Unless there is a special provision in the company's Articles of Association a director cannot be removed from office by the Board of Directors, and only the shareholders can remove a director. The Articles may provide a procedure for this; otherwise the statutory procedure must be used.
Special notice is however required. On receipt of notice of an intended resolution to remove a Director, the company must send a copy of the notice to the Director concerned. The Director is entitled to be heard on the resolution at the meeting and it may be contested.
In order to remove a board of directors, shareholders must first submit a proposal to do so. This proposal must then be approved by a majority of shareholders. Once the proposal is approved, shareholders will then vote on whether or not to remove the board.
As per the 2013 Act, the removal of a director can only take place during a general meeting through the approval of an ordinary resolution. Notably, this condition is applicable unless the director in question was appointed either through proportional representation or under section 163.
Section 168 provides that a company can remove a Director by passing an ordinary resolution at a meeting. Special notice is however required. On receipt of notice of an intended resolution to remove a Director, the company must send a copy of the notice to the Director concerned.
A director can be removed without their consent under certain conditions, usually, governed by a company's bylaws, shareholders' agreements, and local jurisdiction. Here are common methods for director removal: Shareholder Vote - In many jurisdictions, directors can be removed by a majority vote of the shareholders.
The statutory provision allowing any director to be removed from office by ordinary resolution of the shareholders is in Section 168 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA06). Importantly, the resolution must be proposed at a formal shareholders' meeting and cannot be passed as a written resolution.
The statutory procedure allows any director to be removed by ordinary resolution of the shareholders in general meetings (i.e., the holders of more than 50% of the voting shares must agree). This right of removal by the shareholders cannot be excluded by the Articles or by any agreement.
Directors can only be removed by ordinary resolution passed at a general meeting of the company. Public companies cannot use the written resolution procedure in any event. Please note that the company must be given Special Notice of at least 28 clear days of the proposed ordinary resolution to remove a director.