DRAFT INTERNAL REGULATIONS
2004
C O N T E N TS
SECTION 1PREAMBLEPage 3
SECTION 2GENERALPage 3
SECTION 3APPOINTMENTS Page 3
3.1Authority
3.2Category
3.3Procedure
3.4Promotion
3.5Secondments
3.6Attachments
3.7Resignation
3.8Termination
SECTION 4ATTENDANCE AT WORKPage 5
4.1Working Hours
4.2Tardiness
4.3Exigency of Services
SECTION 5 CODE OF CONDUCTPage 6
5.1Minor Infringements
5.2Major Infringements
5.3Infringements and Offences
SECTION 6DISCIPLINEPage 7
6.1Suspension
6.2Dismissal
6.3Complaints Procedure
SECTION 7LEAVE Page 10
7.1Annual Leave
7.2Casual Leave (Compassionate Leave)
7.3Sick Leave
7.4Maternity Leave
7.5Special Leave
7.6Study leave
SECTION 8SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES Page 12
8.1Acting allowance
8.2Transport allowance
8.3Sitting Allowance
8.4Duty Station (Regional) Allowance
8.5Per Diem
SECTION 9LOANS & INCENTIVES Page 14
9.1Personal loans
9.2Building Loan
9.3Car Loan
9.4Medical Plan
SECTION 10TRANSPORTATION / UTILITIES Page 14
10.1 Vehicles
- Telephone Use
SECTION 11RETIREMENT Page 15
SECTION 12INJURY COMPENSATION Page 15
SECTION 13PROCUREMENT AND CONTROL STEPS Page 15
SECTION 14CHEQUES Page 16
SECTION 15INVENTORY Page 16
SECTION 16 GLOSSARY Page 18
1.PREAMBLE
In line with Article 41 of statutes of the Society (adopted by the 1993 General Assembly) and other approved policies of the Society, the Internal Regulations of The Gambia Red Cross Society will regulate and direct both Governance and Employees of the Society in the proper conduct of their duties and responsibilities.
Where there are issues ultra vies of the Statutes or the Internal Regulations, such matters shall be referred to the appropriate bodies (i.e. central committee and General Assembly) for action.
2.GENERAL
The Internal Regulations which replaces the former manual is intended to cover contractual conditions of service applicable to all employees and volunteers. The aim of the society is to provide conditions of employment and facilities which are conducive towards enabling the staff and volunteers to devote their full talents and energies to attain very high standards of competence with a view to attaining the basic objectives and activities for which the society is created and is set in the act. The Internal Regulations will lay down the procedures to be followed in respect of employment and spell out the entitlements of the staff and volunteers.
3.APPOINTMENTS
3.1Authority
The power to make appointments is conferred on the Central Committee who may at their discretion delegate the authority for the recruitment of staff to a panel or to the Secretary General.
3.2Category
Employees are divided into two main categories, i.e. Permanent Staff members and Temporary Staff members. These two categories may be further sub-divided.
Permanent Staff members are defined as those employees who are engaged for a term of one year or more for which there is continuing budget provisions.
Temporary Staff members are those who do not qualify for appointment as Permanent Staff members. They generally fall into the following categories:
Trainees;
Consultants;
Hired workers;
Employees of the National Society shall be classified as follows:
Senior Management - Grades D – E
Middle Management - Grades B – C
Junior management - Grade A
3.3Procedure
All appointments are made in writing in accordance with the Internal Regulations and the laws of The Gambia, stating among other things the following:
Date of appointment;
Initial salary and grade;
Other conditions of service;
3.3.1All existing vacancies in the Society shall be advertised and filled in line with the approved standards or policies and shall state the required qualifications and experience.
3.3.2The Executive Committee shall set standard and qualifications for any particular appointment or promotion, unless the Central committee directs the Secretary General to do so when deemed necessary.
3.3.3All appointments shall be for a probationary period of at least six month, during which time the appointment may be terminated by the Central Committee (or Secretary General) by giving a month's notice or month's salary in lieu of notice.
This is likewise applicable to the employee if he/she so desires to terminate his appointment, whether temporary or permanent, and also of any promotion.
