Premier League - Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Standard - Terms of Reference

6 Jan 2021

Authority

Under article 53 of the Premier League's articles of association, the board of directors of the Premier League (Board) is empowered to 'appoint any person or group of persons (including any person who is a representative of a Club) to carry out or undertake such specific duties for the company'. The panel of the Premier League Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard (the "PLEDIS Panel") has been appointed by the Board to carry out the duties set out at paragraph 2,

Scope and purpose

Attend PLEDIS Panel/Club assessment meetings in order to make an objective decision in regard to whether a Club has met the requirements of a level of the Standard;
Give in-depth consideration to all Club documentation in the Panel Pack supplied by the Secretariat prior to these meetings;
Collectively consider a Club's submission presentation and ask probing questions of the Club's representatives to check and challenge the progress they are making towards equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI);
Collectively identify strengths and weaknesses in a Club's EDI work and make informed recommendations to help them develop further;
Participate in other Premier League briefings, training, associated meetings and events as requested by the Premier League from time to time including the awarding of PLEDIS certificates to Clubs;
Collectively consider such other matters/issues as are referred to it by the

In addition to the points above the primary duty of the PLEDIS Panel Chair is to:

Chair and facilitate all Panel meetings;
Determine the makeup of each Panel (based on skillset and Panel Member availability) in conjunction with the PLEDIS Manager;
Identify the key areas of questioning and lead the Panel's Q&A during a Club's submission meeting;
Make a final decision relating to a Club's submission should Panel Members be evenly split;
Review and sign off on Panel/Club meeting minutes, Panel reports and joint Premier League/Panel decision letters which are generated after each submission meeting (on behalf of the Panel) within the stated timeframe;
Consider updated Club Panel reports (where Clubs have been given extended timeframes to address gaps) within the stated deadline, ensuring that other Panel Members have given due consideration to these reports;
In conjunction with the PLEDIS Manager design and participate in the induction process for new Panel Members as required;
Contribute feedback (including from the broader PLEDIS Panel membership) to the ongoing review of the effectiveness of PLEDIS by the Premier League from time to time;
Be an effective advocate for the PLEDIS framework in collaboration with the PLEDIS Manager and Head of EDI;
Contribute to annual reporting on progress (to, for example, the Premier League Board, Shareholders and the wider public) in collaboration with the PLEDIS Manager and Head of

Membership

The PLEDIS Panel shall comprise a chairperson and up to eight members. Each Panel member and Chair shall be determined by the Board. It is recognised that the number of members may fall below (the optimum of nine) for temporary periods due to departures pending new
The PLEDIS Panel will be appointed following a recruitment process overseen by the Premier League and in accordance with the Panel's terms of
Each member shall have wide experience of EDI matters at a senior
The Chair shall be independent of interests in the Premier League, member Clubs, and other relevant football Other Panel members shall be independent or be recused from consideration of a specific Club submission following a declaration of interest.
Appointments to the PLEDIS Panel shall be for a period of two years, with a review at the end of season one. Appointments may be extended on an annual basis thereafter, so long as members continue to be Appointments may be subject to review at any time.
The secretariat of the PLEDIS Panel will be provided by the Premier

Conflict of Interest

Members of the PLEDIS Panel have a duty to act in the best interests of the Premier League. In particular, they must not place themselves in a position where they have, or may have, a direct or indirect interest that conflicts with their duties as an independent member of the PLEDIS Panel and must not profit from their position on the PLEDIS Panel (with the exception of payments related to membership duties, see point 14 below).
All PLEDIS Panel members must declare any potential conflicts of interest and comply with the PLEDIS Panel Conflict of Interest

Confidentiality

Members of the PLEDIS Panel shall not (except in the proper course of their duties, as authorised or required by law or as authorised by the Board), either during their appointment or at any time after termination of their appointment (howsoever arising) make use of or disclose any confidential information in any form to any person, company or other organisation which is disclosed to them through their appointment to the PLEDIS Confidential Information is any information which is marked as confidential or would appear to a reasonable person to be confidential and which relates to the business affairs of the Premier League and/or the Clubs.

Attendance

The PLEDIS Panel may invite senior Premier League staff to meetings as
The PLEDIS Panel may invite such other persons who are deemed to have relevant expertise to attend the meeting as and when it considers
Membership of the PLEDIS Panel will be paid and the Premier League will reimburse the reasonable expenses incurred by

Decision-making Arrangements

Each participating member of the PLEDIS Panel shall reach an objective decision on whether an award should be made through their consideration of a Club's evidence submission and Panel If the Panel is evenly split the Chair will make the final decision and will provide a rationale for their decision which is recorded in the minutes. Only those Panel Members attending a Club meeting will input into the decision-making and awarding process for that Club.

Meetings and reporting

The PLEDIS Panel shall meet between five and fifteen days a year. More meetings may be scheduled as required.
Meetings can be held irrespective of the numbers present but a quorum of three (including Chair) is required to conduct the business of the PLEDIS Panel. Panel/Club assessment meetings are normally conducted with a maximum of three Panel Members and the
Each meeting of the PLEDIS Panel will be minuted and Minutes will be presented to the members of the Panel, the Premier League's Executive and Board (as relevant).
The PLEDIS Panel makes an objective decision on a club's submission which is presented as a recommendation to the This decision is relayed to Clubs within 10 working days of their submission. The PLEDIS Secretariat shall report to the Board at least once a season and will provide further reporting as required by the assessment cycle.
Issues arising between meetings can be considered by the PLEDIS Panel via email correspondence and remote discussion, with views conveyed to the Premier League Executive and Board as appropriate.

December 2021

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