How to Use This Compendium, and the Policies Guideline

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How to Use This Compendium and the Policies Guideline

  1. This compendium collects Sparrows' policies into one place, numbered and organised by Part, so that a policy required by the Children's Act, the Public Finance Management Act, or Sparrows' own Constitution can be found, read, and reviewed as easily as any other.
  2. Each policy stands as its own policy, but is written to be read alongside the others.
  3. This compendium is arranged in five Parts:
    1. Part A, Governance: how Sparrows is run, and how it handles information, risk and complaints from the public;
    2. Part B, Financial: money, assets, buying, vehicles, donors and the prevention of fraud;
    3. Part C, Staff: jobs, conduct, hiring, pay, grievances and discipline;
    4. Part D, Children's services: how children are cared for, from arrival to aftercare; and
    5. Part E, Site and safety: a safe site, health, emergencies and initiation.
  4. Every policy is divided into numbered headings. Under heading 3, the clauses are numbered 3.1, 3.2 and so on, and the parts of a clause are numbered 3.1.1, 3.1.2 and so on. A policy points to its own headings and clauses by number, with the sign § (for example, §3.1), and to another policy by name.

Purpose

  1. The Board has the responsibility to ensure legal compliance and protection of Sparrows. Because Board members are not directly involved in Sparrows' day-to-day running, policy assists legal compliance when implemented by the Executive Director, employees or volunteers of Sparrows, who must follow policies sanctioned by the Board.

Definitions

  1. In this policy, and in every other Sparrows policy unless it says otherwise:
    1. “and/or” means whichever of a series of conditions are met applies.
    2. “at least” includes the week, day, time or value on which the condition starts; “at most”, “until”, and “to” include the week, day, time or value on which the condition ends; “from” and “within” include the week, day, time or value on which the condition starts (and, for "within," also ends).
    3. “Board” means the group of Sparrows members elected as office-bearers, as defined in the Nonprofit Organisations Act, 1997, as well as the group of Sparrows members identified as the "management board" in the General Regulations Regarding Children, 2010, as well as the group of Sparrows members identified as the "management committee" in the Sparrows Constitution.
    4. “business day” means any day from Monday to Friday between 8:00 and 17:00, excluding public holidays declared under the Public Holidays Act, 1994. “business week” means any five consecutive calendar days that include business days. “calendar day” means any day from Monday to Sunday, and “calendar week” any seven consecutive calendar days starting on a Monday. “month” means any calendar month from its first day to its last.
    5. “Chairperson”, “Secretary”, “Treasurer” and “Vice-Chairperson”, unless otherwise specified, mean the person elected by the Board to that office.
    6. “clause” and “section” both mean part of a document referenced by alpha-numerical numbering. In relation to the Sparrows Constitution or a policy, "clause" is preferred; in relation to law, "section" is preferred.
    7. “may” means discretionary; “must” means compulsory.
    8. “Sparrows” means Child Welfare South Africa: Tsolwana and Sparrows Child and Youth Care Centre.

Policies Must Comply With the Law

  1. All policies must comply with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, or the laws of the country in which an office of Sparrows operates, as well as the Sparrows Constitution.
  2. The law takes immediate precedence when a conflict between the Constitution or a policy and the law is confirmed by the Chairperson. The clauses not in conflict remain valid.
  3. A Board member, employee or volunteer who suspects such a conflict must report it to the Chairperson; anyone else may. The Chairperson must investigate within five business days, communicate the finding in writing to the person who reported it within a further five business days, and, if a conflict is confirmed, initiate a review.
  4. If a Constitution clause is confirmed to conflict with the law, the Board must put an amendment to the members at the next Annual General Meeting. Only the members can amend the Constitution. Clause 12 of the Constitution sets the steps. The Secretary must receive the proposal in writing at least 30 days before the meeting. Every member must be sent it in writing, with the date and place, at least 28 days before. The amendment passes only if two-thirds of the members present vote for it. If those periods cannot be met in time for the Annual General Meeting, the Board must call a Special General Meeting instead. Until the members amend the Constitution, §4.2 applies.
  5. The Board must amend a policy confirmed to conflict with the law within three months of confirming the conflict.

When a Policy Is Valid

  1. A policy is only valid if it is in writing; Board members have reviewed the relevant legislation and are satisfied the policy complies with it; the policy was sanctioned by a majority of Board members, in person or by electronic vote; the outcome is recorded in the minutes of the meeting where it was sanctioned (or the next meeting, if voted on electronically); and the policy is signed by the Chairperson and Secretary — or, only where one of them is unable or unwilling to sign, by a majority of Board members instead.
  2. The Chairperson's and Secretary's signature certifies the policy is sanctioned by a majority of the Board under §5.1; it does not signify personal agreement or disagreement with the policy, and must not be withheld for any reason other than the policy not actually being so sanctioned.

Ethical or Moral Objections

  1. An ethical or moral objection to a statutory or discretionary policy clause may be recorded in the minutes of any meeting, at the objecting person's request, but does not exempt a Board member, employee or volunteer from implementing the policy. A person with such an objection to a statutory clause may lobby their elected representative for a change in the legislation.

Requesting a New, Amended, Clarified or Revoked Policy

  1. A member of the public, an employee, or a volunteer requests this through the Executive Director, who liaises with the Chairperson if the request has merit; the Chairperson may then include it on the agenda of any Board meeting.
  2. A Board member requests this through the Chairperson directly. Received at least 21 days before a meeting, the Chairperson must include it on that meeting's agenda; received later, the Chairperson may include it on that meeting's agenda, or must include it on the next one's.
  3. When drafting a policy or amendment for consideration, relevant legislation, regulations, Codes of Good Practice, Practice Notes and Interpretation Notes must be identified and applied; Green papers, White papers and Bills may also be considered, on the understanding that all three are still subject to change.
  4. A new policy must be in writing, have a clear and distinctive purpose, follow the numbering format in §1.4, provide additional definitions where necessary, and reference the Acts, sections and regulations its clauses relate to.
  5. An amendment must be in writing, address a single policy, identify the specific clause requiring amendment, specify the reason, and specify a proposed alternative clause if there is one. A proposal to revoke a policy must be in writing, address a single policy, and specify the reason.
  6. A request for clarification must be in writing, identify the policy and clauses in question, and specify what is unclear. It is submitted through the Executive Director (member of the public, employee, or volunteer) or the Chairperson (Board member), and responded to in writing within five business days.
  7. A complaint about something Sparrows, or anyone acting on its behalf, has done or failed to do — as distinct from a request about a policy's own text — is made under the Public Complaints Policy instead.

Review

  1. Every policy is reviewed annually by the Board, before the start of the financial year, including a review of its supporting documents and the legislation it is based on.