Fees framework for members appointed to bodies in which the ...

CO (09) 5
Childcare expenses
66 Under exceptional circumstances a contribution may be made to childcare expenses with the
agreement of the chair (or another member if the chair is claiming expenses) and the
servicing department. However it is generally expected that the daily fee paid is adequate to
meet out of pocket expenses of individual members as well as reimbursing them for their
time spent. An example where a contribution to childcare expenses may be made is where
an additional meeting is called at short notice (e.g. less than 48 hours). In determining
whether payment is warranted, consideration should be given to issues of equity and
ensuring that attendance at meetings does not result in undue personal hardship.
Payment of a fee for a cancelled meeting/sitting
67 Where a meeting or other activity of a statutory or other body is cancelled or takes fewer
days than planned, in exceptional cases payment of the fee to certain members may be
approved.
68 Each case would need to be considered on its merits and this should only occur where:
• the cancellation was unforeseeable;
• the member was unable to reschedule other work to take advantage of the time made
available;
• the member suffered real loss of income as a result of the cancellation.
69 An affected member would need to make a case to the body on each separate occasion.
Payment should not be approved if it is believed the member had not tried to reschedule
other work. Partial payment might be appropriate if rescheduled appointment fees do not
fully compensate a member for the lost fee from the meeting.
70 If appropriate and the body did, on application from a member for a specific instance,
resolve to pay the fee for part or all of the time a meeting was cancelled by, that resolution
would need to be noted in the minutes.
Absence
71 Where an individual receives an annual fee and is absent from body business for a period of
greater than two months, then the annualised fee should be pro-rated to take account of this
absence (e.g. an absence of 2 months would result in payment of 10/12 of the annual fee).
Where there are frequent absences over the period of a year, the annual fee should also be
pro-rated to take account of those absences.
72 Where a member fails to attend a significant number of meetings, or otherwise perform the
duties as a member, the chair needs to raise the issue of expectations about performance with
the member and if necessary with the responsible Minister. Consideration should be given at
the time of reappointment of members to the issue of continued absences from body
business.
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