We are licensed private hire drivers and independent vehicle operators, based and working in Scotland, and are convening in a voluntary association to act as representatives of our trade, to serve as stakeholders of our trade, and to campaign for and to work for improvements to our trade. We affirm that we are self employed sole traders and that we are assembling together in solidarity with one another; convinced that such association assures a strong collective voice to represent our individual and shared concerns within the private hire trade.

The Scottish Private Hire Association (SPHA) are stakeholders to the private hire trade and we represent the individual and shared concerns of licensed drivers and independent vehicle operators. The work we do aims to ensure a fair income for all and aims to ensure that working conditions within the private hire trade are being continuously improved. In doing this, we engage with governments, local authorities, licensing authorities, ALEOs and QUANGOs, the police, and other trade stakeholders.

We defend our members against threats to their livelihoods, including when a license is under threat, and we also defend against events and policies that may threaten to worsen working conditions or decrease the earning potential for the trade as a whole. We also defend against threats to the status of our members as self employed sole traders. We do this while working to foster and nurture solidarity, fellowship and co-operation within the trade with the belief that this can lead to the free exchange of useful information while building a collective spirit of professionalism within the trade and a shared sense that campaigning and working together will be of benefit to us all.

● The Scottish Private Hire Association (The SPHA) is an unincorporated association.
● The SPHA is organised into geographic branches with each branch corresponding to a local licensing authority.
● Whenever the membership size of a particular branch is too small to efficiently operate then the National Executive shall oversee, administer and guide that branch.

● Whenever a specific task, set of tasks, campaign or project is required to be dealt with, a project group may be created to deal with such tasks.
● Project groups are ad-hoc in nature and exist only for as long as their goals exist. In this fashion they can be viewed as short life working groups.
● Any member of the association can be part of a project group and the association welcomes external input on project groups. That is to say one does not need to be an SPHA member to take part in our projects and campaigns.
● Any member of the association may request the formation of a project group, and they are highly encouraged to do so if an issue is of interest to them.
● Project groups dealing with a local issue operate under the general direction of their local branch leaders. Project groups dealing with a national issue operate under the general direction of the General Secretary.

● Matters of campaign strategy are administered by the Trade Rep Group, which is chaired by the General Secretary and is composed of representatives from each of the local branches.
● The Trade Rep Group debates and decides the campaign direction for the association, in particular on any issue that affects more than one local authority or is seen as a national issue. However, in doing so, it can never usurp the local needs and desires of any particular branch. That is to explicitly say that local branches of the association are permitted to have opposing aims, directions and strategies on a local level based on the local issues affecting those local branches.
● The Trade Rep Group is empowered to make strategic campaign decisions on behalf of the association, however such decisions must be backed by the belief that the majority of the membership would support the decision. If this is ever in doubt then a membership ballot should be conducted to resolve the matter.
● The General Secretary is not empowered to cast a vote in the Trade Rep Group unless such a vote is to break a stalemate or tie.

● All branches of the association are encouraged to hold regular meetings in their local area.
● All branch meetings of the SPHA are open to members and non-members alike, unless announced prior to the meeting taking place.
● The purpose of branch meetings is to communicate updates to the members and for members and visitors to communicate their opinions to the association.

● Decisions on local branch matters are made by the members attending a branch meeting. No quorum is required. Motions pass by simple majority. The branch Chair is empowered to veto any decision made at a branch level, however such a veto shall be viewed as a continuance and the issue must then be resolved by a ballot.
● The General Secretary’s decision and ruling at all association meetings is final, however, local branch meetings are conducted by the local branch leadership and the General Secretary’s presence at such meetings is ultimately to provide guidance and support. Whenever the branch is making decisions that act contrary to the overall aims and directions of the association or conflict with national strategy then the General Secretary is empowered to veto such decisions, however such a veto shall be viewed as a continuance and the issue must then be resolved by a membership ballot.
● Any major disagreement or point of contention should always be sought to be resolved by a membership ballot.
● Membership ballots require 50% membership turnout to be valid and further require two-thirds majority to pass.

● The General Secretary is elected by all association members and serves a term of roughly two years.
● The duties of the General Secretary are to act as a figurehead and spokesperson for the association and lead the associations campaign efforts.
● The General Secretary’s decision and ruling at all association meetings is final, however, local branch meetings are conducted by the local branch leadership and the General Secretary’s presence at such meetings is ultimately to provide guidance and support. Whenever the branch is making decisions that act contrary to the overall aims and directions of the association or conflict with national strategy then the General Secretary is empowered to veto such decisions, however such a veto shall be viewed as a continuance and the issue must then be resolved by a membership ballot.

The SPHA is an unincorporated association and proprietary club operated by the National Executive. The National Executive is the permanent committee which oversees the executive functions of the association. These functions include the day-to-day running of the association’s business and to provide the primary service offering of licensing representation.  Other services may be offered from time to time, however the primary representation services can never be ceased. The National Executive consists of the original founding members of the association until such time as those members leave the association or cease to be involved in the association. 

● Office Bearer roles may be created or abolished as required by the local branches. In ordinary circumstances, unless a local branch decides otherwise, local office bearers are elected at a meeting of that local branch.  There is no requirement for branches to have office bearers, however it is recommended that each branch elects a campaign leader, which shall be styled as a Branch Chair.
● It is further recommended that office bearers hold their roles for 12 to 24 months before being reconfirmed to that role.
● Any regular member of the association in good standing may seek nomination or election to an office bearer post (or re-election as the case may be). Members may be nominated by other members or may self-nominate.
● Whenever a branch does not have office bearers in place, and only if the branch is not functioning as a result, the Trade Rep Group and General Secretary may administer and oversee that branch.

