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In order to proceed you must first read and agree to the code of conduct, WMita Terms and Conditions and Privacy policy

Code of Conduct / Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy
West Midlands IT Association Code of Conduct WMita Code of Professional Conduct for Members BACKGROUND The West Midlands IT Association is for people who work in ICT and associated services in the West Midlands. Its objectives are to improve the standards, training and education of those engaged in the profession. In carrying out these objectives, WMita aims to ensure its members subscribe to its values and achieve high standards of professional conduct. WMita has the power to: 'make rules and regulations to cover the conduct of its members and to provide for sanctions in the event of their infringement and to set up disciplinary procedures for the investigation of alleged breaches and for the imposition of sanctions where appropriate and for the hearing and final disposition of appeals by a member against any findings where a breach of such rules and regulations has been committed and or against the sanction imposed in respect of such breach.' PURPOSE OF THE CODE WMita requires its members to accept and abide by its Code of Professional Conduct as a condition of membership. The Code sets out in detail the standards of professional conduct required. The standards concern integrity, honesty, self-discipline, diligence and professional competence. The Code is intended to give WMita members clear guidance about how to conduct themselves. It is also of value to potential customers and the wider business community by demonstrating the standard of behaviour they can expect of WMita approved members. TO WHOM DOES THE CODE APPLY? The code applies to all members of WMita and the staff working in those member companies. Every member has a duty to accept and abide by this Code as a condition of WMita membership. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MEMBERS DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE CODE? WMita's disciplinary powers and procedures are as agreed by the WMita Board and reviewed from time to time. This provides that WMita can suspend or disqualify members found to be 'guilty of unprofessional conduct or of conduct prejudicially affecting the reputation of the association'. On receiving a report of alleged misconduct the Association will take the following steps: i)The WMita Manager brings the matter to the attention of the Board or its designated sub committee. ii)The Membership Committee appointed by the WMita Board investigates the alleged breach and, if it considers that the allegations are prima facie proven, it: a) informs the member in writing of the allegations; and b)sets a date for a meeting, which gives the member at least two weeks to prepare an answer. The member can make a written statement or can request an oral hearing at the Membership Committee, at which any person of his/her choice may represent the member. The Membership Committee shall give the member a full and fair hearing and will decide if the allegations are proven. This decision will be made on the basis of a two-thirds majority of the committee. If the allegations are deemed to be proven, a written report of the result of the investigation is then made to the WMita Board. Otherwise no further action will be taken. iii) Based upon this report the WMita Board will meet to consider whether the allegations are proven. If the WMita Board is satisfied that the allegations are proven, the Board will consider a proposal that the member be suspended from membership for up to two years or be required to resign their membership. At least twenty-one days written notice of this meeting must be given to the member concerned together with details of the object of the meeting and the grounds on which the proposal is based. iv) The member cannot be suspended or required to resign his or her membership unless at least two thirds of the members of the Board present, and voting at the meeting, or who have submitted a proxy vote, have voted to that effect, and the member has had the opportunity to state his or her defence in writing or orally either in person or by counsel, solicitor or agent and has had the opportunity of cross-examination. The quorum for this meeting shall be 3 WMita Directors in person or by proxy. v) Any decision to suspend a member or require them to resign their membership may be revoked or modified at any time by the WMita Board at a further meeting called in accordance with paragraph iii) above and provided that a resolution to that effect is passed by a two thirds majority. vi) If a member who has been called on to resign fails to do so within seven days from the date of the requirement, their name will be removed from the register of members, the WMita Web Site and shall immediately cease to be a member. vii) A member who has been suspended is not entitled to exercise any rights of membership during the period of suspension. However, any such suspension shall be without prejudice, it is the right of the WMita Board during this period to investigate any further breach of discipline and require them to resign their membership as if the suspended member remained a member. viii) No membership fees will be reimbursed and the decision by the WMita Board is final. THE TERMS OF THE CODE 1.Responsibilities to the profession 1.1.Members must conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the reputation of WMita. 1.2.Members must act in a proper manner when dealing with customers, employees, sub-contractors and the general public. 1.3.Members must not do, say, or omit to do anything that might bring WMita into disrepute, be inconsistent with or detrimental to the objectives and interests of WMita or cast doubt on another member's professional integrity. 1.4.Members are expected to promote the effective use of ICT for social and economic good. 1.5.Members who make public their personal views on any subject must not claim or give the impression that they are representing the official views of WMita, unless they have been expressly authorised in writing to do so by the WMita board. 