3.3.4After the probation period, the employee must write to the Secretary General through his/her immediate supervisor for confirmation of services to be endorsed by the Central Committee.
3.3.5The National Society shall reserve the right not to employ any person who has been convicted of a criminal offence, involving fraud, murder, treason or any dishonest practice.
3.4Promotions
Rising to a higher position in the services of the National Society shall be subjected to the following conditions.
Needs of the National Society and existence of a vacancy
Qualification, efficiency, sense of responsibility, performance and good conduct as evidenced by employee’s personal record.
Successful completion of training where applicable
Experience and seniority, however, the Central Committee may at its discretion promote deserving employees out of the normal turn of seniority in service.
3.5Secondments
An employee of the National Society can be accorded secondment to serve in another institution for a term of one year renewable by the Central Committee. During this period, the National Society effects no payment of salary, allowance or benefit to the employee. At the end of this period, the employee returns as a staff member of the National Society but not necessarily on the same position occupied before secondment.
On the other hand, any officer seconded to the National Society from Government or any other institutions shall be paid salary and allowances that commensurate with the post but shall not be paid any benefits.
3.6Attachments
Any staff or volunteer attached to the National Society from Government or any other institution shall be on purely voluntary basis and any remuneration, if applicable, shall be at the discretion of the Secretary General in consultation with the President.
3.7Resignation
When an employee wishes to resign, one month's notice is written to the Secretary General / President, otherwise the employee must pay GRCS one month's salary in lieu of notice. The employee shall receive accrued annual leave benefits but shall not receive an indemnity payment.
All debts with GRCS must be settled prior to receiving a final payment from GRCS, failing which, legal action shall be taken.
3.8Termination
All employees shall be given one month's notice of termination or payment of one month's salary in lieu of notice. Employees’ termination due to the completion of a project or the termination of funding for the position shall be given an indemnity payment which is a month's salary for each consecutive 12 month period of employment with GRCS, based on the employee's current basic salary.
For terminated employees all outstanding debts to GRCS must be settled prior to making final salary or indemnity payments. Debts shall be deducted from final payments. If accounts are not settled in full, legal action shall be taken.
4.ATTENDANCE AT WORK
4.1Working Hours
GRCS's office hours are 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, Monday to Thursday and 8.00 am to 12.30 pm on Friday. Break period is 45 minutes 12.00 noon to 12.45 pm each day, Mondays to Thursdays. Employees are permitted to leave the office for personal business only during their break period. Prior to leaving the office all employees should inform the Secretary General or his delegate of their departure and when they are expected to return. Working hours for field staff is flexible since they are expected to work out of the normal hours.
4.2Tardiness
Tardiness will result in corrective disciplinary action. If an employee has a business appointment to attend to in the morning, prior to her reporting to work, he/she should inform his or her superior the day before. If an employee does not report for work and does not get a message to his/her supervisor explaining the reason for tardiness by noon, attendance for that will be deducted from the employee's accumulated annual leave.
4.3Exigency of Service
All employees are expected to be amenable to occasional requests by their supervisor to work outside normal office hours. No financial compensation will be made for this. However, if an employee is requested to work outside of normal hours, he or she may request that the extra hours be recorded for "compensation time" to be added to their annual leave. Approval ofsuch request is at the discretion of the supervisor.
5.CODE OF CONDUCT
It is expected of every member of staff to conduct themselves in accordance with all existing policies of the National Society. Every employee is required to sign and adhere to the GRCS Code of Conduct before commencement of an official function.
5.1Minor Infringements
Minor Infringements should neither involve GRCS in direct physical loss of assets nor seriously or permanently affect the efficient operations of GRCS. When a minor infringement has been committed, the supervisor of the employee shall:
5.1.1Issue a statement of the infringement and offer corrective counsel to the employee. This statement and counsel will be recorded and confirmed in a Letter of Advice. The letter of advice will be forwarded to the Secretary General and subsequently placed in the employee's personal file.
