Legal Assistance with Management Problems in Associations

Questioner

Last year I was the chairman of an association. The board consisted of chairman, secretary, treasurer and promotion commissioner. And we had a change of board on September 1st. From July 1st, the treasurer decided to stop making contact. He ignored all attempts to contact the new treasurer and me, including the calls to transfer tasks and responsibilities. Since, as chairman, I also had some insight into the financial situation, I had to take over all his tasks, including the transfer. Assuming that there was no budget for the coming year yet, you can imagine that this was a lot of extra work, which I was not looking forward to at all. I would have preferred to ignore it all, but he has now decided to remain a member. I get a stress attack just seeing him. My question now is; is this sufficient grounds to expel him from the association with a board meeting? And, is there a possibility for me to be compensated for all the extra hours I had to work?

Lawyer

Usually, it is not the board that decides on the expulsion of a member, but the members' meeting (ALV). A suitable basis for this must be found in the association's statutes. Whether you can be compensated for your extra work depends on whether your association has a compensation scheme for board work. If so, then you could argue that you temporarily performed double work (chairman and treasurer) and that in all fairness an extra compensation is due for that now.

Questioner

Thank you for your answer! The vast majority of our members are new. The new board would rather not bother the new members directly with these kinds of nasty issues. That is why the preference is for solving it within the board. Our statutes are drawn up as minimalist as possible and the board positions are completely unpaid. When someone accepts a board position, there are a number of things you can reasonably expect, even if they are not in the articles of association. At least that seems to be the case to me. Not ignoring the other board members seems to me to be one and fulfilling your responsibilities and agreements seems to me to be another. Can't these general standards of conduct form a sufficient basis for expelling someone from an association by means of a board decision?

Lawyer

If the articles of association do not provide for anything else, the law states that membership can be terminated (by the association) by means of cancellation if the association cannot reasonably be expected to continue the membership. The cancellation is done by the board. Dismissal (by the board) can also occur if a member unreasonably harms the association. The latter can occur at any time, cancellation by the end of the financial year and with a four-week notice period. An 'appeal' against a dismissal by the board can be lodged with the members' meeting. If your board believes that, given the actions of this member of the association, it cannot be expected that the membership should continue, a well-motivated cancellation of the membership on behalf of the association by the board could be an option.

Questioner

Thank you very much for your help, I can definitely continue with this! You have certainly explained it clearly.