NMSRFR
North Midlands Society of Rugby Football Referees: Est. 1920
Fortnightly Bulletin
Afternoon All, hope it’s been a great couple of weeks. The clocks have gone back so games will be moving to an earlier kick off, although I think GMS is a little slower as I’ve noticed my game this weekend was down for 3pm. Please check with your clubs if this is the case.
A few things to cover off in this bulletin regarding Training, Knowledge sharing and MILEAGE CLAIMS so I hope you all take something from the round up below.
Save the Date – Training Session
The Society will be holding a Training session at Stourbridge RFC on Wednesday 15 November, the session will aim to start for 7pm and we will put a post on our Facebook to get an idea of numbers.
During the session Chivs will look to cover:
- Lineouts
- Red card report forms
- Open Forum – Ask the refs / experts
Within the open forum this will provide an opportunity to ask questions on the season so far, conundrums or issues you’ve had etc.
It will also provide an opportunity to meet fellow referees both new and old along with YMO’s.
Red Card Report Forms
If you issue a red card in any Society officiated game can you please ensure that the report is completed and emailed across to Dave Thomas within 48 hours of the offence.
The form can be found by clicking here or within our website under useful documents.
On receipt Dave will forward to the necessary disciplinary panel.
Feedback Forms
If you are running low on feedback forms and wish to order some new ones please drop an email to John Holland with your address details and these can be sent out.
We have see a few requests come through other channels but to ensure these are received as needed please use the above email address.
Mileage Claims – Deadline 9 Nov 23!
It is that time of year, albeit a month early this season, for you to get your mileage claims in. Ian sent out an email through WTR at the back end of October, if you haven’t received please see the information below. They key part is all mileage submissions must be in before 10 November 2023. Any claims submitted after this date for the period Sept – Oct will not be processed until January 2024.
Please read this carefully to avoid any problems.
At the beginning of the season, I issued an email explaining that I intended to reimburse match day travel for referees and advisors covering the period 1st September to 31st October during November. This email covers the process plus other important information which hopefully will mean the procedure goes smoothly and keeps my workload to a minimum.
Guidance on how to complete and submit your match day travel claim can be found in the ‘Support Hub’ in WTR. Click ‘Support Hub’ then ‘Organisation Administration’ and then Core Functionality and you will find the information at the bottom of this section. You must follow both sets of instructions.
Claims should include ALL matches up to the 31st October. PLEASE do not submit your claim before this date.
Like last season the society will pay travel at 45p per mile. Please ignore the 40p figure quoted on your submission. Due to technical reasons, I am unable to amend this. The calculation is correct and no amendments are necessary on your part.
Claims need to be received by me on or before Friday 10th November. Any received after this date may miss the payment date.
I hope then to be able to reimburse you all sometime after the 15th November.
Have you Moved House or Changed Address?
If you have moved house or changed address, can you please make sure your WTR account reflects the new address. Where you have moved and have or are updating your address you will also need to update your ‘Geo Coordinates’ otherwise your claim will be incorrect.
Guidelines on how to do this are found in the ‘Support Hub.’ Click ‘Organisation Administration’ then ‘Core Functionality’ where you will find instructions on updating ‘Geo Coordinates.’
Exchange Appointments or Joint Membership
Some referees have undertaken exchange games with other societies or are joint members with another society.
IF YOU ARE ONE OF THESE REFEREES, PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS SET OUT IN THE GUIDELINES ATTACHED.
In respect of exchange appointments, North Midlands will be responsible for reimbursing your match day travel and NOT the Society of the home club. Changes made by WTR mean that claims for these games need to be managed slightly differently.
If you are a joint member with another society, please ensure you DO NOT claim expense for games officiated on behalf of that Society from North Midlands.
The consequences of not following these instructions are set out in red in the guidelines.
Acceptance, Declining and Cancelled Appointments
It has come to my attention recently that some referees are failing to Accept or Decline their Match Appointments. This causes me additional work. So, if when you are completing your claim, you find that a game you officiated at is missing, or you are unable to claim travel expenses for a particular game, it’s likely that this is the reason. If this applies to any of your games, contact me.
‘WhosTheRef’ is an integrated system and to help avoid me having to make internal adjustments, when appointed to a game please either Accept or Decline the Appointment.
Also, a reminder. If after accepting your appointment you are notified that your game has been cancelled can you please remember you must notify the appointments team by email and / or me so that we can update WTR. This ensure that the club invoice I issue is correct and the club are not charged a Match Fee.
Reimbursement of your Claim
I refund all expenses claims through the online banking facility the society use. It will also ensure that you receive your money in a timelier manner than if I have to prepare lots of cheques and address individual envelopes and then post them.
Where I already have your Bank Account information, I will arrange reimbursement to your nominated account.
HOWEVER: –
IF YOU HAVE MOVED TO A NEW BANK YOU WILL NEED TO LET ME KNOW YOUR NEW ACCOUNT DETAILS.
LIKEWISE, IF YOU ARE A NEW MEMBER SUBMITTING YOUR CLAIM FOR THE FIRST TIME AND YOUR HAVE NOT ALREADY SENT THIS INFORMATION TO ME CAN YOU DO SO.
In both cases, please email me finance@northmidsrefs.co.uk with your account details before you submit your claim.
If you prefer to receive a cheque, this will be sent to the address that you have registered on WTR hopefully before the end of November.
Finally
PLEASE TAKE CARE AND DOUBLE NO TRIPLE CHECK THAT THE INFORMATION ON YOUR CLAIM IS 100% CORRECT. I do audit a percentage of claims.
Also, please note that for personal reasons I will be unable to reimburse any expenses claims submitted after the 10th November and for the whole of December until January 2024.