5.1.2The principal objective of Letter of Advice is to assist and encourage the employee to bring his/her performance up to the required standard in order to enable him/her to advance his/her career in GRCS.
5.1.3If no similar infringements have been repeated during a subsequent two year period, the Letter of Advice at the end of the two year period will become invalid.
5.2Major Infringements
Major Infringements are cases where the employee has involved GRCS in direct physical loss or serious damage to assets, or has prejudiced the proper operation, regulations and procedures by personal misconduct.
5.2.1 If the situation persists the matter should be referred to the Secretary General for appropriate disciplinary actions. If it still persists the matter should be referred to the Central Committee through the Secretary General.
5.2.2 The employee is required to sign the original and one copy of the Letter of Warning at the time of issue. The employee will keep the original and one copy will be placed in the employee's personal file.
5.2.3 Upon receipt of a third Letter of Warning, for any offence, the employee will be liable for summary dismissal. Under certain conditions the employee may be discharged without warning (see section 6).
5.2.4In the event that a major infringement is under investigation or the Secretary General deems it necessary to take disciplinary measures. The Letter may decide to suspend the employee. Action for suspension should be outlined in the Letter of Warning or letter of advice.
5.2.5If no other Letter of Warning has been received during a subsequent two year period, the Letter of Warning at the end of the two year period will become invalid.
5.3Infringements / Offences
a)False statement on any official matter.
b)Recurrent lateness to work.
c)Absence from duty without permission.
d)Unsatisfactory performance at work.
e)Loss of or damage to GRCS property.
f)Theft.
g)Prolonged private use of telephones in office and/or excessive personal visitors in office.
h)Conviction on civil or criminal charges.
i)Failure to use standard complaint procedures.
j)Failure to report accident to immediate supervisor and/or field officer or co-ordinator.
k)Failure to respond to warning, verbal or written.
l)Corruption or bribery involving clients.
m)Serious insubordination prejudicial to GRCS.
n)Irregular public conduct prejudicial to GRCS.
o)Refusal to proceed on authorised transfer.
p)Sleeping on duty.
q)Prolonged breaks without authorisation of supervisor.
r)Drunkenness and/or under influence of habit forming drug on duty.
s)Failure or refusal to carry out standing instructions.
t)Revealing confidential GRCS information.
u)Assaulting persons or fighting on duty.
v)Any offences recorded elsewhere in the terms and conditions of service
- DISCIPLINE
Where disciplinary measures are to be taken against a staff, he/she must be informed of the grounds for the proceedings and given an opportunity to defend himself/herself at a hearing.
6.1Suspension
Suspension can be applied when an offence is under investigation and/or if the supervisor wishes to utilise suspension to discipline an employee (see section 5.2). Notice for suspension must be specified in a Letter of Warning if it is a disciplinary action and the period for suspension must be indicated within. If an employee is suspended pending investigation written notice indicating the reason for suspension and dates of the period of suspension must be issued from the supervisor to the Secretary General. A copy of the notice will be placed in the employee's personal file.
A suspended employee will draw full salary for the first month of suspension and half salary for subsequent months that exceed one month except in the following cases:
a)When an employee has an outstanding loan with GRCS the employee's salary will be credited to the loan accounts and the balance paid to him/her.
b)Where the employee is suspended for suspicion of theft or fraud against GRCS, all of his/her salary will be temporarily withheld until such time that the employee is cleared of suspicion.
c)Where an employee is convicted of a felony either against GRCS or a third party he/she will receive no pay from the date of suspension and will be summarily dismissed.
d)When an employee is suspended for disciplinary reasons as the result of disciplinary action taken on a Letter of Advice or a Letter of Warning.
e)Letter of Warning procedure.
Dismissal
An employee who is dismissed from employment with GRCS for reasons outlined in section 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 will not be eligible for notice pay, or any other termination payment.
A dismissed employee must settle all outstanding debts to GRCS. If accounts are not settled in full, legal action will be taken.
Employees who have been dismissed will not receive a letter of reference from GRCS, but upon request, may receive a statement of employment.
Complaints Procedure
Any employee who has a complaint or is doubtful about the conditions of his/her employment, his/her career progress, or any other matters affecting his/her service with GRCS is entitled to have his/her complaint carefully considered by management.
