unable to attend a meeting take suitable steps to ensure a proxy vote and give that Delegate information about how to vote (see 4.12);

· To report fully on Council matters to the NA;

· To receive and disseminate relevant information sent out by COTEC Secretariat or Honorary Secretary to the appropriate persons or organisations within their country;

· To fulfil the continuing obligations of the work of the Council;

· To send news of the development and events concerning OT in the country to the Webmaster twice a year as requested so that it can be published on the web before meetings (see 7.5);

· To read the news of all other countries on the web BEFORE each meeting so as to be informed about them;

· Send all changes regarding names, addresses and other contact information etc. without delay to the Secretariat;

· To keep the ‘Delegates Manual’ (see 7.3) up to date as new documentation is distributed.

 

2.3 Annual Tasks

· To attend at least one Council meeting each year;

· To provide the Secretariat with the correct data for the Summary of the Profession each year by the 31st Jan;

· To ensure that copies of the summary of the Profession are circulated to the Ministries of for Health, Education and any other relevant authority every year;

· To write a brief “News of the Country” twice a year in cooperation with the NA. The contribution of the Newsletter should report relevant events and developments of the country. The webmaster should receive all news 6 weeks prior to the next meeting.

 

2.4 Tasks with direct reference to meetings

· To put forward motions for meetings. The Honorary Secretary should receive the motion 7 weeks before the meeting at which it will be handled in order to put it on the agenda;

· To discuss the agenda for Council meetings with the NA so as to be able to express the opinion of the NA;

· To vote at meetings of the Council on behalf of the Member Association;

· To write and disseminate a report of every COTEC meeting to the NA and the members of the NA. The report can consist of the minutes, a personal reflection of the meeting etc.

 

2.5 All Delegates and Alternates will be required to serve in one of the Action Programme area groups. They will remain members of this group to ensure continuity of the group and the process (see 6)

 

2.6 Alternates should assist the Delegates as appropriate

 

2.7 Alternates should assume the Delegates’ responsibilities in their absence

 

2.8 Hosting a meeting

The Delegate in whose country a meeting is being convened should make appropriate investigations and reservations and circulate written information, maps etc. to all Delegates and Alternates at the latest at the meeting prior to the meeting they are hosting (see 4.7 and 4.8)

 

 

 

3. Council Executive, standing groups, administration and representatives

 

These groups are ongoing and should meet and continue their work in the course of the regular Council meetings and between them as necessary.

 

3.1 Executive

· The Executive consists of the President, Vice-President, Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. All members of the Executive must come from different member associations;

· Where possible, to ensure continuity, members of the Executive should not all leave office in the same year;

· Presidents shall be elected from a Member Association other than that of the outgoing President;

· On election to President, the Delegate will cease to represent his/her National Association.

 

3.1.1 Responsibilities of the Executive

· To ensure the smooth running of COTEC’s day to day business. The executive will meet between Council meetings as necessary;

· To oversee the Action Programme and ensure progress is made in each area;

· To prepare for a new Action Programme.

 

3.1.2 Responsibilities of the President

· To chair meetings/

· To submit an annual report on the work of the Council;

· To submit proposals for the future work of the Council;

· To deal with correspondence on behalf of the Council in conjunction with the Honorary Secretary and Secretariat. This may require professional translation;

· To represent the Council at WFOT Council meetings. Council will carry the expense of this representation;

· To represent the Council at meetings of any other organisation, that may be deemed advisable by the Executive or Council.

 

3.1.3 Responsibilities of the Vice-President

· To assist and support the President in the work of the Council and undertake tasks delegated by the President as required;

· To represent the President at any event where the President is unable to attend;

· To deputise for the President as mutually arranged in agreement with the Council where possible;

· To execute the tasks of the President, if he/she has to leave office mid-term, until a new election can take place.

 

3.1.4 Responsibilities of the Honorary Secretary

· To issue notice of and record the minutes of each meeting of the Council and circulate them as soon as possible after the meeting, at any event prior to the next meeting where secretariat is unable to;

· To circulate an agenda for each meeting of the Council to all representatives six weeks in advance where secretariat is unable to;

· To bring as much relevant documentation as necessary to each meeting to enable consultation during the meeting;

· To ensure that nominations are invited for offices on the Executive as they fall vacant two months in advance of the meeting where a ballot will take place and publish the nominations with the agenda;

· In discussion with the President deal with correspondence on behalf of the Council. This may require professional translation.

