Membership, Performance and Leave

PURPOSE

This Policy sets out how a person joins Racerbot and completes probation, what is expected of members, how deadlines and leave work, and how warnings, inactivity and performance removals are handled.

1. JOINING

1.1 An eligible student may register during an application window under SOP-ADM-03 and thereby becomes a candidate. No fee or prior experience shall be required.

1.2 Each candidate shall be interviewed by the executive leading the subteam, the President or a delegate, and one other executive, who decide by majority. Prior knowledge shall never be the deciding factor.

1.3 A candidate who passes the interview becomes a Probation Member on that day. A candidate who does not pass may reapply in a later window, and no record of the interview is kept against them.

2. PROBATION

2.1 Probation shall last no longer than eight weeks, or such shorter period as SOP-ADM-03 sets for the subteam, during which the Probation Member completes onboarding and carries out team work.

2.2 A Probation Member shall have no lab or equipment access until the requirements of POL-03 §4.1 are met.

2.3 The executive leading the subteam may confirm the Probation Member as an Active Member, or may end the placement for missed deadlines, work below standard, inactivity or incomplete onboarding, with a brief written reason. A placement shall not be ended on any of these grounds without a prior warning under §6. Ending a placement is not a sanction.

2.4 Probation is never repeated once completed.

3. EXPECTATIONS OF MEMBERS

3.1 An Active Member shall deliver accepted work by the agreed deadline and to the standard set under §3.2; attend subteam meetings or give notice of absence; reply within three days to messages directed to them; work safely; and document their work so that others can continue it.

3.2 The executive leading a subteam sets its standard of work through subteam rules, task descriptions or review feedback.

3.3 A member who says early that a commitment cannot be met shall have that counted in their favour.

4. DEADLINES

4.1 Deadlines are agreed between the member and the executive leading the subteam through an official channel, and are commitments.

4.2 A request for an extension shall be made before the deadline. Granting it is at the discretion of the executive leading the subteam, and steady progress ordinarily earns one.

4.3 Non-essential work pauses during the final examination period (Constitution §3.6(f)). Midterms are accommodated through realistic deadlines.

5. LEAVE

5.1 Leave may be taken for a co-op or work term, an absence of more than three weeks, or genuine extenuating circumstances. Coursework load is not a ground for leave.

5.2 A member takes leave by written notice to the executive leading the subteam and to Internal Affairs, after handing over their current work.

5.3 A Member on Leave keeps the vote and their subteam place, is assigned no work, is exempt from §7, and shall answer messages so far as circumstances allow.

5.4 Leave shall last no longer than twelve consecutive months, after which the member becomes a General Member. A member may return from leave at any time on notice.

5.5 Leave does not prevent a decision under §8 or POL-02.

6. WARNINGS

6.1 No member or Probation Member shall be removed for inactivity or performance without a prior warning (Constitution §4.4). A warning is given privately by the executive leading the subteam or, for inactivity, by Internal Affairs. It may be given in any form, including in person, verbally, by telephone, by text or direct message, or by email.

6.2 A warning shall state the problem, what is expected, and by when. For performance, at least three days shall be allowed to correct a specific shortfall.

6.3 The person giving a warning shall record it on the same day by a short message to Internal Affairs stating the date, the form and what was said. A verbal warning shall be followed by a brief written note to the member where practical.

6.4 A performance warning remains in effect for sixty days. A further missed deadline or substandard piece of work within that period may lead to removal without a new warning.

7. INACTIVITY

7.1 An Active Member who for fourteen consecutive days neither contributes nor responds to a message directed to them through an official channel becomes a General Member automatically (Constitution §4.3(a)), provided a warning was given under §6.

7.2 The warning shall be given at or about the seventh day. Where it is given later, the change takes effect seven days after the warning.

7.3 In this section, “contribution” means real work on team tasks, and “a message directed to them” means a direct message, a mention or an email.

7.4 During the final examination period, only a failure to respond counts towards inactivity.

7.5 Internal Affairs shall record the change and notify the member of the reason. The change is not a sanction.

7.6 The member may ask the executive leading the subteam to return them to the subteam. The decision rests with that executive.

8. REMOVAL FOR PERFORMANCE

8.1 After a warning under §6, the executive leading a subteam may remove a member who misses an agreed deadline, delivers work below standard, or does not correct the shortfall in the time given, whereupon the member becomes a General Member (Constitution §4.3(b)). The decision shall be proportionate.

8.2 The reason shall be sent privately, by direct message or club email, identifying the warning and what happened after it, and shall be copied to Internal Affairs. The removal takes effect when the reason is sent.

8.3 A removal under this section is not a sanction, and its record shall be deleted after twelve months. The member may reapply through intake.

8.4 The duties of an executive office are governed by POL-06, not by this section.

9. AFTER A STATUS CHANGE

9.1 A General Member holds the status set out in Constitution §3.4.

9.2 A member may resign by written notice to Internal Affairs, and shall return club property under POL-03 §12. Within twelve months of resigning they may rejoin as a General Member; after that, they rejoin through intake. Alumni Advisors may not rejoin.

9.3 Any decision under this Policy may be appealed under POL-02 §9.

REVISION HISTORY