Updates

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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Bates Wells and Fashion Declares have collaborated on a Sustainable Fashion White Paper: The Future of Fashion Regulation in the UK

In recent years, there have been significant developments in sustainability legislation introduced by the European Union (EU) and United States (US) which apply directly to the fashion and textile industry. Whilst there are a range of views on the effectiveness of this legislation, the United Kingdom (UK) still lacks a coherent fashion and textile regulatory …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 29 April

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 charities paying a trustee or a connected person (CC11) The Charity Commission has redesigned its guidance on charities paying trustees …
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A safer life online for children: Ofcom’s call to action

If your organisation hosts online forums or other communities where users can interact online, you may need to take action under Ofcom’s new codes on child safety. Charities advocating for online safety for children and women will also be interested in the implications of these codes, as well as Ofcom’s current consultation on protecting women …
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Bates Wells and Fair Game drive key improvements in Football Governance Bill as it advances in Parliament

The Football Governance Bill has received its first reading in the House of Commons, having passed through the House of Lords with its key provisions intact. The Bill will introduce an Independent Football Regulator to oversee the licensing of clubs in the top five tiers of the men’s game, with three main objectives: protecting individual …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 23 April

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 The Charity Commission has shared a new interactive tool for ‘Building Financial Resilience’. This asks a series of questions to help charities reflect …
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Setting up in the UK – support for US non-profits

At Bates Wells, we work with a wide range of international organisations, to support you in navigating the English landscape for charities and non-profits. In the face of increasing concerns about the regulatory landscape in the US, we are working with a number of clients to explore their options for maintaining resilience and mitigating risk …
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Whistleblowing – A cautionary tale

We recently acted for the Royal College of Nursing assisting them successfully to defend an unfounded whistleblowing claim brought by their former Chair of Council. The Bates Wells team was led by Paul Seath and Jasmine Sudworth. This case study highlights the potential pitfalls where claimants fail to raise concerns in the correct way, where …
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Asking a female employee why she wants to work can amount to harassment related to sex: Lessons from A Pereira v Wellington Antiques and Another

In the recent case of A Pereira v Wellington Antiques and Another, the Employment Tribunal looked at the issue of whether an employer asking a female member of staff questions about why she wanted to work, why she needed to earn money, and about her husband, could amount to harassment related to sex; and found …
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Employment Rights Bill faces criticism in the House of Lords

On 27 March 2025, the Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”) passed its second reading in the House of Lords; after a lengthy debate lasting almost six hours. The Bill runs to 300 pages, with a further 200 pages of explanatory notes. The Labour government are claiming that the ERB will be “the biggest upgrade to workers’ …
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Protecting your intangible assets: Intellectual Property for charities and non-profits

Charities and non-profits own and use intellectual property – including their brand (often involving trade marks), copyright materials and rights in software and technology. These can be some of an organisation’s most valuable assets and should be appropriately safeguarded and managed. We’ve created a series of videos to discuss key considerations for charities and non-profits …
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