The Guild of Enamellers Bye Laws

These bye laws support the Constitution and describe in more detail how the Guild is managed. The bye laws can be changed with the agreement of a majority of the Executive Committee.

1. Activities

The Guild undertakes a number of regular activities in support of its objectives. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Hold an exhibition at least annually of the selected work of members.

• Arrange meetings for discussion and practice of aspects of the craft.

• Publish regular journals.

• Maintain a library of relevant texts and a visual record of enamels.

• Organise work assessment for levels of advancement within the Guild.

2. Organisation

   1. Trustees

There will be between 5 and 8 trustees. The treasurer must be a trustee.

At least four others will be drawn from the following roles.

. Awards and Accreditation Secretary

• Conference Secretary

• Guild Secretary

• Membership Secretary

• Publicity Officer

• Web Master

• Web Editor

• Journal Editor

• Health and Safety Officer

• Librarian

• Chair

• Vice Chair

• Past Chair

We require at least one, and preferably two, trustees from the set of Regional Representatives and the general membership.

Trustees must provide a current DBS check and a CV. The Guild will cover the cost of obtaining a DBS check. Executive committee members are, with the exception of Regional Representatives, are also requested to provide a CV.

See also section 13 – 19 of the constitution which describe the appointment, decision making process and trustee meetings.

1. 2. Executive officers

The Officers of the Guild shall be drawn from the membership of the Guild and shall be unpaid. The officers shall consist of Chairman, Vice- Chairman, Past Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Awards and Selections Secretary, Publicity Officer, Conference Secretary, Librarian, Editor, Bursary Secretary, Health and Safety Officer, Web Editor and Webmaster.

1. 1. 1. The Chair

The Chair shall be ratified at the Annual General Meeting from the members for the term of one year, normally by the elevation of the Vice Chair, or if he/she is unable to serve as Chairman will be elected from the membership of the Guild, preferably with Executive Committee experience. He/she will remain on the Executive Committee for a further year as Past Chair.

1. 1. 2. TheViceChair

The Vice Chair, who will serve as Chair for the following year, shall be ratified by the members of the Guild at the Annual General Meeting for a term of one year. It is the Vice Chair’s responsibility to identify and propose a successor as Vice Chair. The Vice Chair will actively seek nominations for a successor during their term of office

1. 1. 3. The Past Chair

The Past Chair remains on the committee for a year after serving as Chair.

1. 1. 4. Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Awards and Selections Secretary, Publicity Officer, Conference Secretary, Librarian, Editor, Bursary Secretary, Health and Safety Officer, Web Editor and Webmaster

Shall be elected from the members of the Guild for a term of one year. They shall be eligible for re-election for additional terms without restriction.

Election of Officers shall be held at the Annual General meeting, voting restricted to members of the Guild.

1. 1. 5. Regional Representatives

Any member can nominate a Regional Representative who is to be voted in by the Executive Committee. The nominated member must be a paid up member willing to take on the role in its entirety and to have access to email to communicate on a regular basis with all the members in the proposed region and with the Executive Committee.

1. 1. 6. Ordinary Members

May make a request to attend an Executive Committee Meeting as an observer without voting rights. If the meeting is to be held over Zoom, the Chair, Membership Secretary and Webmaster must be notified by email at least a week before the meeting. They will need the full name and Zoom screen name of the attendee.

1. 3. The Executive Committee

The affairs of the Guild shall be managed by an Executive Committee - the Executive Committee will include those of the the Trustees who are also officers of the Guild. Note that the legal responsibility of managing the Charity rests solely with the trustees, the trustees must take action if they feel that they affairs of the Guild are being managed in a way that is not aligned with the charitable objectives of the Guild.

The Full Executive Committee shall consist of The Officers of the Guild and a representative of each Regional Group.

It is expected that each members of the Executive Committee will:

1. Respond to email from members of the Guild in a timely fashion.

2. Attend 3 Executive committee meetings a year.

3. Produce reports for Executive committee meetings and the AGM when requested to by the secretary and do so by the requested date.

