Charity Essentials - June 2020

Date updated: Monday 15th June 2020

Welcome to the June edition of Charity Essentials

This month we consider how a Bill currently making its way through the House of Lords could assist charities holding an AGM, we look at the employment law implications of return to work and the current position regarding the government’s Job Retention Scheme, Chris Sharpe recently published a useful article for charity landlords regarding the June quarter rent payment date, which can be found here.

The Charity Commission has published a report on its Inquiry into the RNIB. There are a number of points of general application for charity trustees which we will cover in the next edition of Essentials.

Some help with holding an AGM? Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill provisions that may assist charities

This Bill currently passing through the House of Lords will hopefully soon be law. It is intended by the government to provide some “flexibility and breathing space for businesses”, and covers a broad range of measures from help with wrongful trading and Insolvency to temporary easing of some filing obligations and general meeting requirements.

Return to work

As we move towards further ‘un-locking’ and with more of us returning to our physical places of work, we take this opportunity to consider the employment law implications of return to work. We have also passed a milestone in the Job Retention Scheme, as it is no longer possible to furlough a member of staff for the first time; this does not apply to a member of staff who has been placed on furlough before 10 June 2020. We include comment below on furlough-related issues from here.

Charity Landlords: Coronavirus and the June Quarter Day

In light of the upcoming June quarter rent payment date, we anticipate that a number of charity landlords will be approached by their tenants for some sort of rent concession, rent holiday, rent suspension or rent deferral. Hopefully landlords will already be in discussions with their tenants about what rent will be paid on or before 24 June, but please be aware that if you are a charity which has let property, there are extra requirements that you need to be aware of.

Serious incident reporting – updated guidance for charities

The Charity Commission has issued some additional guidance on reporting serious incidents during the Coronavirus pandemic. Whilst the Commission stresses that its main guidance on serious incident reporting continues to be the primary source of guidance for charities reporting serious incidents, this additional guidance provides guidance and a supplementary examples table to help trustees decide whether they need to report an incident that is related to the pandemic.

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