Charities should take advantage of relaxed laws around board and general meetings, or enact compliance measures, as soon as possible to ensure there are no future governance issues when the provisions end next month, a legal expert has advised.
Speaking to Third Sector, Nicola Evans, charities counsel at the law firm BDP Pitmans, warned organisations must not “bank on the government deciding to extend the 30 September deadline” for postponing AGMs and relaxing rules around general meetings.
The act allows some charities to hold board and members meetings virtually, even if the organisations’ constitutions do not permit it, and includes a relaxing of some corporate governance laws to help organisations deal with the challenges of meeting during the coronavirus pandemic.
It applies to charitable companies, charitable incorporated organisations and community benefit societies, but not to unincorporated organisations.
As well as letting members to attend meetings virtually, flexibility under the act allows for meetings that do not have to be held in a specific physical location, even if a charity’s governing document says that they should be.
It also permits votes to be placed electronically or in a way different from that set out in that charity’s constitution.
In addition, any organisation that was required by its constitution to hold an AGM during the crisis would be able to postpone the meeting until as late as September if necessary.
In June, Third Sector reported that the Charity Commission had updated its guidance after the act received royal assent.
“Coronavirus is having a major impact on charity events and the government’s health advice may lead to some charities having no choice but to decide to cancel or postpone their AGMs and other critical meetings… [temporary changes] make it lawful for charitable companies and charitable incorporated organisations to postpone members’ meetings or to hold them remotely, even if this is not allowed by the charitable company’s articles of association or the CIO’s constitution”
Charity Commission
Some charities that have clauses in their governing documents that allow them to meet virtually or over the phone, are advised to record any decisions made in this way “to demonstrate good governance of your charity”.
“[trustees should] check their governing document and see if they can make amendments themselves to facilitate changes as to how or when meetings are held”
Charity Commission
The guidance applies to any AGMs that were due to be held between 26 March and 21 August, temporarily overriding the timing requirements in a charity’s governing documents.
However, the measures under the act expire on September 30, unless the government believes an extension is necessary.
Evans is concerned that charities who have not yet made use of these provisions should check and review their constitutions as soon as possible:
“There are so many unknowns at the moment, including how long we will need social distancing and where or when any wider lockdown may be put in place.
“We also cannot bank on the government deciding to extend the 30 September deadline for postponing AGMs and relaxing the usual rules for general meetings.
“Charities that can take advantage of these provisions should review their constitutions now to see if they need more flexibility in there to help them operate in the months ahead.
“If so, they can take the opportunity to put changes to the members now in compliance with the relaxed regime. If they wait, the risk is that they lose that chance and give themselves governance problems further down the line.”
During the Learning Technologies Summer Forum 2020 our Project Lead, Emma Wardall, attended a webinar on making online learning accessible to all. Although the focus was on learning, the lessons within this webinar could be applied to any online form of communication.
Below, you can find the presentation from this webinar as well as some useful documents and links:
Gallagher held a webinar to discuss the effects of coronavirus lockdown on cyber risk, and have given us permission to share the recording of this webinar to our membership as the contents may be very important to your organisation.
“This is a really down to earth, useful, and somewhat scary webinar about cyber risks (not just Covid related) which have increased a lot with home working, and an interesting insight into the dark web.
“I’d really recommend spending an hour watching it, it has certainly changed my view of the risks out there.”
John Capel, Account Executive, Charity & Healthcare Division, Gallagher
Johnty who is on the webinar has offered a 30 minute no obligation review by video conference free of charge if this would help you.
Free online workshop for charities and community groups
11.00am on 30th July 2020
Tim Larden, Ladbrook Insurance
As we emerge from the country-wide lockdown and more charity and voluntary groups are returning back to full operation, we know that groups understandably, facing increasing uncertainty. Some groups entirely ceased activities during the lockdown while others stepped in to provide new support to the vulnerable in their communities. Other groups had to immediately adapt, with remote working and other factors changing the way that services were delivered. In some cases, buildings remain closed or have been closed for some time.
This unique set of circumstances has bought new risks to the fore in the third sector. We will look at how to manage some of these risks and why risk management at this point in time, is more important than ever. How do groups operate safely as we emerge from lockdown. What are your responsibilities?
The session is led by Tim Larden of Ladbrook Insurance. Tim has 20 years of experience working in the insurance sector and runs Ladbrook, an award winning, specialist insurance brokerage that only works with clients in the third sector.
Luke from BHIB Insurance has provided a number of useful links for charities and community groups who are risk assessing from a coronavirus perspective.
Luke is available for free online training if you require additional support – email hello@bhibcharities.co.uk to find out more.