 

3.1.5 Responsibilities of the Treasurer

· To submit an annual report of the financial status of the Council and submit the books for inspection once a year;

· To submit a budget for the following year at the last meeting of the year. The annual budget for travel funds two meetings per year and National Associations may apply for assistance;

· Translation of certain documents may be required;

· To bill the Member Associations for the annual fee calculated on the basis of the number of practising members of the National Association. The minimum fee is 50 Euros. The number as given in the most recent Summary of the Profession shall be used for this calculation. Where a current figure is not available an augmentation of 10% shall be assumed;

· To establish and maintain bank accounts as deemed advisable by the Council/

· To pay expenses of COTEC as required. Sums above Euro 500,00 require the signature of the Treasurer and one other member of the Executive.

 

3.2. Standing groups

 

3.2.1 Advisory Group

· The purpose of this group is to consider applications to the Council for financial assistance and make recommendations to the Executive in consideration of the financial situation of the applying association, for instance the percentage of the Association’s total budget spent on international work.

· The group consists of four people appointed from the Council who are aware of its history and financial situation. See 5.5 for guidelines for application for financial assistance;

· The Group shall meet at a suitable time during each Council meeting;

· If the quorum is incomplete they should alert the Executive.

 

3.2.2 Congress Group

· The Congress Group consists of the Delegate of the NA hosting the next congress, two other Delegates (where possible the COTEC Delegate of the country which held the previous congress);

· Expenses of the congress group meeting apart from the regular COTEC meetings should be met by the association planning the next congress as far as possible;

· The purpose of the group is to:

· review the congress guidelines;

· review the guidelines for the COTEC financial support of the congress;

· report to the Council about the progress of the planning of the upcoming congress;

· liaise with ENOTHE on matters concerning the congress and ENOTHE and education;

· review the terms of reference of the group as set out in the congress guidelines;

· liaise between the hosting association and the Council.

 

3.3 Administration

 

3.3.1 Secretariat

The Secretariat is central to the efficient functioning of the Council and coordinates the communication between Delegates. The Secretariat may need to be funded by the council if no other institution is available to do this. The Secreatariat:

· sends the agenda for meetings 6 weeks before meeting;

· will normally attend council meetings and take the minutes;

· writes up and distributes Minutes of meetings as directed by the Honorary Secretary and President;

· collects and collates information for the Summary of the Profession from the Delegates at the end of January of each year. Delegates must take responsibility for returning the information required for the Summary;

· maintains and updates lists of COTEC Representatives, National Associations and as far as possible O.T. schools in Europe and other relevant institutions (e.g. European representation of physiotherapists and speech therapists);

· distributes information by email to Delegates from the President, the Executive, Programme Areas, member Associations or any other relevant institution as requested. If two consecutive emails are returned the information will be sent by post monthly;

· Emails will be classified as:-

o For information

o COTEC business

o For action

· passes relevant documents to the Wellcome Trust (see 7.7) every five years for archiving.

 

3.3.2 Webmaster

The Council will appoint one of the Delegates as webmaster (see 7.5). This person should have permanent access to the internet and email and some knowledge about how to look after a website.

Responsibilities of the Webmaster:

· Keep the internet site up to date;

· Make changes to the information about each country as instructed by the Secretariat, e.g. names and addresses;

· Add news of the individual countries as sent in by delegates to the web allowing time for delegates to read this before meetings;

· Print out the ‘news from the individual countries’ twice a year and send these on a regular basis to the Wellcome Library for archiving (see 7.7).

 

3.4 Representatives

 

3.4.1 Link Person to ENOTHE

A Delegate will be nominated by the Council to act on its behalf for a period of three years. In the event of more than one nominee an election may be held. Consideration should be given to people who will attend the meetings as representatives of their place of work and who could take on the responsibility of representing COTEC too. The duties and responsibilities of this role will be:

· to represent the views of COTEC as an executive member of ENOTHE;

· to inform the two bodies about topics of joint interest and report back to COTEC at the next meeting;

· to participate in the ongoing work of both organisations and endeavour to avoid duplication of work;

· to communicate the dates and times of meetings of both organisations and endeavour to arrange at least one meeting per year coinciding in the same venue;

· COTEC will cover the expenses of the link person to ENOTHE where these cannot be met from any other source.

 

3.4.2 Representation of COTEC

If a member of the Council represents COTEC, for example at a Congress or Meeting, this must be authorised by the Executive. Afterwards a report should be written and circulated to all Delegates within four weeks of the event. The report should include

· The goal of the meeting;

· A summary of the meeting;

· The relevance of COTEC’s presence there;

· Implications for COTEC.