1.6.Members must ensure that the people providing the services offered to customers must have the appropriate skills, capabilities and capabilities. 1.7.Members must not misrepresent the functionality of their products and provide clear and precise agreements for the supply of systems, software and hardware. 1.8.Members must maintain the highest level of knowledge and skills for themselves and their employees and must comply with any WMita guidelines on education and continuing professional development that may be issued from time to time. 1.9.Members must not malign the products or services of other companies. 1.10.Members must report to WMita any breach of the Code that comes to their attention. 1.11.Members must assist WMita in its enquiries into any breach of the Code. 2.Professional Conduct 2.1.Members must at all times work within the law. They have a responsibility to advise individuals and organisations for whom they work, and those to whom they delegate work, (such as consultants and contractors), of their respective duties. 2.2.Members must offer advice to those for whom they work with a view to providing ICT services which best satisfy customers' needs and aspirations. In particular members are expected to draw to their attention any matter that could be detrimental to customers' business. 2.3.Members must seek to eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity for all. They must not discriminate against any individual or group on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, cultural background, sex, domestic circumstances, disability, illness, age or sexual orientation. 2.4.Members must ensure that their words and actions do not cause nuisance or harassment to others, and never use language that is likely to offend, such as racist and sexist terms. 2.5.Members must not disclose to a third party any confidential or privileged information entrusted to them by clients and customers. 2.6.Advertising by members must be legal, decent, honest and truthful and must not mislead or cause public offence. 2.7.Members must not allow their client's name to be used in advertisements for any ICT related service or product, unless they have the express permission of their client to do so. 2.8.Members must not directly or indirectly exert undue pressure or undue influence on any person, for the purpose of securing work or a contract. 2.9.Members must be able to meet any claims for breach of their professional duty. This is best provided by adequate professional indemnity insurance. 2.10.Before accepting a contract, members must check whether there is likely to be a conflict between the interests of the potential client and any existing client and should inform both parties to this effect. The commission should only be accepted if both parties agree to this. 2.11.Members must ensure that no person is encouraged to act in breach of any existing or previous contract with another company. 2.12.Members must ensure that all services provided by their organisation are carried out in accordance with the Code even when undertaken by sub-contractors who are not WMita members. 2.13.If a member is introduced into a company by another company, as a contractor working for the introducer or that company, WMita members will respect the relationship and not seek to enter into separate agreements with the company into which (or customer to whom) they were introduced. Verbal contracts must be honoured. 2.14.The use of WMita, West Midlands IT Association Limited, its membership logo and authorised text documentation is available to members for publication and advertising purposes. All variations of standard advertising using the above must be approved and authorised in writing by the Board before being published. 2.15.A separate logo is available for use by "approved members". This status requires the member to submit 3 separate references from satisfied clients. The designated Board representatives or committee will investigate these references and, if appropriate, approved status will be granted. The use of this logo by approved members is subject to the constraints described in 2.14. 2.16.The WMita name and logo (in any variants) belong to WMita. WMita is entitled, at its absolute discretion, to require any person to cease using the logo and/or the name at any time and to remove it from all stationery and/or marketing material of any description until further notice. Everyone should be aware that WMita’s logo and name are trademark registered, which gives WMita further rights over any misuse of the name or the trademark. PRIVACY POLICY By accessing or using this website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. We are committed to respecting the privacy of users entering this site and we recognise the importance of the responsible use of information collected on this site. The purpose of this policy therefore is to explain to you rather than appraise you the nature of the information we record and store about you and the way in which it is used. We reserve the right to alter the policy from time to time at our sole discretion. We are fully registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and ensure that we comply with all protection the Act affords to you. Further information on the Act is on the internet at www.dataprotection.gov.uk To protect your privacy, we have adopted the following principles:- Personal Information We collect personally identifiable information in the following circumstances: 1.When you wish to contact us via the website. In this instance, the information we collect about you will include your name, position, company name, address, post code, County, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address. 2.If you wish to apply to become a member of WMITA through the website. In this instance, the information we collect about you will include your company name, legal status, address, post code, number of employees, contact name, position, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and website address. 