Subject: Ecclesiastical sponsor's competition
To celebrate the announcement of our partnership with Ecclesiastical, why not take part in our sponsor's competition?
Post your ideas on what risk management, liability and insurance-related topics you'd like Ecclesiastical to provide guidance on. The first 25 suggestions will receive an annual adult membership for English Heritage.
The person with the top suggestion, as decided by Ecclesiastical, will also receive a £50 voucher to a charity their choice.
Log in and post your suggestions below.
Please read the terms and conditions of the competition.
This comment was last edited on Oct 26, 2011
Many large charities are becoming increasingly concerned with the legal risks involved with hosting communities on Facebook. At the NSPCC we employ a risk management plan to ensure that we keep our community users safe and protect ourself from potential legal problems.
Cheers,
Damien
Bribery Act
A charity might wish to deliver desperately needed goods into an area like Indonesia from Singapore either through a partner or directly. The only way to get the goods to the people in need is if a few cartons off the shipload are given to border guards who actually come from the area of need.
Although it may be unlikely the SFO would want to prosecute the charity or directors/officers of the charity, who would be willing to take the risk given the new rules? The will to give is there, the need is huge, the new law too wide ranging. What's the answer?
Correct Insurance Cover:
Small charities will in general not have an in house expert on insurance matters, coupled with often not being a Limited Company legal status with it’s associated trustee/director liability limitations.
When it comes to organising the correct and adequate cover for buildings; contents; public and employers liability; trustee indemnity and professional indemnity etc – how does the lay person go about identifying that all aspects of operations are covered, at the right cost and that there is no risk that inadequate declarations have been made which may invalidate claims should they be made?
Bob B.
This may seem a surprising suggestion but I think a really important area of business risk - in terms of possible opportunity costs - is that of expending too much time resource on social media and the like! I think enthusiasm for being 'out there' is a good thing and its benefits are potentially enormous... but questions always need to be asked about conflicting priorities, proportionality and return on investment. The 80-20 rule applies to this as well as every other worthwhile activity. Enough... I must get on with something else now!
Bribery Act. The scope of it is so broad and the guidance provided isn't conclusive. The one case too date isn't applicable to trustees. And the potential to fall foul of the Act is huge.
We are just about to launch a volunteer brokerage scheme in partnership with local businesses and the third sector. Who holds liability for the safety and management of those volunteers whilst they are out of their usual work environment, the employer, the voluntary organisation or us as the broker placing them there? What can we do to minimise the risk to all three parties?
There is a push to create cross sector relationships to deliver local needs.
What are the legal considerations when entering a cross-sector partnership? Whether this is a contract to deliver a specific service, a sponsorship arrangement or as a supporter of the general aims of the charity.
I would like to bring our trustees with me on trips I make to visit our partner NGOs who are based in Africa, Asia and Latin America. What kind of insurance would I need to organise for 'volunteer' trustees to travel with me? Is it any different to the insurance I need?
Acquiring property (land & buildings) provides long term security for a Charity / not for profit organisations. However if the asset is secured with grant funding, there are the usually 'claw back' or 'consequences' if the charity ceases to trade/operate in the future, this can be over a period of 20 years. How should/ could Trustees mitigate this risk?
People have already raised the risk management issues involved when a charity decides to operate in partnership with another organisation, perhaps delivering a service jointly with another organisation - who is liable for what, the risks involved in taking on a contract. However, another key issue that I have encountered is when a charity takes over another in its entirety: TUPE issues and pension liabilities in particular. It would be good to have guidance on this, as pension liabilities have sunk organisations that were otherwise healthy and doing good work.
How about risks connected with inadequate knowledge of the duties of an employer? Or risks associated with intellectual property, where somebody steals your great idea and copies it shamelessly?
Property has already been mentioned above in terms of risk associated with claw back of grants. I would also be interested in guides looking at wider issues involved in ownership of property, for example how a charity can guard against the risks involved in renovating a property, or selling a property.
Thank you all for your questions, it's really interesting to read the sorts of issues that people are facing and there are some clear themes emerging from your posts.
Ecclesiastical are thinking about the best way to answer all your questions but in the meantime we're going to send you all out a free annual membership to the English Heritage! We will be in touch soon.
Data protection is clearly an issue for any business but working in Charities/Not for Profit do the same rules apply?
When we begin using volunteers within the Charity they may need access to the databases should access be restricted to employees only?
Thank you
Wendy Clarke
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