13.1 The election of the Officers of the Union and 55 members of the Executive shall take place biennially. In the year of an officers’ election, the Officers shall consist of the President, the Senior Vice President and Junior Vice President, the Past President, the Membership and Equality Officer and the Treasurer of the Union elected in accordance with these rules. In the year commencing at the Annual Conference next following an election, the Officers shall consist of the President, the Senior Vice President, two Past Presidents, the Membership and Equality Officer and the Treasurer of the Union elected in accordance with these rules. There shall be, in alternate years, 55 other members of the Executive elected. In that year this shall include one member for each of the Independent, Post-16 and Support Staff sections and one member each for the Black, LGBT+ and Disabled members’ sections.
13.2 The Senior Vice President elected shall be the President in the year following his or her election and shall hold office as Past President during the two years next following provided membership of the Union be retained.
13.3 The Junior Vice President elected shall be the Senior Vice President in the year following his or her election and shall hold office as President and Past President respectively during the two succeeding years provided membership of the Union be retained.
13.4 All members of the Executive except the President and the Senior Vice President shall retire biennially but shall be eligible for re election.
13.5 No paid official of the Union may be a member of the Executive. The Joint General Secretaries (until 31 August 2023) and General Secretary (from 1 September 2023) shall have the right to attend and speak at all Executive and Committee meetings.
13.6 In the event of a member of the Executive applying for a paid post in the union the member shall be suspended from attending the meetings of the Executive and its Committees with effect from the date of submission of his or her application until the confirmation by the Executive of the aforesaid appointment. In the event of a member of the Executive being an Officer applying for such post, she or he shall, during the period of suspension, be supplied with all Executive papers other than those relating to the said post. Other members of the Executive shall be supplied with all the aforesaid papers and shall also be entitled to undertake all other duties of an Executive member. In the event of a member of the Executive being appointed to such a paid post as aforesaid, she or he shall be deemed to have resigned his or her membership of the Executive with effect from the date on which the appointment is made.
13.7 All members of the Union with at least three years’ continuous membership immediately preceding the start of the election process (the effective date for the start of the election process will be 21 January in the year of the Executive elections; 1 September in the year preceding Officers’ elections and the date of the publication/circulation of timetable for by-elections as agreed by the Executive) and other than associate and student members and those who have retired or otherwise left the profession, shall be eligible for nomination for or election to the Executive. Any member of the Executive who has commenced their term of office and then retires from active paid employment in the Education sector shall be entitled to complete their term of office. In the event that an Executive member secures employment outside their electoral area, they will effectively stand down from the Executive and a by-election will be held subject to the provisions at 13.17.
13.8 National Elections
13.8.1 Local Districts shall be invited to make nominations for the elections of Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents, Membership and Equalities Officer, Treasurer, General Secretary and the elected Deputy General Secretary and to make nominations for the elections of members of the Executive and to the National Disciplinary/National Appeals Committee.
13.8.2 The support of the Local District for a candidate shall be the decision either by a ballot of all the members of the Local District (other than associate and student members) or at a quorate General Meeting of the Local District, subject to any provisions contained in the Local District’s own rules.
13.8.3 The Secretary of each Local District shall give to the members (other than associate and student members) at least fourteen days’ notice of the time and place of the General Meeting to decide on the nominations of the Local District.
13.8.4 The failure on the part of a Local District to follow the nomination procedures shall invalidate that nomination, which shall not otherwise affect the rights of a member to be a candidate if she or he has otherwise achieved nominations as required by these rules and in accordance with the procedures.
13.8.5 Nominations shall not be invalidated by reason only of the failure on the part of a member to whom notice of a general meeting (or ballot paper) has been sent but who has not received that notice (or ballot paper).
13.8.6 The election of the Officers of the Union shall be held prior to the election of the other members of the Executive.
13.8.7 Members who have retired or who have left the education profession shall be disqualified from election except to the NDC/NAC in accordance with the provisions set out in Appendix A.
13.8.8 The election of the Officers of the Union, the other members of the Executive, General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary shall be conducted under the system of the single transferable vote except where there are only two candidates.
13.8.9 Each candidate in the elections for Senior and Junior Vice President, Membership and Equalities Officer, Treasurer and members of the Executive, shall be entitled to have circulated by the Union an election address of not more than 300 words in accordance with the requirements of any statutory provision for the time being in force together with a factual statement of biographical details of up to 100 words.
13.8.10 The role-sharing of an Executive seat (geographical, sector or section) will be accepted when requested if one or both of the proposed role-share partners is a disabled member and meets the requirements under the Equality Act to request a reasonable adjustment for the role and whose name appears on the register at the date of notification of the timetable for the election under rule 13.14. Potential role-share partners will stand as joint candidates and nomination by districts/workplaces will be for both partners. Two women standing as role-share partners in geographical seats will be treated as women candidates for the purposes of the ‘guarded’ seat arrangements. If one partner in a role-share resigns, there will be a by-election.
