Karen Collins

Updated guidance for schools under the Equality Act regarding pupils with protected characteristics

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has updated its technical guidance for schools on their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 in England and Scotland. The updates have been made to ensure that guidance on the protected characteristic of sex and gender reassignment reflects developments in this area of policy and law. Background The guidance …
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Complaints and disciplinary procedures

Dealing with complaints is an inevitable part of any organisation’s work. But for organisations exercising a public function (such as professional membership organisations, regulators, and educational institutions) the handling of complaints is a crucial means by which they uphold professional and/or ethical standards and seek to protect the public. Complaints handling in these contexts is …
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Home Office’s position on graduates studying RIBA Part 3

Please note, this article was published in October 2023, but has been updated in August 2024. In August 2023, the Home Office confirmed their policy on the conditions of leave under the Graduate route, particularly for individuals interested in studying RIBA Part 3 to qualify as an architect. We have included some corrections to this …
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General Election 2024: Charity Campaigning – a guide

Click here to download the guide. The year before an election can be a fantastic opportunity for charities to engage with parties, candidates, the media and general public to raise awareness of their concerns and drive their mission forward. Elections offer an unrivalled shot for charities to secure support for policies that will advance their …
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Bates Wells advises Studio Silverback as it sets up Open Planet Community Interest Company

Studio Silverback, which launched in 2020, has a mission to use the power of film-making and story-telling to reveal the reality of our changing planet to a global audience. It has set up Open Planet as a social enterprise to further this aim. It will work with the world’s top documentary filmmakers and data scientists …
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Environmental litigation: themes, risks and how to evolve in the era of global warming

Climate cases have direct and indirect impacts on decision making at board, policy, judicial and government level. The fallout from this litigation can result in shifts in approach and financial and reputational damage even when cases are unsuccessful. More cases are being filed against corporate actors, litigation about investment decisions are increasing and there has …
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Net zero and the government U-turn – what will you do?

The government announcement on 20 September 2023 has derailed several climate change commitments including in relation to reducing carbon emissions from residential properties. The argument is that this relieves some financial burden for property owners. However, commentators suggest the U-turn on EPCs not only stores problems for the climate crisis but also creates a longer term …
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Increase in Home Office fees from 4 October

The government announced in July 2023 that they intended to significantly increase visa and nationality application fees this autumn.With effect from 4 October 2023, the fee increases are as follows: Please also note that priority, super priority fees and User Pays Visa Application Centre appointment fees are also expected to increase. Out-of-country non-settlement priority service will increase …
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Relationship breakdown and immigration status: advice for family lawyers

Family lawyers will often find themselves dealing with a marriage or relationship breakdown where the immigration status of one or both of the parties may be vulnerable. In such situations it will be vital to have a good grip on how the relationship breakdown may impact on the immigration status, as making the wrong move …
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People and culture group discussion: climate change & the workplace

We recently hosted a discussion with a range of HR professionals from fellow B Corps. The session focussed on the issue of climate change & the workplace and what employers can do to support their employees in this space. This note covers: We also hosted group discussions about: Download the below summary of the discussion to find …
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Trade unions – recognition, collaboration and meaningful action

Strike action has become a regular feature of the news over the last 12 months, with strikes across the transport network and NHS receiving a huge amount of coverage and impacting the delivery of key services. We’re also seeing a significant increase in union activity across our client base, including in the education and not …
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Fuelling positive change: NCVO launches new campaign encouraging charities to divest from fossil fuels

NCVO has launched a campaign encouraging charities to ‘consider moving investments away from businesses involved in the extraction, production, transportation, refining and marketing of fossil fuels. Examples of these are coal, tar sands, oil and gas.’ NCVO will be hosting a series of events over the Autumn to explore the ways in which charities can …
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