Treasurer Tier Progression Charter

Status: v1.0 draft. This Charter establishes the Member-voting tier progression mechanism. Algorithm-eligibility + Member-attestation-vote together confer the tier. The platform implements the outcome but does not confer the tier itself.

Preamble

For the Treasurer's tier progression to be genuinely Member-grounded — not algorithmically imposed by the platform — Members in the Treasurer's Circles must be the deciding voice on whether the Treasurer advances. The Tier Algorithm v1.2 continues to do what it does well: compute eligibility against documented threshold criteria (tenure, cycles administered, Standing, certification, clean record, anti-gaming flags). The algorithm is the gate. But the gate opens to a Member-vote, not to automatic promotion.

This addresses two of the worker-classification factors articulated in Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5. Factor three (constraint on activity choice) is addressed because the algorithm's criteria now determine eligibility for Member voting rather than tier promotion directly. Factor four (control over how work is performed) is addressed because the platform's authority over tier reduces to procedural implementation of Member decisions — the platform tabulates votes, applies the quorum rule, implements the outcome. The platform does not confer the tier.

The mechanism is deliberately simple: a Treasurer becomes algorithm-eligible; Members in the Treasurer's Circles get a yes/no tick-box; the platform implements the result.

Section 1 — Scope

This Charter applies to:

(a) Tier promotions — Community Builder → Circle Steward → Community Anchor → Regional Custodian → Circl Ambassador.

(b) Tier demotions — when a Treasurer's record falls below the current tier's sustaining criteria. The algorithm flags; Members vote on retention; outcome implemented.

(c) Maintenance of tier — annual confirmation that the Treasurer's Members retain confidence in the Treasurer continuing at their current tier. Light-touch annual tick-box.

This Charter does NOT apply to:

(d) The exceptional categories specified in §6 below — criminal conduct, regulatory disqualification, breach of hard-bottom Treasurer Addendum obligations, behaviour bringing the platform into disrepute. These remain platform-decided per the substantive rationale in §6.

(e) Initial tier conferral at Treasurer qualification. A new Treasurer who passes the Qualification Gate starts at the entry tier (Community Builder / L1) without a Member-attestation step. Their first promotion is the first Member-vote.

Section 2 — The mechanism

2.1 Trigger

The Tier Algorithm v1.2 continues to compute eligibility nightly. When all of the next-tier promotion criteria are met (per the algorithm's documented thresholds), the algorithm produces an eligible_for_member_vote status for the Treasurer. The Treasurer receives a notification.

2.2 Opening the attestation vote

The Treasurer initiates the promotion process when they choose to do so. The Treasurer is not required to open the vote immediately on becoming eligible; they may wait until a moment that suits them.

When the Treasurer opens the attestation vote:

(a) Every Member who is currently in (or has been in within the prior 12 months) one of the Treasurer's administered Circles receives an attestation request.

(b) The request states: "[Treasurer name] is eligible to advance to [next tier]. They are asking the Members they have administered to confirm whether they should advance. Your attestation is a simple yes or no."

(d) Each eligible Member can attest yes, attest no, or ignore the request. Ignored requests do NOT count as a "no"; they are simply not counted.

2.3 Quorum and threshold

At the end of the 30-day window, the platform tabulates the vote against the per-tier quorum + threshold rules:

| Promotion | Quorum (% of eligible Members who attest) | Threshold (% of attestations that are "yes") | | --- | --- | --- | | L1 → L2 (Community Builder → Circle Steward) | 60% | 60% yes | | L2 → L3 (Circle Steward → Community Anchor) | 60% | 70% yes | | L3 → L4 (Community Anchor → Regional Custodian) | 60% | 80% yes | | L4 → L5 (Regional Custodian → Circl Ambassador) | 60% | 90% yes |

The quorum is the share of eligible Members who must submit an attestation (yes or no) for the vote to count. The threshold is the share of received attestations that must be "yes" for the promotion to confirm.

