Federation Rules

3.1. No person shall be entitled to be a director of the Company unless they are a Voting Member or an approved representative of a Voting Member.

3.2. Depending on the requirements and focus of the business ideally the Board would consist of:

3.2.1. The Chief Executive of the Company;
3.2.2. The BFFF President;
3.2.3. The chair of the Audit Committee either as a Director or co-optee;
3.2.4. A retailer representative;
3.2.5. Large producer;
3.2.6. Medium size producer;
3.2.7. Small producer;<
3.2.8. Major wholesaler;
3.2.9. Wholesaling buying group; and
3.2.10. Independent wholesaler.
3.2.11. Up to two representatives from any of the categories in this section

The Company shall have the flexibility to change the make up at any time in order to bring the relevant skill set and experience onto the Board, with the option to co-opt an additional 2 members if required.

3.3. If the Company does not receive enough nominations to enable the board of directors to be as outlined above the existing board of directors shall review the position and come to a decision as to how the board of directors shall be made up.

3.4. The board of directors shall be reviewed at each annual general meeting and directors shall serve terms of a maximum of 3 years as agreed between the board and individual director other than the chief executive who is subject to annual review by the Board and any performance issues would be addressed by the Board, as they arose, or at the annual review and therefore the chief executive does not need to seek re-election.

3.5. At each annual general meeting the Voting Members shall be informed of the directors who are standing for re-election, ideally 3 directors, and of those Voting Members who are standing for election as a director. The Chief Executive and the board of directors shall nominate Voting Members to stand for election as a director. However, the Voting Members shall also be given the opportunity to nominate an individual to stand as a director. Each individual nominated by a Voting Member must be proposed and seconded and must, in the opinion of the board of directors, fulfil the necessary criteria to become a director of the Company. The board of directors shall have the right to block any nomination made by a Voting Member. Where more nominations than places available are received, a vote of the Voting Members shall be held, and the replacement directors shall be elected by simple majority.

3.6. Directors are entitled to be elected for a second term but shall only be entitled to serve a third term in exceptional circumstances where such approach is recommended by the directors by a simple majority.

3.7. No Member shall ideally have more than 1 representative on the board of directors unless there are exceptional circumstances such as the Chair of the Audit Committee being from the same company. If a director ceases to belong to a Member of the Company, or changes Member, then he shall resign his position as a director with immediate effect.

3.8. The directors shall at all times conduct themselves in line with the Trade Association Governance on General Management, which can be found at Leadership & Governance | Trade Association Forum

3.9. Directors’ expenses shall only be paid if approved by the Chief Executive in his sole discretion.

5.1 The directors shall set the membership subscriptions for each relevant category of membership annually and such fees will be reviewed when renewals are due. The subscription structure and banding for members will be available to all voting members on request.

5.2 Members will join the Federation on an annual basis, and their subscription will begin for one year from the date of joining.

5.3 Membership subscriptions for the whole year shall be paid by cheque, BACS or credit card on the day of joining or the date the renewal is due.

5.4 If a member fails to pay their subscription fee in respect of any year the board
of directors reserves the right to remove them as a member of the Company in accordance with the articles.

Board Approved: 1st February 2023