3.If you make contact with us by other means and provide your contact information to us Why we collect information We retain data about you in order to: ·be able to inform you about other of our services, facilities, or other relevant products, promotions and services ·update and maintain our membership records ·to analyse the logs of our website which allows us to customise the content of our website and assist us in improving our services for you. ·to provide you with access to our membership message board ·to provide you with up to date information, news and details of forthcoming WMITA events ·to provide you with access to your local area of the website We do not use the logs to identify you personally and we do not connect them to individuals who actually browse the site. Information will be provided by any form of communication for which you have given us your contact details. This may include post, e-mail, text, pager, pop up window, fax and telephone. Sharing your Data We will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to anyone. Recording Data and Security Your data is stored electronically on computer systems and your account information is password protected for your privacy and security. We may record or monitor any telephone calls between us or any e-mails that you send to us for security purposes. Data Protection Act 1998 The Data Protection Act defines the legal responsibilities of data users such as ourselves. The Act governs the collection, storage, use and transfer of personal data, for example, name, address, e-mail, age, etc. Accuracy We will do our best to maintain the accuracy of the personal information you supply to us. You have the right to access and correct your personal information at any time and if you wish to do so please contact us at: info@wmita.co.uk Further Information Our site may be linked to other relevant sites and where this is the case, this Privacy Policy will not apply to those other sites once you have entered them. We are not responsible for the content or the privacy practices of other sites. Feedback On our website we may provide space for your comments and/or provide a short survey for you to complete. This is used only to help us refine the content and relevance of our website. It is not re-used or re-applied for any other purpose. Cookies We may track your visit to our site by giving you a cookie when you enter. Cookies are pieces of information sent to your browser on a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive for record keeping purposes. We use Cookies to make visiting our site easier. Cookies allow us to save passwords for you so that you will not have to re-enter them the next time you visit. Cookies cannot be used to obtain other information from your hard disk. The Cookie is used to collect statistical information and is not used to identify individuals. Most browsers are initially set up to accept Cookies. If you prefer you can reset your browser either to notify you when you have received a Cookie or to refuse to accept Cookies. It is important to note that if you choose not accept Cookies, or you set your browser not to accept Cookies, you may not be able to use certain features on our site. Newsletters We maintain a strict "no - spam" policy. Your e-mail address will not be sold to a third party if you sign up for one of our Newsletters or Discussion Lists on our website, which we may offer from time to time, you will receive only the e-mail Newsletter or Discussion List you have requested. You may receive on occasion an offer to sign up for a Newsletter or Discussion List, but you will not receive additional Newsletters or Discussion List mailings unless you specifically request them. Aggregate Data In general, our service automatically gathers certain usage information about the numbers and frequency of visitors to our website. We only use such data as aggregate. This collected data helps us to determine how much our customers use parts of the site, so we can improve our site for your use. IP Address We may collect and track traffic by IP address. An IP address is a number assigned to your computer when you use your browser on internet. We log this information, but this information is never linked to any personally identifying information. It is used to audit the number of visitors coming to our website. Opt Out You can choose not to receive optional information by letting us know on the Registration Page when you sign up for the product or service. You will be given the option to opt-out every time you receive promotional communications from us. Privacy Policy Changes If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes here so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information and whether we will disclose it to anyone. For further information on Data Protection and Privacy Contact West Midlands IT Association Limited Blythe Valley Innovation Centre Central Boulevard Blythe Valley Park Solihull, B90 8AJ Telephone: 0121 506 9320 Fax: 0121 506 9322 e-mail: info@wmita.co.uk --------------------------------------------- Outline Terms and Conditions of Membership 1. Objectives The prime objective of WMita is to improve the standards, ideals, training and education of those engaged in the profession by: - ·Creating a credible and thriving ICT Industry in the West Midlands. ·Encouraging closer collaboration between ICT SME companies in the provision of services to local companies and allows proposals for larger contracts. ·Improving the image of ICT companies in the region. ·Establishing and agreeing ICT quality standards and accreditation criteria. ·Establishing a co-operative framework for multi skilled projects in the region. In carrying out these objectives, WMita aims to ensure its members subscribe to its values and achieve high standards of professional conduct. 2. Mission Statement To establish an Association within the ICT sector, whose members will work together to ensure that the businesses in the West Midlands region have efficient and cost effective systems, thus enhancing their business and allowing them to achieve their business goals. It is WMita's intention to make the West Midlands a centre of excellence and to be at the leading edge of business and ICT. In order to achieve this, WMita will encourage accreditation of members and the building of relationships with other WMita members through networking and customer focussed events. 