The 60% quorum is consistent across promotions — the platform requires a clear majority of Members to engage. The threshold rises with tier — higher tiers require stronger Member endorsement, reflecting the higher trust the tier confers.

2.4 Outcomes

| Vote outcome | Result | | --- | --- | | Quorum met + threshold met | Tier promotion confirmed. Treasurer advances to next tier from the date of confirmation. Pulse event emitted. | | Quorum met + threshold NOT met | Tier promotion not confirmed this cycle. Treasurer remains at current tier. Treasurer may re-open the vote after 90 days. | | Quorum NOT met | Vote void. No conclusion drawn. Treasurer may re-open the vote at any time. |

2.5 Member's perspective

The Member sees: "[Treasurer name], who administers your [Circle name] Circle, is eligible to advance to [next tier]. Confirm whether they should advance: Yes · No."

That is the entirety of the Member's interface. Simple binary attestation. No campaigning, no comment threads, no scoring rubric. The platform deliberately does not surface the algorithm's criteria within the attestation interface — the Member's attestation is their judgement of the Treasurer based on the Treasurer's actual conduct toward them, not a re-confirmation of the algorithm's findings.

2.6 Treasurer's perspective

The Treasurer sees the live count of attestations received (yes / no / pending) without identifying which Members voted which way. Attestations are confidential to the platform; the Treasurer cannot see "who voted no". This protects the Member's freedom to attest honestly without social cost.

Section 3 — Demotion

The same mechanism applies in reverse for demotion. When the Tier Algorithm flags a Treasurer whose record falls below the current tier's sustaining criteria, the algorithm opens a Member-retention vote rather than auto-demoting.

3.1 Retention-vote opening

The Treasurer receives notification that the algorithm has flagged them. Within 14 days of notification, a Member-retention vote opens automatically:

"[Treasurer name]'s record has fallen below the sustaining criteria for [current tier]. Do you support them continuing at [current tier] during a probationary period to restore their record? Yes · No."

3.2 Quorum and threshold

The retention vote runs for 30 days with the same 60% quorum across tiers. The retention threshold is 50% yes for all tiers — the Member-retention bar is lower than the promotion bar, because the Member is being asked whether to extend an existing Treasurer's runway, not to confer a new tier.

3.3 Outcomes

| Retention vote outcome | Result | | --- | --- | | Quorum met + 50% yes or above | Probationary retention. Treasurer stays at current tier for 90 days during which they must restore their record. Algorithm re-evaluates at end of probation. | | Quorum met + below 50% yes | Demotion implemented. Treasurer drops one tier. Their fee band drops to the new tier's band. | | Quorum NOT met | Demotion implemented by default. No Member-engagement → algorithm-flagged Treasurer drops one tier. Members were given the opportunity. |

Section 4 — Annual maintenance vote

Each year on the anniversary of a Treasurer's most recent tier confirmation, the platform automatically opens a maintenance attestation vote. The procedure mirrors §2 but with a simpler threshold:

"[Treasurer name] continues to administer your Circle at [current tier]. Confirm that they should continue: Yes · No."

Quorum: 50% of eligible Members. Threshold: 50% yes.

The maintenance vote is the Member's annual opportunity to register confidence (or absence of confidence) in their Treasurer without the algorithm having to flag a record problem. It is lighter than the promotion vote because the Member is confirming continuity rather than conferring a new tier.

If the maintenance vote fails (quorum met + below 50%), the algorithm opens a §3 retention vote — the Members have raised the question, and the platform routes it through the formal retention procedure with its standard timeline.

Section 5 — Eligible Members

For all attestation votes (promotion, retention, maintenance):

(a) An eligible Member is one who is currently in, or has been in within the prior 12 months, one of the Treasurer's administered Circles.

(b) The 12-month look-back captures Members who recently completed Circles administered by the Treasurer — their experience is recent enough to be probative.