13.9 Nomination and Election of Vice-Presidents
13.9.1 Every Local District may nominate two members of the Union for the offices of Junior and Senior Vice President whose election shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure laid down in these rules. The votes shall be recorded on the same voting paper.
13.9.2 The member so nominated must have been a member of the Union for the five years immediately preceding the start of the election process. The effective date for the start of the election process will be 21 January in the year of the Executive elections; 1 September in the year preceding Officers’ elections and the date of the publication/circulation of timetable for by-elections as agreed by the Executive.
13.9.3 The Senior Vice President would be the first candidate to reach the quota in the Union’s Vice-Presidents’ election. If the two elected candidates reach the quota at the same stage of the count, the Senior Vice-President will be the candidate with the most votes at the end of that stage of the count.
13.10 Nomination and Election of Membership and Equalities Officer and Treasurer
13.10.1 Every Local District may nominate one member of the Union for the Membership and Equalities Officer and one member of the Union for the Office of Treasurer.
13.10.2 The members so nominated must have been members of the Union for the five years immediately preceding the start of the election process. The effective date for the start of the election process will be 21 January in the year of the Executive elections; 1 September in the year preceding Officers’ elections and the date of the publication/circulation of timetable for by-elections as agreed by the Executive.
13.10.3 The election of the Membership and Equalities Officer and the Treasurer shall be held at the same time as the biennial election of the Junior and Senior Vice-President and the votes shall be recorded on the same voting paper.
13.11 Timetable - Election of Officers
13.11.1 The biennial election of the Officers (Senior and Junior-Vice Presidents, Membership and Equalities Officer and the Treasurer) shall be held as follows:
- Notification of the timetable for the election will be circulated to districts no later than 1 September in the year prior to which the election is to take place;
- Nominations will open on 1 November and shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the relevant rules on the form provided for the purpose and must reach the General Secretary not later than 15 December in the year prior to which the election is to take place;
- The consent of any candidate to seek election may be withdrawn up to seven days following the close of nominations.
- Each candidate shall be entitled to have circulated an election address of not more than 300 words in accordance with the requirements of any statutory provisions for the time being in force, together with a factual statement of biographical details of up to 100 words. Any such election address and statement of biographical details must be received by the General Secretary by the closing date for receipt of nominations;
- Voting papers shall be sent to the home address of all members eligible to vote, or to such other address as the member has indicated in writing shall be the address for the purpose of the election, at least three weeks before the closing date for return of voting papers to the offices of the independent scrutineer;
- The closing date for receipt of voting papers at the offices of the independent scrutineer shall be midday on the 1 March in the year in which the election is to take place;
- In the event that a date fixed by these rules falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the date of the next following working day (Monday to Friday) shall be substituted.
13.12 Nomination for Election of Executive Members other than Officers and those elected under Sections and Equalities provisions
13.12.1 Executive Electoral Districts: England and Wales shall be divided into multi-seat Electoral Districts and Northern Ireland and Scotland shall be one whole Electoral District. The Electoral Districts and the Executive Representation for each Electoral District shall be as set out in appendix D to these rules.
13.12.2 For three-seat Electoral Districts the two female candidates with the most votes will be elected and until 1 September 2021 the candidate from each of the ATL section and the NUT section with the most votes will be elected.
13.12.3 Local Districts may nominate as candidates for the Executive as many members of the Union as there are members to be elected for the Electoral District.
13.12.4 The member so nominated must have been a member of the Union for the three years immediately preceding the start of the election process. The effective date for the start of the election process will be 21 January in the year of the Executive elections; 1 September in the year preceding Officers’ elections and the date of the publication/circulation of timetable for by-elections as agreed by the Executive.
13.12.5 A candidate for the Executive may only be nominated by a Local District within the Electoral District she or he seeks to represent.
13.12.6 Alternatively, a member may be nominated for elections as a member of the Executive by 35 standard members from within the Electoral District that the member is being nominated for and from at least three workplaces. Any such nomination should be made on the relevant form.