Today, UKRI and NIHR are announcing £8.4 million funding for one of the world’s largest studies into the long-term physical and mental health impacts of coronavirus on hospitalised patients. Results from the UK-wide study will inform the development of new and better measures to treat and rehabilitate patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
Around 10,000 patients are expected to take part in the ground-breaking new study, led by the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, a partnership between the University of Leicester and the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. The Post-HOSPitalisation COVID-19 (PHOSP-COVID) study will draw on expertise from a consortium of leading researchers and doctors from across the UK.
A number of large and well-known organisations have joined forces to create “Together“, a social movement aiming to bring our communities closer together.
The key events of the social movement are:
4th July – Evening – Light of remembrance
5th July – 5pm – Clap for Carers
5th July – 5.05pm – Neighbourly Chat
6th July onwards – “Talk Together” debate about what divides us, what unites us and what we need to change
The National Lottery Community Fund really recognise the disproportionate impact Covid-19 continues to have on some communities. To that end, they are particularly interested in seeing applications from organisations supporting BAME communities, LGBTQ+ communities and user-led disability groups (DPOs – run and controlled by disabled people themselves). If you are interested in taking part in a one to one funding surgery with Danielle from The National Lottery Community Fund, please contact kate@rainbowservices.org.uk
Furlonteer is a not-for-profit project designed to connect charities and good causes with people who have been furloughed due to the coronavirus outbreak and want to offer their time as a volunteer.
Furloughed + Volunteer = Furlonteer
The concept was thought up by Hamish Shephard, co-founder of Hello Fresh and founder of BrideBook; Rosie Shephard, founder of The Luxury Communications Council (LCC); and Sam Tasker-Grindley, Associate Director at RSM UK.
How It Works
People who have been furloughed, made redundant, are unemployed, or simply want to offer their time can register as a Furlonteer. Applicants will be asked for contact information, area of residence, skills, and the amount of time they are willing to commit for an 8 week period.
Organisations such as “charities and social / environmental enterprises” can register for help and are then matched to suitable Furlonteer(s). The application form asks for basic organisation/project information, as well as details of the type of volunteers you are looking to recruit.
The team at Furlonteer is small, however, so it may be some time before you Furlonteers are matched with suitable organisations.
Blind, Visually Impaired & disabled people struggling in lockdown
Have you noticed people struggling to keep a social distance? Are they able to see? Is their mobility restricted? We all need to keep our eyes open and up our observation skills during lockdown and distancing restrictions. And we are doing a good job.
However, some people are struggling. I happen to be a volunteer trainer of Guide Dog Puppies and I was terribly sad to read that one Guide Dog Owner has said he’s decided not to take Kika, his Guide Dog, out alone any more, thus taking him back to the permanent lockdown which engulfs many Visually Impaired People (VIPs). In recent weeks so many people seem not to have noticed him, haven’t bothered moving and instead brush or bump into him. The pavements are now too busy for VIPs to maintain social distancing. This is one step back for equality and independence.
Also I’ve heard people complain when VIPs with Guide Dogs have seemed to ignore queues. The Guide Dogs are trained to take their VIP in straight lines and they haven’t learnt about queuing. My present 6 month old pup Clarkie is getting a lot of experience of queuing! Perhaps that will be a new skill for future Guide Dogs! But in the meantime, Please, Please, can we, all of us, blessed with sight use it and not discriminate against the VIPs.
‘Be There’ Campaign
Guide Dogs have launched a public awareness campaign to highlight the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted people around the social distancing measures. We have come up with three tips to help the public understand how they can help people with sight loss cope with the challenges of social distancing. We are calling the campaign ‘Be There’ to emphasise that although social distancing is important, we want the public to be there to offer help, if needed. A big thank you to those I spoke to last week who gave feedback on the tips which are;
Keep your distance, but don’t disappear – People with sight loss may find it challenging to social distance, so if you see someone with a guide dog or a long cane then you can help them by making sure you keep two meters away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also offer your help.
Say hello and offer your help – Simply by letting someone with sight loss know you are nearby; you are giving them the opportunity to ask for any help if they need it. People often feel unsure about their ability to help someone with sight loss, but their request could be a simple as finding out where a shopping queue starts, or if there is a safer place to cross a road.
Describe the scene – We’ve all had to adapt to unusual sights during lockdown – people standing apart in long lines outside of supermarkets for example. But those with sight loss haven’t always witnessed this to the same extent, which can be isolating and confusing. By describing what you can see to someone with sight loss, you can help them to understand the environment and navigate accordingly.