(c) Members shorter than 30 days into their first Circle with the Treasurer are NOT eligible — they have insufficient experience to attest meaningfully.

(d) A Member who is currently in an active dispute against the Treasurer (open DSC case) is NOT eligible — their attestation would be influenced by an unresolved matter.

(e) A Member who has been removed from a Circle for cause (by Bylaws procedure or Selection Committee finding) is NOT eligible — they are no longer in good standing with the Treasurer's practice.

The platform computes eligibility automatically at vote opening. The Treasurer cannot influence the eligibility list.

Section 6 — Exceptional categories (platform-decided)

The Member-voting mechanism does NOT apply to the following exceptional categories. The platform implements these decisions directly, with the affected Treasurer's right of appeal to the Dispute Settlement Centre per existing procedure.

6.1 Criminal conduct

A Treasurer convicted of a serious offence (fraud, financial crime, violence, exploitation, money-laundering offences) is demoted or terminated by the platform regardless of Member sentiment. The platform's regulatory obligations and the safety of other Members override the Member-attestation principle in these cases. The right of appeal lies through the Dispute Settlement Centre's appellate procedure.

6.2 Regulatory disqualification

A Treasurer barred by a regulator from operating in their jurisdiction (FCA disqualification, OFAC sanctions listing, equivalent regulatory action in other jurisdictions) is removed by the platform. No Member vote applies. The regulatory disqualification is the operative fact.

6.3 Hard-bottom Treasurer Addendum breach

Material breach of the Treasurer Addendum's hard-bottom obligations — AML compliance, sanctions screening, accurate record-keeping, fraud prevention — is platform-decided. These are non-waivable platform-level obligations whose breach exposes the platform itself. The Selection Committee Charter procedures govern the proceeding; the outcome is implemented by the platform.

6.4 Behaviour bringing the platform into disrepute

A Treasurer whose public conduct (on or off the platform) materially damages the platform's standing — public statements of fraudulent intent, harassment of other Members, public association with criminal networks — may be demoted or terminated by the platform. The Selection Committee deliberates; the platform implements. This category is narrowly construed; ordinary disagreement, social-media controversy, or minority political views do not engage it.

6.5 No other platform-decided categories

The exceptional categories above are the complete list of platform-decided tier actions. The platform does NOT have residual authority to demote or refuse promotion outside these categories. Performance-management-style decisions, dissatisfaction with operational style, or any matter that is properly Member-judged routes through the Member-voting procedure.

Section 7 — Transparency

7.1 Public aggregate transparency

The platform publishes aggregate attestation-vote outcomes at /transparency/tier-progression:

(a) Number of promotion votes opened, by tier, per quarter.

(b) Aggregate outcomes (promotion confirmed / not confirmed / vote void) by tier.

(d) Average yes-attestation share, by tier.

(e) Annual maintenance-vote outcomes (continuation rate by tier).

(f) Retention-vote outcomes (probationary retention / demotion implemented / demotion by quorum-default).

Individual Treasurers are not named in the aggregate. Per-Treasurer vote outcomes are visible only to the Treasurer themselves and (where relevant) to the platform's tier algorithm.

7.2 Member attestation confidentiality

Individual Member attestations are confidential between the Member and the platform. The Treasurer sees only aggregate counts. Other Members do not see individual attestations. This protects the Member's freedom to attest honestly.

Section 8 — Certification maintenance and tier holds

The Member-attestation mechanism in Sections 2–4 is the only route to tier change. Certification status is a gating signal, not a deciding one. This section sets out how the two interact.

8.1 Lapsed certification is a tier hold, not a demotion

Where a Treasurer's Circl Academy certification at the current Tier has lapsed (the Pedagogy-Council-mandated refresh under Council Charter §2 has not been completed within the period the Council specifies), the platform applies a tier hold:

(a) The Treasurer's promotion-attestation vote per Section 2 cannot open while the lapse is active. Attestation pre-requisites listed in §2.1 include the algorithm-eligibility signal; certification status is the second pre-requisite at this Section 8.