A quorum of the Executive Committee shall be 60%. In the event of insufficient Executive Committee Members to form a quorum at any Executive Committee meeting, it shall be possible to obtain votes by email to cover the quorum needed to carry motions.

The Executive Committee may appoint sub-committees and working parties – see below.

The Executive Committee may co-opt such members or seek such specialist advice as the business of the Guild may require.

The Executive committee will meet at least 3 times a year.

1. 4. Sub committees

Sub committees will be appointed (or re-appointed) annually at the April Exec Meeting. The majority of the members of a sub committee must be officers of the Guild, occasionally ordinary members may be appointed to a sub committee with the agreement of the Executive committee. Sub committees may be given delegated authority to make decisions in specific areas.

1. 1. 1. Finance sub committee

Operates under the direction of the Treasurer and is responsible for the bank account the Paypal account, ensuring that annual accounts are submitted and (if required) independently verified. The Chair is always a member of this committee and other members may be added by the Chair/Treasurer. The primary purpose of this sub- committee is to support the treasurer. Only Trustees may be members of the finance sub committee.

1. 1. 2. Publicity and Events sub committee

Chaired by the Guild Chair and is responsible for managing all external events, publicity and the external representation of the Guild. This includes both social media presence and the web site.

1. 1. 3. Conference sub committee

Operates under the direction of the Conference secretary and is appointed annually by the Conference Secretary and the Guild’s Chair. The committee will always include the Chair and the Conference Secretary.

1. 1. 4. Bursary sub committee

Operates under the direction of the Bursary secretary and is appointed annually by the Bursary Secretary and the Guild’s Chair. The role of the committee is to support the Bursary secretary in organising the annual Bursary award.

1. 5. Working parties

Working parties may be formed to address a specific topic and report back to the Guild. Working parties may seek advice from experts (if required a budget must be approved by the Executive Committee), or co-opt Guild members but cannot make decisions on behalf of the Guild. The working party will be disbanded after reporting back to the Executive Committee.

Decision making

No member can make a decision on their own

3. Accreditation

   1. Associate Craftsman (ACGE) and Craftsman (CGE)

Candidates for these awards are required to submit six different pieces of work using three different techniques to a selection committee. They may be in any techniques and should be accompanied by relevant notes. A 50% pass mark will secure Associate Craftsman status and Craftsman is gained with 75%.

1. 2. Research Fellow RFGE

Candidates must complete a pre-approved Research Project and Thesis that contributes to the advancement of enamelling knowledge through practical or theoretical research. This is also assessed by a selection committee.

4. Regions

The Guild is divided up into geographical Regions across the UK and abroad, the purpose of which is to encourage members to network within their geographical area in an organised and effective manner, fulfilling the objectives of the Guild.

UK Regions must follow a common set of financial procedures . Regions outside the UK are slightly different in that they are, from the point of view of finance, completely independent from the Guild.

Procedure to create a Region:

• Define the proposed area and present a proposal to the Executive Committee to be agreed with a Regional Number.

• The Region must have a Regional Representative .

• All UK mainland Regional Representatives are expected to attend all three Executive Committee meetings during the year, including the AGM and present a report for the Guild AGM. Non-UK mainland Representatives are only required to attend the AGM Conference Executive Committee meeting presenting a report.

• The Region can choose how it organises itself but UK regions must follow the Guild’s financial procedures.

• Regions may hold bank accounts but these must be listed on the Charity Commission web site and effectively belong to the Guild.

The regions have delegated authority to commit to paying for rooms, tutors and consumables for workshops. All such payments must follow the Guild’s finance policy

The good name of the Guild must be upheld at all times by the Region, its Representative and its activities. Failure to do so will result in members being asked to resign from the Guild (under section 9.4 of the constitution) or being asked to step down from their roles in the region and on the Executive committee.

The Executive Committee can dissolve any region that it considers not to be fulfilling the Guild Objectives or that does not uphold the good name of the Guild at all times.

The process of removal of an individual from the Executive Committee or from regional responsibilities is the same as the process described for the removal of membership under section 9 of the constitution, but in this case the individual would retain their membership

Document history

Last updated 18/04/2026 ZES

Guild Bye Laws (PDF)