Resources

Expertise, events, news and updates –
what interests you?

Updating your template contracts in light of upcoming changes

As readers will be aware, under Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 organisations are required to provide employees with a written statement containing certain basic terms of their employment. With effect from 6 April 2020, there are a number of substantive changes to: the requirements regarding what information needs to be included in …
Read more

Suspension: a bridge too far?

We are often asked to advise charities and social enterprises about whether they can or should suspend employees where there are concerns about their conduct. Lucy McLynn advises charity and social enterprise employers to be very cautious when considering suspension of an employee.
Read more

ICO warns schools about use of children’s images

What are the rules around using photographs of children? Do we need to get parental/ PR* holder consent for every child in a group photo? These are questions that regularly vex organisations and parents alike. And no organisations more so than schools. The ICO has published a blog highlighting legal warnings that it has issued …
Read more

The Government’s quick solution to cutting migration – make it unaffordable

Hidden away in last week’s budget news was confirmation that the Immigration Health Surcharge will be increasing from October 2020.  This will pose a significant additional cost on employers and visa applicants and it should be noted that this cost will also apply to new arrivals from the EU from 1 January 2021. The new …
Read more

The GDPR should not thwart a sensible approach to COVID-19 concerns

A disease that few of us had even heard of until recently has now become the main topic of conversation in workplaces and homes. Given how quickly COVID-19 can spread it’s no surprise that employers are introducing measures to prevent the disease causing serious problems to their day to day activities as well as taking …
Read more

Acquiring and investing in B Corps – our top tips

If you’re considering acquiring or investing in a B Corporation, then this guide is for you. We set out the key things you should consider before starting the process.
Read more

Helping young people in care

We have provided young people in the social care system with the advice and assistance necessary to resolve their immigration status for good, enabling them to live in the UK with the same opportunities as their peers. What happened? We were contacted by a local authority concerned about a child in their care, Maria. Maria …
Read more

Considering a career in law?

We’ve prepared a short series of videos to help you gain an insight into the profession. Bates Wells is committed to improving social mobility and access into the legal profession. We normally partner with organisations and local schools to deliver work experience in our offices. As you can imagine, in 2020 that was all turned …
Read more

Transgender inclusion and beliefs

Some employees, volunteers and beneficiaries who object to a charity’s transgender inclusion policies say that their objections are based on their ‘gender critical beliefs’. In the second of our series of articles on transgender inclusion and the law, Mindy Jhittay explores the relationship between transgender inclusion and beliefs.
Read more

Coronavirus and serious incident reporting (SIR) for charities

The Charity Commission requires charities to report actual or alleged serious incidents. Serious incident reports (SIRs) should be a prompt and open report to the Charity Commission which details what happened and the approach in which the charity is taking to deal with the serious incident. What is a serious incident? Serious incidences are defined …
Read more

Virtual meetings

In the current crisis, charities have had to adapt rapidly to ensure decisions can be made without face-to-face meetings. It is the ideal time to future-proof your governing document so you can meet virtually. Leona Roche and Oliver Hunt highlight the key issues to consider so that your trustee board and (if applicable) your members …
Read more

Charity Insolvency and Rescue Mechanisms: A Coronavirus Guide

Click here to see our downloadable guide on Charity Insolvency and Rescue Mechanisms. Background BackgroundThis brief guide should be read in conjunction with our general guide on managing solvency in a crisis, which can be found here: https://bateswells.co.uk/2020/03/charity-governance-and-solvency-a-coronavirus-guide/.This guide assumes that you have serious concerns about the solvency of your charity and may need to …
Read more