If at anytime during an employee's service with GRCS he/she wishes to lodge a complaint or query he/she should proceed as follows:
a)First Stage: The employee presents his/her complaint or query to his/her immediate supervisor who shall attempt to resolve the problem or differences at the time. This action may be done verbally or in writing.
b)Second Stage: If the employee is not satisfied with the supervisor's action or if the employee and supervisor cannot resolve the problem, the matter should be taken to the next higher level of staff who shall act as a third party. Supervisors are responsible for complying with these procedures if an employee does not feel that the problem has been satisfactorily resolved between the supervisor and subordinate.
A "third party" shall first hear the matter independently and then discuss the problems with both parties present in order to arrive at a suitable solution.
c)Third Stage: If the problem cannot be resolved at the third party level the matter can be referred to the Secretary General for discussion and arbitration with all parties involved.
d)Fourth Stage If the problem cannot be solved at the third stage, the
matter should be refereed to the Central Committee. An employee is liable for discharge if in the opinion of the Central Committee an offence brought to light under the complaints procedures, has been of such nature that the employee continues employment would seriously jeopardise the National Society. In these cases, the Central Committee may discharge employee without following the normal Letter of Advice or Letter of Warning procedures. Discharge shall apply from the date the final decision was made. The discharged employee shall be given one month's salary in lieu of notice and shall receive all other benefits with the exception of indemnity pay. Discharge employees must settle all outstanding debts with GRCS prior to receiving final payment. Debts shall be recovered from the final payment. If accounts are not settled in full, legal action shall be taken.
- LEAVE
7.1 Annual Leave
Employees are eligible for annual leave or the completion of a year's service (from 1st appointment date of 1st day of resumption of duty from previous annual leave). Annual leave requests specifying dates of a requested leave must be submitted to the Secretary General through the Administration officers at least two weeks in advance for approval.
Leave duration shall be as follows:
Grade D& E - 30 Working days
Grade B & C - 25 Working days
Grade A- 20 Working days
Annual leave shall be taken at a time convenient to the National Society and has to be authorised by the relevant supervisor and endorsed by the Secretary General. In the case of the Secretary General, endorsement by the President. All efforts shall be made to meet the personal circumstances and preferences of the employee.
A staff member proceeding on leave shall, upon application, be paid before proceeding on leave, the full salary and emoluments to which he/she is entitled for the period of earned leave.
On specific cases payments can be made in lieu of leave.
All employees proceeding on leave shall properly hand over responsibilities for the smooth and continuous operation of the National Society. Disciplinary action shall be taken upon failure to comply.
7.2Casual Leave (Compassionate Leave)
The National Society may grant up to 7 days casual leave (with pay) if tangible reasons are given to justify such a privilege.
Eligibility is on condition that the staff member has already served the National Society for at least one year and that his/her application to the Secretary General has been reviewed and permission granted.
Casual leave can be earned only once a year. Subsequent grants shall be made only with the understanding that the number of days shall be deducted from one's annual leave.
7.3Sick Leave
In all cases of illness resulting in long absence from work of a member of staff, but on approved medical grounds, the National Society shall grant sick leave with full pay (in the 1st instance), for a month. Pending a genuine approved medical report, this may be extended up to a period of six months at full salary and six months half salary thereafter and for the subsequent months. After the first six months, his/her case shall be reviewed by the Health Commission together with the President, Secretary General and a representative of the Finance Commission with a view to consideration for invalidation.
For the purpose of invalidation, a decision must have been reached by a medical board recognised by GRCS Central Committee.
7.4Maternity Leave
All female employees with one year service are entitled to twelve weeks of maternity leave Female employees are required to submit to GRCS a medical report from a qualified medical practitioner indicating the expected date of delivery and recommended date to commence maternity leave. Based on this information the employee is required to complete and submit for approval a leave of absence request form. Employees on maternity leave will receive their full pay (minus transport allowance) for the designated maternity period. Employees may also request to add accumulated annual leave time onto their maternity period.