13.12.7 A candidate may only accept a nomination for an electoral district of which they are a member.
13.13 Timetable – Election of Executive Members other than the Officers
13.13.1 The biennial election of the members of the Executive shall be held as follows:
- Notification of the timetable for the election will be circulated to districts no later than 21 January in the year in which the election is to take place;
- Nominations made in accordance with the provisions of the relevant rules shall be made on the form provided for the purpose and must reach the General Secretary not later than 7 March in the year in which the election is to take place;
- The consent of any candidate to seek election may be withdrawn up to seven days following the close of nominations;
- Each candidate shall be entitled to have circulated an election address of not more than 300 words in accordance with the requirements of any statutory provisions for the time being in force, together with a factual statement of biographical details of up to 100 words. Role-share candidates shall submit a joint election statement up to the limit by Rule and individual biographies up to the 100-word limit. Any such election address and statement of biographical details must be received by the General Secretary by the closing date for receipt of nominations;
- Voting papers shall be sent to the home address of all members eligible to vote, or to such other address as the member has indicated in writing shall be the address for the purpose of the election, at least three weeks before the closing date for return of voting papers to the offices of the independent scrutineer;
- The closing date for receipt of voting papers at the offices of the independent scrutineer shall be midday on 29 April in the year in which the election is to take place;
- In the event that a date fixed by these rules falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the date of the next following working day (Monday to Friday) shall be substituted.
13.14 Conduct of Elections: Equality Sections (Black, LGBT+ and Disabled) Executive Members
- Following the identification by Conference, acting under these rules, of a separate section of members who should have distinct representation on the Executive, an election of such representative or representatives shall be held concurrently with the next ensuing election of Executive Members other than Officers. At the dates these rules become effective this will apply to sections for Black, LGBT+ and Disabled members.
- For the purposes of an election under this rule, the Executive shall have established a register of those members who by virtue of the characteristics they share and for which the relevant section was created by Conference, express their wish to exercise the right to vote conferred upon them by these rules. Eligibility for enrolment on such a register shall be on such conditions as Conference may decide.
- Notification of the timetable for any election held under this rule will be circulated to members whose names appear on the register established and maintained under this rule no later than 21 January in the year in which the election is to take place.
- Nominations for election under this rule may be made by Local Districts from amongst those members whose names appear on the aforementioned register at the date of notification under these rules and must reach the General Secretary no later than 7 March in the year in which the election is to take place.
- The consent of any candidate to seek election may be withdrawn up to seven days following the close of nominations.
- Each candidate shall be entitled to have circulated an election address of not more than 300 words in accordance with the requirements of any statutory provisions for the time being in force, together with a factual statement of biographical details of up to 100 words. Role-share candidates shall submit a joint election statement up to the limit by Rule and individual biographies up to the 100-word limit. Any such election address and statement of biographical details must be received by the General Secretary by the closing date for the receipt of nominations.
- Eligibility to vote shall be restricted to those members whose names appear on the register established and maintained in accordance with these rules on the date voting commences.
- Voting papers shall be sent to the home address of all members eligible to vote, or to such other address as the member has indicated in writing shall be the address for the purpose of the election, at least three weeks before the closing date for return of voting papers to the independent scrutineer.
- The closing date for the receipt of voting papers at the offices of the independent scrutineer shall be midday on 29 April in the year in which the election is to take place.
- In the event that a date fixed by these rules falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the date of the next following working day (Monday to Friday) shall be substituted.
13.15 Conduct of Elections: Independent Schools, Post 16 Establishments and Support Staff Sections Executive Members
- One seat on the Executive shall be allocated each for members employed in the Independent Schools and Post 16 Establishments and one seat for support staff members, an election of such representative or representatives shall be held concurrently with the next ensuing election of Executive Members.
- For the purposes of an election under this rule, the Executive shall have established a register of those members employed in the relevant section. Eligibility for enrolment on such a register shall be on the basis of being employed in that sector or employment category.
- Notification of the timetable for any election held under this rule will be circulated to members whose names appear on the register established and maintained under this rule no later than 21 January in the year in which the election is to take place. For the first elections (conducted in 2018 for seats on the Executive from 2019), notification of the timetable shall take place no later than 20 July 2018.
- Nominations for election under this rule may be made by Local Districts from amongst those members whose names appear on the aforementioned register at the date of notification under these rules and must reach the General Secretary no later than 7 March in the year in which the election is to take place.
- Alternatively, a member may be nominated for election under this rule by 35 standard members from at least three different workplaces and whose names appear on the aforementioned register at the date of notification under these rules. Any such nomination should be made on the relevant form.
- The consent of any candidate to seek election may be withdrawn up to seven days following the close of nominations.
- Each candidate shall be entitled to have circulated an election address of not more than 300 words in accordance with the requirements of any statutory provisions for the time being in force, together with a factual statement of biographical details of up to 100 words. Role-share candidates shall submit a joint election statement up to the limit by Rule and individual biographies up to the 100-word limit. Any such election address and statement of biographical details must be received by the General Secretary by the closing date for the receipt of nominations.
- Eligibility to vote shall be restricted to those members whose names appear on the register established and maintained in accordance with these rules on the date voting commences.
- Voting papers shall be sent to the home address of all members eligible to vote, or to such other address as the member has indicated in writing shall be the address for the purpose of the election, at least three weeks before the closing date for return of voting papers to the independent scrutineer.