 

4. Procedures for Meetings

 

4.1 The business of the Council shall be conducted in accordance with the Constitution.

4.2 English is the official language of the Council.

4.3 At the beginning of meetings the President will establish how many Members are present and announce all requests for proxy votes (see 4.12).

4.4 The Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries shall meet at least once a year and normally twice. The first meeting of the year will be the Annual Meeting. Elections for the Executive will be held at this meeting.

4.5 Members or their Delegates will be sent written notice at least two months before an ordinary meeting. In the case of extraordinary business, meetings can be called at short notice by telephone or email.

4.6 The agenda will be circulated six weeks before a meeting.

4.7 Procedures for the Annual Meeting:

4.7.1 The Treasurer will confirm that all Members have paid their fees. Any Member which has not paid is not eligible to vote;

4.7.2 The President will present his/her report about the work done in the previous year, the ongoing business and future plans. This report should be circulated with the agenda. It may be advisable to have this report professionally translated into English;

4.7.3 The Treasurer will present his/her report analysing the financial situation for the previous year and explaining increases and decreases in income and expenditure. This report should be circulated with the agenda It may be advisable to have this report professionally translated into English;

4.7.4 The President will invite a proposal for the adoption each report. The proposals must be seconded by a further delegate;

4.7.5 The President will invite discussion of the reports. After which the proposals to adopt the reports may be put to the vote. Once adopted the reports will be signed and dated by the President;

4.7.6 Election of members of the Executive will be by secret ballot. Nominations should be made in advance in writing at the request of the Honorary Secretary. The chair should be taken by a Delegate who is not standing for election to any office;

4.7.7 The outgoing President will continue to preside over the Council for the duration of the meeting and formally hand over responsibility to the incoming President at the end of the meeting.

4.8 Council meetings will be held in different countries depending on the convenience of the majority of members. However an effort should be made to enable each country to host the meeting on a regular basis.

4.9 The date of COTEC meetings should normally be set at least two meetings in advance to enable members and delegate to plan and ensure a good attendance.

4.10 Where the President fails to call a meeting of the Council a meeting may be called when three Delegates request it and give at least two months notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary.

4.11 Voting on motions may be by a show of hands or by ballot. The President will decide on which method is justified and when it will take place. The number of votes for and against the motion as well as the abstentions should be recorded in the minutes.

4.12 Amendments to the Constitution and Standing Orders can take place at a properly convened meeting when the proposed changes have been mailed to the Members for their consideration before the meeting. A two thirds majority is required to pass the amendment(s).

4.13 Member must notify the President of Council in writing prior to the meeting and identify the name of another member association, which is to carry the vote of the absent association. This must be signed and dated by the Delegate or other representative of the absent association.

4.14 The Honorary Secretary makes a task list during the council meeting. This task list will be typed out and circulated to the delegates as soon as possible after the meeting.

4.15 Hosting a Council meeting

· When choosing a location for the meeting the host country should give consideration to accessibility by international travel and the cost of accommodation;

· When choosing the dates of the meeting consideration should be given to the days of the week / weekend and whether there are other events in the city which could have an influence – international congresses, political meetings etc;

· The location and dates of a meeting should be circulated at least one meeting in advance;

· The delegate is requested to provide information about accommodation in a range of prices within a reasonable distance of the meeting room, and to distribute maps or other relevant information;

· The host Association may use one hour of the meeting.

 

5. Financial Affairs

 

5.1. All membership fees are due before the first meeting each year, failure to pay by the second meeting of the year results in membership automatically lapsing.

5.2. Fees shall be paid in Euros. All charges must be carried by the member associations. They may be paid in cash at a meeting.

5.3. The books shall be inspected annually by two Delegates who will report back to the full Council.

5.4. National Associations will be responsible for the expenses of their delegates to attend meetings.

5.5. National Associations which have limited financial resources may apply to the Council for financial assistance to send a representative to meetings. Guidelines for application are:-

· Application from Associations will only be considered for one meeting per year;

· Requests for financial assistance must be sent at least one meeting prior to that for which support is required. These applications must be sent to the treasurer of COTEC. Each must be signed by the President of the association applying for assistance. The appropriate form should be used for application. This can be downloaded from the web in pdf format;

· Up to 50% of travel and accommodation costs may be applied for. The most economical method of travel should be considered;

· If the application is sent by email a hard copy with adequate signatures must be presented to the Treasurer at the beginning of the meeting;

· An expenses claim form must be submitted together with receipts (travel, hotel etc.) to the treasurer not later than six weeks after the meeting. These will be paid as soon as reasonable.

 

 

6 Action Programme

 

The Council has an Action Programme which includes a Vision, a Mission Statement and three Programme Areas which each have a General Aim and Strategic Areas. The Action Programme is updated every four years.