3. Eligibility for Membership Membership of WMita shall be open primarily to businesses and associated businesses and users in the ICT industry within the West Midlands that are interested in furthering the aims of WMita. Members must agree to be bound by the WMita Constitution and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of WMita. Details of the Constitution can be found at www.wmita.co.uk. Copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of WMita can be found at Companies House. 4. Ownership WMita is a company limited by guarantee. 5. Membership Options On joining each member business is entitled to join one of WMita's constituent branches. Current Branches are: - ·WMita Birmingham ·WMita Black Country ·WMita Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire ·WMita Herefordshire and Worcestershire ·WMita Staffordshire ·West Midlands Digital NB A further Branch "WMita Shropshire" will soon be available. ICT businesses are normally represented by the local branches and professional and advisory IT services by the cross regional branch WM Digital. However, a business can elect to join any branch and can participate in the meetings and events organised by all branches. They only have voting rights in their nominated branch. WMita is committed to an accreditation process as a means of providing a quality guarantee to ICT users in the region. All members are encouraged to aim for accredited status. This requires a company to abide by the Association's Code of Conduct and the provision of three acceptable customer satisfaction references. WMita is working with the NCC to produce a nationally recognised accreditation process for the ICT Industry. 6. Membership Rights All members are entitled to: - ·have a single vote at their branch AGM or EGM. ·have a single vote at the AGM or any EGM of the WMita itself. ·attend any event run by any branch (any number). ·use the appropriate branch logo and the main WMita logo on promotional material. ·use the appropriate branch logo and the main WMita logo on all correspondence. Accredited members are allowed to use the ITA approved logo as above. The size of all logos should be in accordance with the guidelines published on the WMita website. 7. Organisational Structure The outline organisational structure is for a WMita Board with overall responsibility for the Association supported by individual Branch boards or committees responsible for the sub regions. A small central administration team led by the WMita Manager will provide support to both the Main Board and Branch representatives and all members. Each Branch shall at the Branch AGM elect a Branch Committee that shall consist of a Branch Chairman, Branch Vice-Chairman, Branch Secretary and WMita Representative. Each Branch may at any time (so as to have effect from the end of a particular Branch Committee meeting) co-opt any Member or non-member onto a Branch Committee and each co-opted person shall be entitled to vote at a Branch Committee meeting provided however that no more than four co-opted persons may serve on a particular Branch Committee at any one time. A maximum of eight persons in total may serve upon a Branch Committee. The WMita Board shall consist of each Branch WMita Representative, the WMita Chairman (who shall be appointed at the WMita AGM) and up to four other WMita Board members who may be co-opted onto the WMita Board. Sub committees will deal with specific areas chaired by a delegated Main Board member. Those currently in place are: - ·Finance and Administration ·Marketing and PR ·Membership and Training ·Programme and Events ·Strategy Task Forces for specific areas or projects will be set up at the Main Boards discretion. 8. Glossary "Branch" - means a branch of WMita "Branch AGM" - means the annual general meeting of a Branch "Branch Chairman" - means the chairman of a Branch "Branch Committee" - means a committee elected to serve a Branch "Branch EGM" - means any extraordinary general meeting of a Branch "Branch Secretary" - means the secretary of a Branch "Branch Vice-Chairman" - means the vice-chairman of a Branch "Member" - means a business that is a member of WMita "WMD" - means West Midlands Digital Limited "WMita" - means West Midlands IT Association Limited (a company limited by guarantee) "WMita AGM" - means the annual general meeting of WMita "WMita Board" - means the board of directors of WMita "WMita Chairman" - means the chairman of the WMita Board "WMita Code of Conduct" means the code of conduct of WMita that sets out the duties and obligations of each WMita Member "WMita Constitution" - means the constitution and the memorandum and articles of association of WMita. "WMita Director" - means a director on the WMita Board "WMita EGM" - means any extraordinary general meeting of WMita "WMita Objectives" means the aims and objectives of WMita "WMita Representative" - means the Member elected by a Branch to serve as a WMita Director on the WMita Board

I have read and accepted the code of conduct, terms & conditions of membership of WMita and the privacy policy.

By checking this box you will receive from time to time our newsletter containing information about forthcoming events at WMita.

WMita Registered Address:

WMita
Blythe Valley Innovation Centre,
Central Boulevard,
Blythe Valley Park,
Solihull,
West Midlands
B90 8AJ

Tel: 0121 506 9320
Fax: 0121 506 9322
Email: [email protected]

Registered No: 04488271
VAT No: 807799283

Membership Fees 2007:
The annual subscription is based upon the number of people in your organisation. Prices quoted exclude VAT.

No of                         Employees    Price                                  1                £160 pa
2 - 5           £220 pa
6 - 10         £280 pa
11 - 20        £340 pa
21 - 50        £420 pa
50 - 100      £500 pa
101 - 250    £600 pa
251 - 500   £750 pa
Over 500    £850 pa

Facility for Direct Debit can be set-up to spread the costs over 4 payments over the year.