Felicity Aris

Infected Blood Inquiry: culture change in our public institutions – is it possible?

Seven years after a public inquiry into the scandal was first announced, last week marked the publication of the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry (“the Report”). Over thousands of pages the Report collates the harrowing details of the “worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS” which led to the infection of …
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Protected beliefs in the workplace

The Equality Act 2010 applies to many different life areas that affect B-Corps, particularly as employers and service providers. What can we learn from recent legal cases about how the Act prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation relating to philosophical beliefs? The law recognises an increasing number of philosophical beliefs as protected, and …
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Can trustees take parental leave?

Philip Kirkpatrick, Partner in our Charity & Social Enterprise team, discusses the legal issues around trustees taking extended leave, including for parental leave and periods of ill-health, in an article for the Association of Chairs. Responding to a question from Joe Saxton, Chair of the Association of Chairs, Philip concludes that with no statutory rights …
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Charities and investments – the revised investment guidance (CC14)

The Charity Commission published its revised investment guidance for charity trustees (CC14) on 1 August 2023. Now the dust has settled, this article explores how we got here, the key takeaways, and our experience of what charities have been doing in practice. How we got here The Commission was planning changes to its investment guidance …
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Charity Commission inquiries: Top takeaways for charities

What are the key areas of concern being investigated by the Charity Commission at the moment? We have drawn out the top five from the Commission’s statutory inquiry reports for last year and shared some tips for avoiding those issues in your charity. Dominant trustees and CEOs There is nothing wrong with a charity having …
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Pioneers Post: Philip Kirkpatrick comments on Anglian Water’s purpose-led business model

Philip Kirkpatrick, Partner in our Charity & Social Enterprise team, has spoken with Pioneers Post about the positive impact that embedding social purpose into a company can have but the need for better accountability mechanisms to ensure the value of doing so in the long term. Anglian Water, a UK water utility company, amended its …
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Face-to-face fundraising – Fundraising Regulator publishes market inquiry report

On 26 March 2024, the Fundraising Regulator reported the findings of its market inquiry into subcontracting in face-to-face fundraising. The inquiry, consisting of a series of fact-finding workshops held with representatives from charities and fundraising agencies, was launched following a rapid expansion in face-to-face fundraising post-pandemic, heightened media scrutiny, and an increase in complaints and …
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The future of litigation funding post PACCAR

On 19 March 2024, the Ministry of Justice published draft legislation to reverse the Supreme Court’s controversial July 2023 decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc) v Competition Appeal Tribunal [2023] UKSC 28 (PACCAR), where it was held that litigation funding agreements (LFAs) can be damages-based agreements (DBAs) in circumstances where the funder …
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Bates Wells and the EHRC supports Uber Eats driver who faced problematic AI checks

An Uber Eats driver received financial settlement following allegations that an AI facial recognition system, required to access the Uber Eats platform, was racially discriminatory. Pa Edrissa Manjang continuously experienced difficulties with Uber Eats’ verification system. In 2021, he was removed from the platform and told by Uber Eats that they had found ‘continued mismatches’ …
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EIIP and Bates Wells launch EDT Principles to address legal power imbalance

Bates Wells are delighted to announce the launch of the Equalising Deal Terms – Investor Key Principles (EDT Principles) today, an initiative co-led by Equality Impact Investing Project (EIIP) and Bates Wells (and supported by the Connect Fund) to address power imbalances and inequality in impact investing relationships. The EDT Principles are designed to support …
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New government approach to ‘extremism’

On Monday 11 March, the government announced that it had updated its definition of ‘extremism’, specifically stating that this is in response to ‘increased extremist threat since the October 7th attacks in Israel’. This definition will apply across government’s funding of and interaction with third parties under its new engagement principles. The definition of extremism …
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Office for Students consultations on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023: our headline recommendations

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 is implementing new and more rigidly enforceable duties on students’ unions (SUs). They require, among other things, relevant SUs to take “reasonably practicable steps” to secure “freedom of speech within the law” for groups, including students and visiting speakers. The Act also expands the requirements applying to …
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