Updates

The Equality and Human Rights Commission Consults on an Updated Statutory Code of Practice following For Women Scotland

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (“EHRC”) “Interim Update on the Practical Implications”, the EHRC has launched a consultation on an updated Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations (“Code of Practice”) (“Consultation”). The purpose of …
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Indirectly discriminatory redundancy selection criteria: Lessons from Norman v Lidl

A key aspect of a fair redundancy process is having fair, reasonable, objective selection criteria which are applied consistently and are not discriminatory in any way. However, this can sometimes be difficult to achieve in practice and getting it wrong can have costly financial and reputational consequences for organisations. The recent case of Wayne Norman …
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Demystifying investigations webinar series

Organisations are undertaking an increasing number of investigations, ranging from inquiries into individual actions such as misconduct to reviews into institutional dysfunctionalities. But investigations can be complex.   We are hosting a series of webinars where we will be exploring investigations. These sessions will provide you with the know-how to navigate this difficult territory successfully, and equip …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 21 May

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission Updated guidance on finding and appointing new trustees (CC30) The Commission has published an updated version of its guidance ‘Finding and appointing new …
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Immigration White Paper to reduce net migration – what does this mean for employers?

The government released its White Paper on legal migration entitled ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration system’ on 12 May with a wide range of proposed reforms. These include restoring the Skilled Worker minimum skill level to degree level and increasing minimum salaries, restricting permission on the Graduate route to 18 months, raising the Immigration Skills Charge …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 14 May

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission Speech from David Holdsworth The Charity Commission’s Chief Executive, David Holdsworth, delivered a speech at the Trustee Exchange 2025 to celebrate trustees. He …
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Bates Wells advises ONE Campaign on challenging Government’s overseas aid cuts

The charity ONE Campaign has sent a judicial review pre-action protocol letter to the government in relation to its decision to cut spending on overseas aid to 0.3% – a further departure from the statutory target of 0.7% – in order to fund an increase in defence spending. ONE – represented by Bates Wells’ Helen …
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Employee awarded £256,000 in compensation following flawed disciplinary process and accusation of “playing the race card”: Lessons from Ahmed v United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Others

Managing staff complaints, workplace investigations and disciplinary processes fairly and reasonably is crucial for all organisations; not only to ensure a positive workplace culture and good staff morale, but also to minimise legal risk for the business.  Though most organisations will have relevant policies and procedures in place, key considerations to bear in mind are …
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B Corp acquisitions: Preserving purpose through a change of ownership

For B Corps and other kinds of purpose-driven business, having an embedded purpose-beyond-profit provides a compass in times of change. However, some changes need to be considered carefully, to ensure the longevity of that purpose and, for B Corps, the maintenance of certification. This is most pronounced when a sale of the business is in …
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UK Supreme Court unanimously rules legal definition of “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex; For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16

This article was first published on the 16 April 2025, and has been updated following the publication of the EHRC Update. On 16 April 2025, the UK Supreme Court reached a unanimous decision, in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] USCK 16, that the terms ”man”, “woman” and “sex” …
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Membership bodies – is your governance fit for purpose?

Like all organisations, professional membership bodies and learned societies should regularly review their governance and governing documents to make sure they are up to date and fit for purpose. Some of the key things to think about are: Purposes – are the purposes of your organisation still suitable? You will want to consider whether they …
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Purpose & Impact: your roundup

Welcome to your roundup – a monthly selection of news hand-picked to keep you up to date with what’s going on for businesses wanting to create positive impact. In this roundup you can find out what’s new in the B Corp, social enterprise, and impact investing spaces, amongst others, collated under helpful headings. We’ll also …
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