 

For the effective work of the Council each Delegate will belong to one Programme Area and work between meetings on the programme as decided at meetings. Each individual delegate remains in their chosen Programme Area. The work is the task of the delegate and not the member Association although each delegate may ask their association for support in this work.

The aims of each Programme Area will be defined by the Delegates in that Area and agreed to by the Council.

 

Each Programme Area will nominate:

A Coordinator, who will coordinate the work of the group and report to Council;
A Deputy Coordinator, who will assist the Coordinator and take on his /her work in his /her absence.
Each Programme Area must specify tasks and goals and report to Council at each meeting. The report should be handed in writing to the Honorary Secretary for inclusion in the minutes.

 

 

7. Documentation

 

7.1. Constitution and Standing Orders

· These have been produced by the Council and may only be changed in accordance within the regulations they contain. Each new update will be circulated to all who are responsible for passing on copies and information to their associations;

· Each language group within the EU has arranged for the translation of these documents into their language and copies of all languages are deposited with the NA;

· These documents will be reviewed by the Council at regular intervals - every four years - and where appropriate changes will be made. The Programme Area organisational issues is responsible for this.

 

7.2. European Ethics and Standards of Practice

These have been produced by the Council and may only be changed with the agreement of the Council. Each new update will be circulated to all representatives who are responsible for passing on copies and information to their associations.

Updates of the European Standards of Practice should be professionally translated into the languages of each country at the expense of the Council. This must be considered in the budget.

These documents will be reviewed by the Council at regular intervals - every four years - and where appropriate changes will be made. The Programme Area for Professional Practice is responsible for this.

 

7.3. Delegates Manual

This is an information package about COTEC which each Delegate should keep and refer to if in doubt about anything concerning the Council. It is essential that this be passed on to subsequent Delegates when the office is changed to enable the new Delegates to become familiar with the workings of the Council as quickly and easily as possible.

The Manual contains the following documents:

· Constitution and Standing Orders

· Action programme

· Code of Ethics and Practice

· Current version of the Summary of the Occupational Therapy Profession in Europe

· Current list of Members and Delegates with their addresses

· Congress guidelines

· Samples of application forms for financial assistance

· other information

These documents are printed on blue paper by the secretariat and distributed to all delegates.

 

7.4. Summary of the Occupational Therapy Profession in Europe

The Summary is collated in table form with each country giving information about the profession and association. Each page covers one topic, e.g. the association, legal topics or education.

The Summary is up-dated at the beginning of each year and circulated to all Delegates by the Secretariat. Changes for the update must be submitted by 31st January each year.

Delegates are then responsible for circulating copies of the Summary in their countries to all relevant ministries and government organisations as well as to members of the profession and other interested parties.

The Summary may be used in discussions with government or non-government organisations on policy matters concerning the profession. It may also be used for research purposes and to trace the development of the profession in the different countries.

It is recommended that Delegates retain past editions of the Summary so as to assist in such matters. Past copies are archived at the Wellcome Library (see 8.7). COTEC is the publisher of the Summary and should be quoted by researchers and authors.

 

 

 

7.5. Internet site - news

The internet site has a section for current news about the individual countries. Each Delegate will submit a contribution to this site via the webmaster, about relevant events and developments in their country 6 weeks prior to each meeting. (see 2.2) The news will be placed on the web page at least 2 weeks before the meeting. All Delegates should read this before the meeting so as to be informed about activities etc. in the other countries before arriving at the meeting.

Delegates are encouraged to advertise the web page in their own countries.

 

7.6. Congress Guidelines

These guidelines have been produced to make it easier for a host association to hold a COTEC congress. They are constantly updated by the Congress Group as new experience is obtained. They are to assist any national association which is considering holding a congress and make it easier for the association to understand what is involved in organising this type of event, as well as throughout the preparation and running of a congress. Suggestions for improvements should be made to the Congress Group.

 

7.7 Archiving of documents

To ensure the work of Council is stored for future use in research or for other suitable purposes it is important that documents are appropriately archived and stored. The Wellcome Trust (www.library.wellcome.ac.uk) has agreed to do this. They also maintain the records of the British Association and WFOT. The documents are archived at:

 

Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine

183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE

Tel: *44 207 611 84 83 Fax: * 44 207 611 87 03

 

The following documents since 1986 are at the library

Minutes of meetings and agenda;
Newsletters;
Codes of Ethics and practice;
Constitution and Standing Orders;
Various papers concerning standards of practice, professional qualification and ENOTHE.
 

Updated 1st April 2006 in Oslo