● Membership of the Scottish Private Hire Association is open to any licensed private hire driver and any independent private hire car operator, based and working in Scotland, who agrees with the aims and directions of the association.
● Licenced drivers and operators of taxis/hackney carriages are permitted to hold membership, but in such cases must affirm that the majority of their work is private hire (ie. radio circuit or pre-booked hires).
● Members of the association agree to support each other in solidarity and agree to work together to help achieve the aims and goals of the association.
● Membership of the association may be revoked or suspended if it has been found that a member has:

○ Been actively working against the aims and direction of the association,
○ Been consistently disruptive to the principles of fellowship and co-operation,
○ Fallen into arrears with their membership subscription.

This rule shall be enforced in conjunction with the association’s complaints and disciplinary procedure.

Types of Membership

● There are currently two types of membership: Regular Membership and Affiliate Membership.

● Affiliate Membership is free of charge and is open to any private hire licence holder as well as anyone who supports the aims and objectives of the SPHA. This could be family members or retired drivers. Affiliate members can attend meetings, take part in campaigns and project groups, take part in our surveys and consultations, and receive news updates. However, affiliate members cannot hold office bearer roles within the SPHA, cannot take part in ballots, nor are they entitled to casework, licensing or legal support.

● Regular Membership is open to any currently licenced driver or independent vehicle operator based and working in Scotland who agrees with the aims and objectives of the SPHA. They are entitled to the same benefits as affiliate members, but they are also entitled to stand for election and hold office bearer roles, can take part in ballots, and are entitled to casework, licensing and legal support.

● Regular Membership is currently set at £7 per month or £80 per year.

● Regular members are entitled to casework support and licensing protection . This representation is the primary service offered by the association and can never be ceased.
● In most cases this will be handled by an SPHA trade rep, but in serious cases where professional legal support is required, the National Executive will deliberate and decide if a solicitor should be used. In coming to this decision, the National Executive will consult with a solicitor and take into account the cost of the case from an affordability viewpoint and the chance of success as provided by the solicitor. In general, cases with less than a 50% chance of success will not be eligible for legal cover. Legal cover where an external solicitor is required can only cover licensing cases and appeals. It does not cover members for general criminal cases, civil cases, or road traffic offences.
● When new members are joining the association with a pre-existing issue then they must join the association as a full member for a full year. In such situations they will not be eligible for legal cover from an external solicitor and will only be eligible for trade representation.

THE COMPLAINTS OFFICER
There shall exist at all times a Complaints Officer whose role is to receive and handle complaints from association members. The complaints officer is an internally appointed by the National Executive.

COMPLAINTS AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
When a complaint has been made against any association member, the following procedure shall be followed:

The Complaints Officer shall receive or be forwarded the complaint and upon receipt they shall notify the subject of the complaint that such a complaint has been received. They shall also communicate this procedure to the subject. The Complaints Officer shall then, at random, select a Branch Officer from a different Branch than the one the subject of the complaint belongs to. Together the Complaints Officer and the selected Branch Officer shall investigate the complaint in full.
In the first instance, they shall make an immediate determination, based on the severity of the complaint, on whether the subject of the complaint should be suspended from post or not during the investigation and whether the subject of the complaint should have their association membership suspended or not during the investigation.
They shall then investigate the complaint in as rigorous a manner as possible and, at each stage of their investigation, their findings and any evidence collected must be noted down in an investigatory record.
Upon conclusion of their investigation, they shall report the complaint and the findings of their investigation to the Trade Rep Group.
The Trade Rep Group shall deliberate and decide if any disciplinary action is required or not.
The Complaints Officer shall then notify the subject(s) of the decisions made and shall effect those decisions.

APPEALS PROCEDURE
If the subject of a complaint wishes to appeal any disciplinary action taken against them as a result of the above procedure, then they may lodge an appeal with the General Secretary who shall then convene a disciplinary appeal hearing. The General Secretary shall conduct a lottery of association members to select four persons. These four persons and the General Secretary shall form a judicial panel of five. The judicial panel shall then hold a hearing where they shall hear statements from all involved in the previous matters. Upon conclusion of the panel’s hearing of evidence, they shall deliberate and make a verdict of the appeal. The verdict of this panel shall be considered final and their decision shall stand. Such a decision shall be considered as having exhausted all investigatory, disciplinary and appellate processes.

ADDITIONAL CLAUSES TO THE COMPLAINTS AND DISCIPLINARY RULES
● Whenever the subject of a complaint is the Complaints Officer themselves, all duties of the Complaints Officer as pertaining to the above procedures shall be transferred to a randomly selected Branch Officer from a different Branch than the one the Complaints Officer belongs to.
● Any instances of procedural logjam shall be resolved by the Trade Rep Group.
● At all times, the subject of a complaint must be recused from any discussions relating to the complaint.
● The complaints and disciplinary procedure may also be used as a method of holding a confidence vote of any office bearer.

● This document is to be considered a “living and breathing” document, and as such may be amended to fit the needs of the association as time goes on. 
● At any time, the National Executive may amend this constitution and rulebook. Additionally, any member of the association may petition the National Executive to make amendments.
● Any resolutions passed by local branches must never conflict with the provisions of this constitution.

ANNEX 1: Record of Resolutions of the National Strategy Committee

8 April 2022 – Review of proportional representation of the National Strategy Committee.
8 April 2022 – Purchase of public liability insurance and professional indemnity.

ANNEX 2: Record of Resolutions of the Local Branches

● NONE YET