How the Union works - Board of Trustees

What is a Board of Trustees?

In 2005 Leeds University Union reviewed its governance structure. Governance is defined as:

"...the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision and accountability of an organisation."
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)

Leeds University Union reviewed its governance structures for two reasons:

In response to best practice in the voluntary sector
Due to a change in legislation of the Charities Act.

Under the Charities Act all students' unions have to become charities and thus are regulated by the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission takes an interest in, amongst other things, the make up of Boards of Trustees and likes to see a good mix of skills and experience to ensure that the Board of Trustees is able to oversee the work of the charity.
Although our Student Executive Officers are people who are passionate about the work of LUU, they did not necessarily have the skills and experience necessary to oversee the running of an organisation with a turnover of £9m+ and over 400 staff.

How did the Board of Trustees come about?

Draft proposals were drawn up and put out to consultation. The final proposals were then put out to referendum in March 2007. Over 2,200 students took part in the vote and over 90% agreed with the proposals for the creation of this Board of Trustees.
The proposals took effect from 1st July 2007.

The paper that went to Union Council in January 2007 explains the background and proposals in more detail. Read the paper online at www.luuonline.com/downloads/unioncouncilpaper07.pdf.

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Who are the Trustees?

The Board of Trustees consists of:

The six Student Executive Officers who are elected each spring, by our members, and are the key representatives for LUU in addition to being trustees.

Three appointed student trustees

Four appointed external trustees (co-opted)

What do the Trustees do?

"Think of LUU as two halves..."

One half is LUU as the representative voice of students; ensuring our members' voice is heard within the University, locally and nationally.

The other half is LUU as an organisation; the part of LUU that provides services, runs the building, employs the staff.

The Board of Trustees deals with the organisation half. It would only get involved as a representative voice if that part of the organisation were to do something to threaten the reputation/ finances/ legal standing of LUU. The representative voice of LUU is dealt with by Union Council and referenda.

The Board of Trustees model and how they work with LUU

Members of the Board of Trustees do not get involved in the day to day running of LUU; that is left to managers and staff. Their role is to oversee the work of the organisation, and set the direction. The Trustees have ultimate liability for LUU.

The authority of the Board of Trustees is set out in the Articles of Governance. These were voted on by students when the Board was created. The Board of Trustees is keen to be transparent and, in order that students know the kinds of things it talks about, the meeting reports will be online (see 'Board of Trustee Meeting Reports' below) after each meeting. The Board of Trustees will also make a quarterly presentation to Union Council on its work.

What do the Sub-Committees do?

In order to assist the Board with its work there are three sub-committees. The sub committees look into aspects of the Board of Trustee's work in more detail. They are:

Audit and Risk Committee
Remuneration and HR Committee
Appointments Committee

1. Audit and Risk Committee
This committee is supported by the Chief Executive and the Director of Resources. The remit of the Audit and Risk Committee is to ensure that the Union complies with all relevant laws and regulations and that an internal system of accountability is formally set up, to review and consider appropriate methods of controlling the Union's activities (financial and otherwise), and to analyse and manage the Union's overall risk profile. The members are:

Click on each of the members to find out more information about them.

2. Remuneration and HR Committee
This committee is supported by the Chief Executive, the Director of Resources and the HR Manager. The remit of this committee is to agree amendments to employee policies, to approve the Union wide pay award and to agree the pay award for the Chief Executive. The members are:

Click on each of the member to find out more information about them.

3. Appointments Committee
This committee is supported by the Chief Executive.The remit of the Appointments Committee is to take delegated responsibility on behalf of the Trustee Board for identifying, and proposing Student Trustees and Co-opted Trustees and for their induction, support and development. The members are:

Click on each of the member to find out more information about them.

Board of Trustee Meeting Reports

Read the reports from the following meetings:

Board of Trustees