- The closing date for the receipt of voting papers at the offices of the independent scrutineer shall be midday on 29 April in the year in which the election is to take place.
- In the event that a date fixed by these rules falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the date of the next following working day (Monday to Friday) shall be substituted.
13.16 Conduct of National Elections
13.16.1 Officers, Executive, General Secretary and the Elected Deputy General Secretary and the National Disciplinary/National Appeals Committee.
(a) Eligibility to Vote
All those, other than associate and student members, who are in membership of the Union at the date voting commences shall be entitled to vote in the election. Those voting in the sector and section member elections must have updated their relevant equality data or employment details by the date voting commences.
(b) Counting of Votes and Returning Officer
The counting of votes shall be under the control and administration of an appointed independent scrutineer and a representative of the independent scrutineer shall act as Returning Officer. The count in each election covered by this rule shall commence at midday on the day on which the ballot is due to close. Details of the name and address of the Independent Scrutineer appointed by the Union for each election shall be advised to districts at the time of circulation of the timetable for the election.
(c) Declaration and Publication of Results
The results of each election shall be declared and notified to each candidate as soon as possible after the conclusion of the count. The results shall be published in accordance with any statute for the time being in force, but in any event no later than three months following the declaration of the Result.
A copy of the Independent Scrutineer’s Report and Certified Election Result Sheet(s) shall be available for inspection by any member at the Union’s Headquarters and at any of the Union’s Regional Offices and the Northern Ireland and Wales Offices.
The results of the Officers and Executive Elections shall be circulated at the first session of Annual Conference following the election.
(d) Tied Result
In the event of a tied result, the result of the election will be determined in accordance with parliamentary procedures under the auspices of the appointed independent scrutineer.
(e) Period of office
Subject to the provisions of these rules members of the Executive shall hold office from 1 September of the year of their election for two years until 31 August.
(f) Omission to issue voting papers
Provided that all reasonably practicable steps have been taken, the election shall not be invalidated by the failure of members to receive voting papers, otherwise than by the operation of law.
(g) Countermand
If after the latest time for delivery of nomination papers and before the latest date upon which voting papers are to be supplied to members eligible to vote a candidate who remains validly nominated dies, or becomes disqualified for election under the Rules of the Union, the President of the Union shall countermand the election in the case of the Officers and the Treasurer. In the case of the election of a member of the Executive other than Officers or Treasurer, the President shall countermand the election of the Electoral Districts or sector or section constituencies affected. All the proceedings with reference to the said election shall be commenced afresh provided that no fresh nomination shall be necessary in the case of a candidate who stood nominated at the time of the countermand of the election. On the election being countermanded, the Executive shall determine the timetable for the fresh election. The election shall then otherwise be held in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing rules. Any fresh nominations shall be received by the General Secretary in accordance with the new timetable.
(h) Guarded Candidates
If the number of guarded candidates corresponds to the number of nominated candidates in that category, and an election for the remaining seats in an electoral district is still necessary, the voting paper will list the guarded candidates (accompanied by the text ‘elected by rule’ and with the voting cell blanked out) and the covering letter for the ballot will detail the voting arrangements.
13.17 Vacancies
13.17.1 Any vacancy arising between elections in the office of President, Senior Vice President or Ex-President may be filled by the Executive from its own body until the next biennial election. Any vacancy in the office of Treasurer or Membership and Equalities Officer arising through the operation of these rules at the Annual Conference next following a biennial election shall be filled by an election held in accordance with the procedure laid down in these Rules for an ordinary election of Treasurer or Membership and Equalities Officer. Any vacancy for Treasurer or Membership and Equalities Officer for any other reason than determined by these rules shall be filled by the Executive from its own body until the next biennial election. Any member of the Executive, other than a member nominated under the terms of the Joint Partnership Schemes shall, by virtue of his or her election to the Executive, be eligible for appointment to officership of the Union in circumstances described.
13.17.2 Any vacancy arising at any time in the office of Junior Vice President shall be filled by a special election held in accordance with the general procedure laid down in in these rules. In the event of the Executive filling a vacancy as aforesaid in the above-mentioned offices, a vacancy shall then be declared in the Executive in accordance with the provisions of these rules.
13.17.3 In the event of any vacancy being declared in the Executive within eight months of the end of the term of office, such vacancy shall not be filled until the holding of the biennial election. In the event of a vacancy being declared with more than eight months before the end of the term of office the Executive shall determine the timetable for the new election. The election shall then otherwise be held in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing rules.
13.18 Electoral Systems
Unless expressly stated elsewhere within these Rules, all national elections for which there are more than two candidates will use the single transferable vote preferential system and will be conducted and counted in accordance with the Electoral Reform Society 1997 publication “How to conduct an election by the Single Transferable Vote”.
13.19 Postal Communications
Please refer to Rules 23.4 and 23.5.