BSS Call for Nominations for the Executive Committee
Under the BSS Constitution, a vote of the membership must be undertaken if a position on the Executive Committee becomes vacant. All current BSS members are eligible to stand for nomination. Members who wish to stand must be supported by two current BSS members (a Proposer and a Seconder) for his or her name to appear on the ballot paper, and the agreement of the nominees must have been obtained. The application needs to be submitted to the BSS Secretary in time, as pointed out in the proceedings for the General Meeting. The signatures of BSS members who support any nomination can be collected together on one proposal form, or may be written separately on individual forms. Candidates will also be invited to supply a statement to accompany the ballot paper.
The name of the BSS members who are so nominated will be included on the ballot paper, following confirmation that they are eligible. The ballot will be submitted to the current membership for voting, either virtually (online) or by paper. Successful candidates will serve for 4 years on the Executive Committee.
This time (2023) there will be 3 seats to fill. The closing date for receipt of applications is 15th September 2023
Members who are nominated for election should send their personal statement (not more than 500 words) and details of the Proposer and Seconder to the BSS head office (admin@sleepsociety.org.uk). Please use the email subject line: “NOMINATION FOR BSS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE” with the following wording:
“I [NAME OF CANDIDATE] wish to stand for election to the Executive committee of the British Sleep Society. I have been proposed [NAME OF PROPOSER] and seconded by [NAME OF SECONDER].
Please ensure that your full name and correspondence email address are included in the message. The head office will email in return to acknowledge the safe receipt of your nomination. Questions and queries concerning the election process should be sent to the same address.
Dr Alanna Hare Dr Simon Durrant Professor Joerg Steier
Secretary Treasurer President
March 2023
Applications should be received by 5pm on 15th September 2023 and, if required, a vote will be held during the AGM during the BSS Congress on Tuesday 3rd October 2023. Results will be announced at the Gala Dinner on Tuesday 3rd October
The Duties of elected BSS Executive Committee members
The BSS Executive Committee has agreed that candidates should be informed about their duties. This is so that they can be fully aware of the extent of this important commitment and ensure that they can plan any local arrangements that might be necessary to fulfil it, if elected.
The Executive Committee is the professional decision-making body of the BSS. The Committee meets six times each year, usually in 2-monthly periods. Meetings are scheduled with advance notice, with the agenda and working materials circulated closer to the date. Meetings should take about 2 hours and are organised either in person or virtually via videocall (BSS Zoom Account). Executive Committee members should consider attendance at the meetings and associated activities, i.e. task forces, subcommittees, as a high priority. The same applies to BSS organised educational events and scientific conferences, as well as the (annual) general meeting (AGM), which is held during the biennial conference. The BSS subcommittees meet with different schedules. Although the workload is distributed amongst all BSS Executive Committee members, the expectation is that elected members will join at least one subcommittee to support the Society’s work.
As well as the formal meetings, members of the Executive Committee are involved in other supporting work, including the activities of subcommittees, advisory posts on other societies, advisory committees, co-opted seats and the newsletter editorship. Other commitments are shared and distributed fairly. For example, small groups of members are asked to review appropriate reports or endorsement applications to make recommendations about their acceptance to the Executive Committee as a whole. There are also various ad hoc duties that involve members, such as lectures, public talks, interviews or committees for BSS events. Participation in any BSS related activity and presence at BSS events and conferences is also actively encouraged.
In addition, there is an expectation that Executive Committee members fulfil an external role in promoting the BSS and membership activities within their communities. Executive Committee members are asked to nominate colleagues for specific activities on a regular basis.
The BSS is a charity and, as such, Executive Committee members automatically become Trustees of the charity. In addition to the elected members of the Executive Committee there are different officer roles, the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary of the Society, as well as co-opted members to fulfil specific roles.
Elected members need to fill in an annual conflict of interest form and complete a form to indicate their eligibility, according to the Charity Commission guidance, to declare whether they are eligible to hold office in the UK.
Candidates should note that the BSS Executive Committee has agreed that members will not receive any honoraria or other remuneration for their services to the BSS. It is therefore the duty of a candidate for office to obtain advance agreement from their employing authority that they will be given time to perform BSS duties, in the context of activities recognised by the Department of Health as being in the wider interest of the NHS. However, BSS Executive Committee officers can claim reimbursement of all eligible expenses for their activities in the name of the Society.
Approved: March 2023 (revision to be considered biennially)