The Society’s Policy for Fee Reductions or Waivers
Introduction
Our Fellows pay a one-off joining fee when they are first welcomed into the Society and thereafter, an annual subscription fee. These fees provide an important source of income for the Society, supporting us to make a difference in Wales.
All Fellows may choose to pay in instalments or by direct debit. You do not need to complete a form in order to do this – simply contact our Finance Officer on finance@lsw.wales.ac.uk
The fee structure is applied the same to all Fellows, with the following exceptions:
The Society will reduce fees by 50% for all Fellows over 70.
The Society will waive all fees for Fellows who are over 85.
- The Society will reduce fees by 50% for all Fellows over 70.
- The Society will waive all fees for Fellows who are over 85.
Whilst subscription fees are a core part of our funding, we want to ensure they are not a barrier to Fellowship on an individual basis. Both Fellows and nominees for Fellowship may therefore apply for a fee reduction (or waiver) at any time.
This Fee Reduction (or waiver) Policy explains how we will handle all requests fairly, equitably and confidentially.
Fee reductions (or waivers) may be requested by a Fellow (or someone on their behalf).
- When informed that a Fellow is seriously ill, the Society will normally waive their fees until notified that a full recovery is made. This can be done by the Fellow or someone acting on their behalf by emailing the Chief Executive on: oharrison@lsw.wales.ac.uk
- Where a Fellow (or nominee for Fellowship) feels that the fee is/would be a barrier to their involvement, they may complete a Fee Reduction (or Waiver) form to ask the Society to consider reducing, or in some instances, waiving fees for an agreed period.
Please note that our policy does not normally reduce rates purely on the basis of a Fellow’s retirement. We welcome involvement from all our Fellows and even when retired, Fellows continue to play an active role in the work of the Society. Please see the fee reductions applied to Fellows over the age of 70.
There are no specific parameters under which an application may be made. Each application by a Fellow or nominee will be considered on its own merits.
Application for and acceptance of a fee reduction (or waiver) will not impact on a Fellow’s status within the society. They continue to receive any benefits and may participate in the organisation in same way as all our Fellows including use of the post-nominal title as awarded on election.
Process for Fee Reduction or Waiver Requests:
- Any Fellow or Nominee who wishes to apply for a fee reduction (or waiver) should complete the ‘Fee Reduction (or Waiver)’ form and send it via email directly to the Head of Equity and Engagement, marked ‘Confidential’ on: hwillson@lsw.wales.ac.uk. Nominees may, alternatively, ask their Proposer to make this application if they prefer.
- The application will be anonymised and then reviewed by the Treasurer (a Fellow) and the Chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group (a Fellow) who will normally provide their response ( via the Head of Equity and Engagement) within 3 weeks with a decision.
- This decision may include an offer of a reduction (or waiver), a note to explain why LSW are unable to accommodate your request at this time or an invitation to provide more context to the request.
- Any offer of a reduction (or waiver) will include an outline of what period of time this covers.
- The offer, if granted, will be shared with the Finance Officer. The Finance Officer will only receive the financial outcome of the fee reduction (or waiver) to be applied, not the details of the request. The applicant’s original Fee reduction (or waiver) form will be retained until the reduction (or waiver) is no longer required.
- The Treasurer, Chair of the EDI Advisory Group and Head of Equity and Engagement will treat as confidential all details of the application. However, we will keep an anonymised log of decisions to help us make consistent future decisions. This anonymised log, and individual anonymised requests, will be shared with the Society’s Clerk and Treasurer for governance purposes.
- Ordinarily, where the request for a waiver/reduction exceeds one year, we will ask successful applicants to re-apply annually to ensure our financial records are up to date. In some circumstances we will waive this – you will receive notification of this in your application response.
Withdrawal or modification of the offer
If a Fellow or nominee’ circumstances change after a fee reduction (or waiver) has been granted, such that it is no longer required, the Fellow or nominee should inform the Head of Equity and Engagement at the earliest opportunity.
Additional notes for Nominees
In some cases, nominees may not wish to proceed with a nomination unless they know that a reduction (or waiver) will be granted. Nominees should apply at least one month before the deadline for Fellowship nominations, to allow time for a decision before the deadline. This request will not be shared with the Scrutiny Committee or Special Council who make the recommendations for Fellowship and will not have any bearing on their decision.
A decision to grant a fee reduction (or waiver) to a nominee is intended to provide financial reassurance only. It does not give any indication of the nominee’s likelihood of election to the Fellowship as it is entirely separate to the scrutiny process.