Conservative Club Scratch Card Draw

Be the First to join our new Scratch Card Game

The Conservative Club Draw is a new Scratch Card game that is proposed to be made available to all ACC affiliated Clubs.

The Scratch Card game will be launched for a trial period on 1st October 2011 to the first 50 Clubs that contact us either via the Conservative Draw helpline number (tel: 0870 850 9479), or via the Conservative Draw email address (conservativedraw@ btconnect.com). If your Club is interested in becoming one of the first to join this new Scratch Card game, then please use the details above to provide your Club’s name and contact details, including the Secretary’s name, Club address, telephone number and email address, on or before Friday 29th July 2011. The “First Fifty” Clubs will then be sent a Welcome Pack including all the information needed to get started.

That’s thousands of winners . . . 50 Conservative Club winners . . . and of course the ACC Club Development Fund benefits as well!

The Scratch Card game will be registered with the Gambling Commission under the Gambling Act 2005 and will be promoted by the National Conservative Draws Society. Tickets will cost just £1 each.

Be the first to register your interest in the Conservative Club Scratch Card Draw – so that your Club, your Members and the ACC Club Development Fund benefit!

 

 

The ACC Club Management Certificate

 

 

New ACC Foundation Course Aims to Boost Club Growth

Key issues, and challenges, for every Club in today’s extraordinarily difficult economic climate are managing growth and stability, maintaining margins and managing costs.

Hardly a Club Officer will disagree with that and there are few officials who do not, from time to time, wish for a deeper understanding of the way to keep their Club going to make it prosper and to be there for future generations.

The ACC believes that it can now offer one more helping hand in an effort to achieve the aims set out above with the launch of its ‘Club Management Certificate’.

The topics studied for the certificate have not just been dreamed up in an office but have been put to a rigorous test in a ‘hands on’ trial at the Girlington Conservative Club, in Yorkshire.

The feeling generated at that trial was that the course offered definite benefits for those attending - people who are actually running Clubs

The Association of Conservative Clubs is pleased to announce the appointment of Inn-Dispensable to deliver the new Club Management Certificate.

The organisation is a leading training provider in the licensed and hospitality field.

A special introductory offer is being made by the ACC for those wishing to gain this particularly worthwhile qualification.

The ACC is convinced that this course, and the Certificate, offer a real opportunity for Club Officers to enhance their skills as it aims to provide a deeper understanding of the numerous rules, regulations and requirements that have been imposed on our section of the community in recent years.

In addition it offers the chance to explore new avenues on recruitment, service and profitability.

To book your place on the next course please contact either the ACC (Tel: 0207 222 0868) or Inn-Dispensable (Tel: 0239 234 5679).

If your Club is interested in hosting one of our one-day courses please contact the ACC, as below.

Below’s a summary of feedback from the recent successful pilot day course in Yorkshire attended by many Club Officers from the region:

“Successful; well worth attending”
“I have found the day very interesting, picked up a few tips which I hope to try out to improve our club” “Did not know what to expect but found the day very enjoyable and interesting. There was lots of useful information.”
“The seminar was very worthwhile and instructive. The information provided and the format were both very good. I would certainly be interested in attending further seminars in the future tailored as indicated to the specific needs of Conservative Clubs.”
“I found the information very informative and as a new member of our committee there is a lot to learn about the running of a club. Thank you for a very good presentation.”
“I enjoyed the day, well run, well organised and very informative.”

 

Club Law and Management

by Philip Smith, Secretary of the A.C.C.

Q A previous article in the Magazine stated that wine had to be sold in 125ml glasses, in addition to the commonly sold 187ml and 250ml quantities. I assume that this relates to sales by the glass as we only sell wines by the bottle in measures of 75cl and 187ml.

A. As long as the Club chooses to purely sell wine in presealed bottles then you will not have to make the wine available in different measures. The legislation states that a licensed premises (i.e. the Club) must ensure that the following drinks if sold or supplied on the premises are available in the following measures:

  • beer or cider - half pint
  • gin, rum, vodka or whisky - 25ml or 35ml
  • still wine in a glass - 125ml As well as making the drinks available in the above measures, the Club must also make customers aware of the availability of these measures – for example, by making their availability clear on menus and price lists, and ensuring that these are displayed in a prominent place in the relevant premises (e.g. at the bar). However, the above condition does not apply if the drinks in question are sold or supplied having been made up in advance ready for sale or supply in a securely closed container. For example, if beer is only available in pre-sealed bottles the condition to make it available in ½ pints does not apply. Should at any point in the future the Club wishes to make some of wines available by the glass then these would have to be provided in the above measure in addition to the customary measures of 175ml and 250ml. This requirement would only apply to the specific wines sold by the glass, the Club could continue to sell certain wines by the bottle only.
 
Q The Chairman states that as our maximum capacity in the Club limits us to 220 people at any one time that this means that we cannot recruit more Members than this amount. However, our accountants have told us that there is not limit in how many Members we can have. Can you clarify?

A. We are surprised that this question is still asked since it is definitely one which is established from nothing more than a myth. Sometimes we have Clubs that believe the Membership is restricted to the maximum number that a fire officer may have put on a single room in the Club years previously. There are no limits on the amount of Members the Club can have. Whilst there may be a limit on how many of the Members can be in the Club at one time for health and safety reasons, this does not affect the total level of the Membership. We have some Clubs which have over 1000 Members in premises which can only hold 300 Members at any one time. However, this is not a problem since it is highly unlikely that more members than the Club has capacity will be wishing to attend at the same time and if this is the case then once the Club has reached capacity then excess Members would simply be turned away. This would not be against their Membership rights and does not mean the Club cannot have more Members than the capacity of the Club’s premises allows.
 
