Date updated: Thursday 1st October 2020

In this edition:

  • Good news - the recognition of ‘charitable journalism’ 
  • The Kruger Report: Levelling up our communities: proposals for a new social covenant
  • Making a change – positive discrimination in employment
  • Are you ready for Brexit? Ensure you are fully prepared with Stone King's free self-audit
  • Visitor’s visas for charitable organisations
  • Government extends measures to support companies
  • In case you missed it - Redundancy: the basics
  • Upcoming events
Good news - the recognition of ‘charitable journalism’

The Charity Commission has awarded charitable status to the Public Interest News Foundation including a renewed interpretation of charity law around public interest news. This decision is a significant development for journalism and journalistic charities, the charity sector and the news-reading public. Tom Murdoch advised the charity on its application for registration.

Read more

The Kruger Report: Levelling up our communities: proposals for a new social covenant

Julian Blake provides comment on Danny Kruger’s Report to Government on capturing the community spirit mobilised by the Covid crisis.

Read more

Making a change – positive discrimination in employment

In recent months, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained impetus and wider understanding in our society. As individuals or organisations we may feel that the change needed to society and institutionalised racism is “too difficult” or that our actions would be insignificant. But that misses the point, that institutionalised racism is all our responsibility, and we can all play our part to undo centuries of white privilege.

Read more

Are you ready for Brexit? Ensure you are fully prepared with Stone King's free self-audit

With the end of free movement with the EU on 31 December 2020 quickly approaching, it is important for employers to be planning ahead.  Whether you already hold a sponsorship licence or are unsure as to whether you may need one, Stone King is here to help. We have developed a free self-audit for any employer to use to help determine if you are Brexit ready and if not, what you can do now to be fully prepared. The tool is launching soon – further information will be available on the Stone King website as well as on our LinkedIn page.

Read more

Visitor’s visas for charitable organisations

The Visitor’s visa route is used by many charities to bring overseas members to the UK. Not all visits to the UK will, however, be eligible for a Visitor’s visa and it is important to be aware of the restrictions to avoid a potential refusal by the Home Office.

Read more

Government extends measures to support companies

The government has confirmed the extension to COVID-related measures protecting companies from insolvency and providing flexibility on virtual meetings.

Read more

In case you missed it - Redundancy: the basics

You may have noticed our HR consultants Victoria Blake and Lisa Saggers delivering the seminar ‘Redundancy – the basics’ in September. We are pleased to report just shy of 100 participants for this seminar with some really interesting and thought-provoking questions being asked from those who attended.

In particular, questions were raised by charity attendees about alternatives to redundancy and if there is an obligation for an employer to consider counter proposals such as reducing hours. Of course, if staff proposals will achieve the necessary savings for you and still meet the needs of your organisation, then they should be given serious consideration. But you are not obligated to accept all counter proposals raised during consultation. This is particularly true if they will not deliver the required cost savings or efficiency gains that your change process is designed to achieve.

In the current climate this will unfortunately be a topic that is relevant for the foreseeable future. You can view the webinar here.  If you have any questions about this or any other HR topic then our HR team would be happy to assist you.

Upcoming events

Webinar: Claims against charity legacies in England & Wales, and overseas - 28.10.2020 - book here.

Virtual Charity Training: The essential trustee and governance in practice - 26.11.2020 - book here

Virtual Charity Training: The essential trustee and governance in practice - 15.12.2020 - book here