(b) The CGP allocation rate stays at the current Tier's level. The hold is not a demotion; the Treasurer continues to administer their existing Circles under the existing rate.

(c) A non-punitive "certification refresh due" notation appears on the Treasurer's public profile, visible to the Members of the Circles they administer. Members have transparency; the surface does not take the form of a sanction.

8.2 Recovery is automatic

Completing the lapsed refresh module clears the hold. There is no separate review proceeding; the lapse is the trigger and the only test. The Treasurer's promotion-attestation eligibility resumes from the date the refresh is recorded.

8.3 What a lapse does not trigger

A lapsed certification, taken alone:

(a) Does not open a retention vote under Section 3. Demotion remains Member-decided through the retention-vote procedure.

(b) Does not constitute an Exceptional category under Section 6. Maintenance is not a conduct, regulatory, AML, or disrepute matter; it is a maintenance matter.

(c) Does not affect the Treasurer's existing Circle service. Members in existing Circles continue under the existing terms.

8.4 Repeat lapses route to the Selection Committee

Where a Treasurer's certification has lapsed for three or more consecutive refresh cycles, the matter is referred to the Selection Committee per Treasurer Agreement v2.0 §13.2 as a potential material-termination ground. The trigger is not the maintenance lapse itself but sustained non-engagement with the maintenance regime — the kind of disengagement that the platform's professional shape cannot sustain. The Selection Committee applies the standard procedural protections; the Treasurer may resolve the matter at any point by completing the outstanding refreshes.

8.5 Exemptions

The exemption framework in Treasurer Agreement v2.0 §9.5(h) applies to this Section:

(a) Recognition of Prior Learning for diaspora practitioners with documented practice in a recognised tradition (granted by the Treasurer Council; sets initial certification at Foundation + Intermediate; subsequent refresh applies from the next cycle).

(b) Grace period of twelve months after initial certification before the first refresh is due.

(c) Documented leave (medical, bereavement, parental, up to 18 months per leave instance) acknowledged by the Treasurer Council. Public profile reads "on documented leave", not "certification lapsed".

(d) Zero-Circle status — the obligation applies only to the certification held; no tier hold can arise because there is no rate to hold and no promotion under consideration.

(e) Pedagogy Council subject-matter advisors are exempt from the refresh modules within their tradition area for the duration of their Council term.

8.6 Continuous Professional Development

A formal CPD points scheme operating across all Tiers, governed by the Pedagogy Council and informed by the Treasurer Council, will be incorporated into this Section by a future amendment when the Pedagogy Council has authored the free-category modules and the Scholarship Pool extension is operating-procedure-approved. Until that amendment lands, the certification-maintenance obligation in §8.1 is the operative competence-maintenance loop. CPD participation is encouraged but not contractually required.

Section 9 — Amendment

This Charter may be amended through the standard amendment procedure (Treasurer Council consultation + Town Hall ratification per §8 of the Treasurer Service Fee Framework Charter, applied to this Charter's substance). Minor procedural adjustments (interface refinements, notification language) may be made by joint Council + platform agreement.

Section 10 — Adoption

This Charter takes effect on Town Hall ratification.

(a) Phase 1 (immediate on adoption): Algorithm-eligibility continues to compute. Member-attestation surfaces ship. New tier promotions route through the Member-vote procedure.

(b) Phase 2 (within 30 days of adoption): Demotion votes activate. Existing flagged Treasurers (if any) route through the retention-vote procedure rather than auto-demote.

(c) Phase 3 (within 12 months of adoption): First annual maintenance votes open for Treasurers whose most recent tier confirmation was 12+ months prior.

The transition is non-retroactive: Treasurers already at a tier are not subject to a retrospective confirmation vote. They enter the maintenance-vote cadence at their next annual anniversary.