Rule book

2. Name
The Fund shall be called the GMB, Midlands Region – Motor Drivers’ Fund.

3. Headquarters
The Headquarters of the Fund shall be the Midlands Regional Office in Nottingham: 542 Woodborough Rd, Mapperley, Nottingham NG3 5FJ.

4. Objectives
The objectives of this Fund is to provide hardship assistance to members of the Fund as explained under Benefits.

5. Management
The Fund shall be administered by the Regional Committee. The Regional Secretary will be the Treasurer/Chairperson and will appoint a Secretary.

The Committee shall receive Half Yearly and Annual Statements of Accounts and shall have the power to make alterations to these rules including Contributions and Benefits.

6. Accounts
Reports and audited accounts of the Fund shall be submitted, as mentioned in Rule 4, and be made available by the Secretary to all Branches having members contributing to the Fund.

7. Organisation and administration
The date of joining the Fund will be determined when an application form is processed by the GMB. Any decision made by the Committee will be final and binding on all members.

8. Books, documents and stationery materials
All necessary materials for the administration of the Fund shall be made available from Headquarters.

9. Solvency
The Fund shall be separate and distinct from any other Union Funds and shall be so administered that it is self-supporting.

10. Funds
All monies of the Fund shall be kept in a separate bank account in the name of the Fund and the Trustees will be members of the Regional Committee.

The Committee will have the power to agree to the investment of the Fund’s money and shall delegate authority to the Secretary and Chair to investment managers.

11. Membership to the fund
GMB members of Midlands Region who hold a full current appropriate driving licence shall be eligible to contribute to the Fund.

Any member who is more than six weeks in arrears with contributions to either the Trade Section or the Fund shall be deemed to be out of benefit until two weeks after payments of arrears and any application made during that time will not be accepted for benefit. It is the members’ responsibility to ensure that their contributions are up to date.

Members who cease to pay Union contributions will not be entitled to remain a member of the Drivers’ Fund, with the exception of retired life members.

12. Membership contributions
Contributions – £0.25 per week, £1.08 per month.

13. Benefits
a) A member whose application for membership of the Fund has been accepted and registered at Regional Office shall not be entitled to claim from the Fund in respect of any proceedings arising from any incident prior to the date of acceptance and registration.

b) A solicitor/representative will be appointed where necessary as agreed by the Regional Committee.

c) The Fund’s solicitors/representatives can also be used where members require advice or assistance with difficulties arising from Road Traffic incidents as agreed by Regional Committee.

d) Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ)/Clean Air Zone fines will only be reimbursed at a rate of 80% where the incident has occurred 20+ miles from the members listed home address, a maximum of 1 fine will be reimbursed in any calendar year.

e) *Speeding fines will be reimbursed provided that the speed undertaken at the time of the offence did not exceed 99mph or the equivalent or double the speed limit (whichever is less).

f) The cost of National Speed Awareness Courses will be reimbursed by the fund.

g) Where a member of the fund is required to renew a special category driving licence for the purposes of their employment listed on their GMB membership the fund will reimburse up to £30.00 of this fee (or subsequent fees, such as required medicals) in any calendar year, only in instances where this is NOT funded by the employer.

h) A member of the fund is able to make an application for reimbursement of up to £200 for the completion of an Advanced Driver Course/Pass Plus. The course provider must be a Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) registered trainer. A member must have 12 months GMB membership & have made at least 1 monthly/4 weekly payment(s) to the MDF to qualify. 1 claim per MDF member.

e) No assistance or benefit will be paid or reimbursed or provided for:

1) Logbook Offences.

2) Any driver not having insurance cover as required by the current Road Traffic Legislation.

3) Proceedings arising from criminal offences*.

4) Wilful neglect or any criminal act on the part of any members.

d) Legal costs will only be paid where the Fund has appointed the solicitor/representative and not for the members’ own appointed solicitor/representative.

e) Where a fine has been increased due to non-payment, the additional cost may not be covered by the fund unless the fund appointed solicitors/representatives have advised that an appeal would be appropriate and have been involved with the procedure.

f) The Committee shall have the absolute power to limit the number of claims by any member in any set period.

14. Claims
Claims should be submitted to the GMB Midlands Region through the appropriate form or website. Claims for fines must be submitted within 3 months of receipt.

The Regional Committee or delegated staff may require the member to provide any information it may deem appropriate, and in particular:

•  the nature of the offence
• the date and place of conviction
• any loss of earnings suffered by the member attending court proceedings
• any effect of the conviction on current or future employment prospects
• the amount of any fine imposed by the Court (receipt to be produced)
• any other information the member may wish to submit to support the application.

The Regional Committee’s decision on whether or not to make payment of a Hardship Grant and to determine the amount of such a Grant is final.

15. Rules
Every member of the Motor Drivers’ Fund will be provided with a copy of these rules.

16. Matters not provided for
Any matter arising in connection with this Fund not provided for in these rules shall be dealt with by the Regional Committee who shall have full power to decide any point deemed just/unjust and beneficial unto members.

17. Liabilities

a) The Fund will only apply to incidents occurring within the United Kingdom. However, no legal assistance will be provided for offences incurred outside of the U.K.

b) No more than two fines (unless stated otherwise) in any one category will be reimbursed in any calendar year. Parking fines will only be reimbursed where there are mitigating circumstances as determined by the Regional Committee.

(The GMB Midlands Motor Drivers’ Fund does not provide any assistance for criminal offences with the exception of speeding fines, as defined in this rule book. A ‘calendar year’ is defined as 1^st January until 31^st December, the date detailed on the fine will be the date of the claim. The GMB Midlands Motor Drivers’ Fund reserves the right to withdraw funding for appointed solicitors/representatives for failure to follow the advice of that appointed solicitor/representative. A maximum of £1,000 reimbursement/funding per member in any calendar year. These rules are subject to change at the discretion of Regional Committee and will be reviewed periodically. Any increases to the subscription rate will be at the discretion of Regional Committee, members of the fund will be afforded 3 calendar months’ notice prior to the increase.)