Constitution

Constitution Articles of Association — Vision, Mission and Values — Staff — Board of Trustees — Chapter Agreement — Membership Rules — Election Rules

Overview

Wikimedia UK is a charitable company incorporated in England and Wales that is authorised by The Wikimedia Foundation. Inc as the local Wikimedia chapter for the United Kingdom. The company was founded in November 2008, was approved as a Wikimedia chapter in January 2009, and was granted charitable status by the Charity Commission in November 2011.

Wikimedia UK is a separate organization from the Wikimedia Foundation, and has no control over the contents of Wikipedia or any other projects run by the Foundation. The Charitable Objects of Wikimedia UK are, for the benefit of the public, to promote and support the widest possible public access to, use of and contribution to Open Content of an encyclopaedic or educational nature or of similar utility to the general public, in particular the Open Content supported and provided by the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikimedia UK is a charity registered in England and Wales, no. 1144513, and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales, no. 6741827.

The company is run from day to day by a Chief Executive who heads a small team of staff. It is governed by a Board of Directors who are regarded as trustees for the purposes of charity law.

Constitution

The constitution of Wikimedia UK comprises:

(a) The overriding legislative framework set down in UK Charity and Company law, including the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Acts 1993 and 2006

(b) The charity's Articles of Association

(c) The Chapter Agreement, a contract which regulates the relationship between the charity and the Wikimedia Foundation. Amongst other things, the agreement obliges each party to support the activities of the other and forbids either party from doing anything to negatively impact the work or image of the other.

(d) 'Entrenched' rules that require a resolution of the membership in general meeting to change. They include rules adopted by the charity under Article 28:

• the Election Rules
• the Membership Rules
• a resolution that the the directors may not, except with approval of the membership by special resolution, terminate or amend the Chapter Agreement.
• a resolution creating a new class of membership for organisations, each member organisation being entitled to one vote.

(e) Our policies.

(These will be reviewed in 2015-16 with a view to updating them and separating out strategic policies that are appropriately set by the board from operational procedures that are or should be within the remit of the chief executive).

• the Conflicts of interest policy
• the Child Protection Policy
• the Donor Privacy Policy
• the Finance Policy
• the Volunteer Policy
• the Bullying and Harassment Policy
• the Conflict of Interest Policy
• the Confidentiality Policy
• the Data Protection Policy
• the Disciplinary policy and procedure
• the Diversity and Equalities Policy
• the Grievance Policy and Procedure
• the Home Working Policy
• the Maternity Leave and Pay policy
• the Sickness Management Policy
• the Staff Training and Development
• the Time off in Lieu Policy
• the Volunteer and Intern Agreement
• the Whistle blowing Policy
• the Copyright Policy
• the Participation policy
• the Donation and grant acceptance policy
• the Representing Wikimedia UK policy
• the IT Security Policy (and subpolicies)
• the Recruitment Policy
• the Volunteer Conflict of Interest Policy
• the Website Privacy Policy