Q Can you clarify if it is a requirement that any notices displayed on the Club’s Notice Board should identify who is the author?

A. A Only official Committee correspondence can be displayed on a Club’s Notice Board unless the Committee specifically wishes to allow Members to place personal notices on the Club’s Notice Board. We would suggest that all notices that are placed on the Board do include details of who the author is, whether this is the Committee or, if allowed, individual Members. Under the ACC’s Model Rules, for both Trustee and Industrial and Provident Society Clubs there is a Bye-Law which states the following:
Bills, notices, etc. No bill, notice, placard or newspaper, shall be posted or distributed on or about the Club premises without the permission of the Committee or some person authorised by them.
Q Do you have any more details on the pension revisions that are being introduced for employers from next year onwards? I understand that we will have to make mandatory contributions to an employee’s pension? Do you recommend a specific firm to assist us with employee pensions?

A. A We recommend that Clubs deal with our preferred supplier, DBL Asset Management, when providing employee pensions. Their details are on our website and also included within the Magazine, (page 5). Whilst the changes are coming into effect from 2012 for large businesses, it is unlikely that small businesses will be affected until 2013/2014 as the changes are being phased in gradually. However, no definite timeline has yet been published. The enrolment process will be simple and an employee may choose to opt out of the pension, if they wish. The Club will make a minimum contribution to the scheme. To help employers and employees adjust gradually, the plan is to phase in the minimum contribution levels. As with the aforementioned timeline, specific details over the phasing in of minimum contribution levels and what these levels will be have not been announced yet. We will continue to update the Magazine as new details are announced.
 
Q Are the Members able to call an SGM to overrule a Committee decision not to allow someone to become a Member?

A. The election of Members is a matter which is vested solely in the Committee. Two votes against admission will exclude a candidate. There is no appeal and even the Members at a Special General Meeting would not have the authority to overturn this decision. A rejected candidate may not re-apply until a period of one year has elapsed and a rejected candidate may not be admitted as a Member’s Guest.
 
Q Can a Member stand for the Committee if his spouse is employed by the Club as Bar Manager and his stepdaughter is employed as the club cleaner?

A. A Member can stand for the Committee even if his spouse is employed by the Club and his stepdaughter is the Club’s cleaner. If elected, he would be expected to excuse himself from any issues, votes or discussion in Committee Meetings which relate to employees of the Club. Clearly he would have a ‘vested interest’ in such matters.
 
Q Our existing Rules, which may be out of date, state that we can have either one or two Vice Presidents. Is it the Committee who decides if we will hold elections for one or two positions?

A. If the Club’s Rules state that the Club will have either one or two Vice Presidents then it is the Committee who will decide if the Club will have one or two Vice Presidents for the forthcoming year. This decision should be made not only prior to the voting taking place but also prior to the nominations sheet being placed on the Notice Board. This will ensure that the Members are fully aware of how many positions are being elected in the forthcoming election. You are quite right however, to recognise that your Club Rules are out of date. We will send you an appropriate up to date copy of the ACC’s Model Rules for the Committee to review.

 

Club Liability & Insurance Compliance

It is important for Clubs to make sure that their insurance policies are up to date and that the terms of the policy are being complied with. Insurance policies cannot only provide building and contents protection but also provide protection for Club’s from personal injury and employment disputes.

It is very important to make sure that Clubs comply, down to the letter, with the provisions of their insurance policy. Loss Adjusters, in many cases, will seek to minimise the amount that an insurance company is due to pay out and will seize upon any failing in the Club’s operating procedures as reasons to reduce or eliminate a payout. It can be particularly galling for a Club to have consistently paid their premiums over many years only to find out that in an emergency they are not covered by their insurance policy as they have not adequately complied with the terms and conditions of the policy.

We had the situation recently where a Conservative Club was denied a payout for a large theft from the premises because, at the time, they were not fully compliant with the terms of their Insurance Policy. Despite the ACC writing to the Insurance underwriters on the Club’s behalf they were unwilling to reverse their original verdict. They stated that as at the time of the theft the Club was, albeit inadvertently, not compliant with the terms and conditions of its insurance policy that they were therefore not covered for the resulting theft. The message is clear, make sure the Club complies with its insurance policy or you will not be protected by it. A Club’s Committee should also be responsible for minimising any risks to users of the Club to prevent accidents and injuries from occurring. Injuries sustained to users of the Club can result in liability for the Club, irrespective if signs up are saying that the Club does not accept liability for accidents on its premises. A Club cannot escape from a common law duty of care to customers who use the premises.

The Committee should carry out frequent risk assessments with Club employees to identify any hazards that exist. A good risk assessment should clearly identify foreseeable risks and either take steps to mitigate those risks or place hazard signs up to warn customers of the specific risk. Employees should be encouraged to report any potential hazards as soon as possible so that the necessary steps can be taken to remove the risk. Employees should be given training in what to do in the event of an accident, how to record accidents and whose responsibility it is to call for assistance if a customer is taken unwell or has an injury.

The ACC can provide assistance with conducting a risk assessment, please contact us if you would like further information.