Fact sheets
These fact sheets are intended to give general information to groups on specific areas of law, to enable them to spot and avoid potential legal problems.
Many thanks to our Choices volunteers for assisting us in keeping these fact sheets up to date.
Disclaimer: These articles describe the law in general terms. They are not intended to provide legal advice on specific situations and should not be relied on as a source of legal advice.
Employment Law
Corporate Structure and Charity Law
Intellectual Property
Data Protection
Tax
If you have any feedback or comments, or would like to suggest topics for future fact sheets, please email us.
Useful Links
Prepared to pay for legal advice? Use the award winning law firm comparison service to find the right lawyer. Secure and fully confidential Matching Service, which is free to use with no obligation to use any of the firms shortlisted.
Adopt a Business (AAB) AAB’s Emerging World Secondment programme enables firms to offer selected employees (both legal and non-legal) the opportunity to undertake at reduced pay a structured assignment / secondment (e.g. 3-12 months) with an organisation driving social value in the developing world. As part of the process, individuals are carefully matched to assignment opportunities based upon their experience, development needs and aspirations.
If you are interested, please contact Matthew Farmer on mat@adopt-a-business.com
Business Link is a Government initiative providing support to businesses within the UK, including social enterprises. Link >>>
CAN Mezzanine offers high-quality, affordable office space for social enterprises and charities in accessible, well serviced locations on a flexible basis. CAN’s offices are intended to create a community of social interest by housing like-minded organisations in the same building. CAN Mezzanine also provides direct access to additional services and support to all its customers.
Link >>>
The Charity Commission is established by law as the regulator and registrar for charities in England and Wales. Link>>>
Charity Property Help (CPH) - CPH aim to provide the best possible property advice to charities and voluntary organisations. Currently helping around 70 voluntary organisations per year with a wide variety of issues from lease renewals, dilapidations, property maintenance and landlord disputes, CPH has successfully saved some organisations tens and even hundreds of pounds. Link>>>
The Charity Tribunal - read this article if you are experiencing a dispute with the Charity Commission.
The CIC Regulator - Community Interest Companies (CICS) are limited companies, with special additional features, created for the use of people who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not purely for private advantage. This is achieved by a "community interest test" and "asset lock", which ensure that the CIC is established for community purposes and the assets and profits are dedicated to these purposes. Registration of a company as a CIC has to be approved by the Regulator who also has a continuing monitoring and enforcement role. Link >>>
City Action The City of London Corporation's free volunteering broker service, 'City Action', facilitates the transfer of time, skills and resources between companies located within the Square Mile, and community-based organisations in the City and the seven surrounding boroughs: Camden, Hackney, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. Amongst City Action's clients are a range of City-based law firms, who have discovered various ways of engaging with community groups aside from pro bono work. Mentoring school children, providing management advice to community groups, or contributing in-kind gifts; there are endless opportunities for companies to make a contribution to the regeneration of inner city boroughs.
City Action will identify the types of support that your company can provide and source suitable opportunities. The service offers ongoing support to ensure that the matches are as successful as possible, and will provide guidance on setting up, promoting and launching an employee volunteering programme.
For more information on how City Action can support you in providing sustainable benefits to your local communities please contact Corinne Phillips or Davina Pilkington on 0207 332 1762 or 0207 332 1753 or visit the City Action website. Link >>>
The Cranfield Trust provides free management consultancy to voluntary organisations addressing issues of poverty, disability or social exclusion, through a register of volunteer consultants from the commercial sector. Link>>>
Directory of Social Change provides information and training to voluntary and community sectors worldwide. Link >>>
The Ethical Property Foundation advise charities and community groups on property issues. Their Property Advice Service offers independent, ethical advice and training to help charities and voluntary groups rent, buy, let or manage their property. The Foundation works specifically to empower charities and community groups to make the most of the property they occupy and manage, and to improve the environmental and social performance of the commercial property sector. They aim to do this through the provision of appropriate and affordable advice and information to charities and community groups; and through research and the promotion of best practice in the commercial property sector. LInk>>>
IT 4 Communities is an initiative to encourage companies, employees and individuals with professional IT skills to volunteer these skills for the benefit of local charities and community groups. Link>>>
KnowHowNonProfit is a new website set up to provide support, information and guidance to not for profit organisations on various topics. Link >>>
The Local Government Ombudsman The Local Government Ombudsmen investigate complaints about councils and certain other public bodies. Link >>>
London Voluntary Service Council brings London voluntary and community sector organisations together to learn and share best practice and to create a co-ordinated voice to influence policy makers. Link >>>
Media Trust works in partnership with the media industry to build effective communications for the charity and voluntary sectors. Link >>>
The National Council of Voluntary Organisations is the largest umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England, and produces a wide range of publications including good practice guides, training manuals and research reports. Link >>>
NAVCA (the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) is the national voice of local third sector infrastructure in England. Link >>>
Optimist World – a website dedicated to provide a more positive news agenda to sit alongside mainstream media channels. As well as uplifting Optimist News, the site also investigates other aspects of everyday life which aim to inspire a positive outlook. View the LawWorks feature here.
Pilotlight works with small London-based charities to help develop their skills base and organisational capacity. They do this through a strategic planning process to which charities bring their vision and ambition for the future and business leaders bring their skills and experience. A team of three or four business leaders work with each charity on areas such as strategy development, marketing and communications. The only cost to the charity is the time they must commit to the planning process. Link >>>
ProHelp is a national network of 1,000 professional firms providing free advice and support to local groups and voluntary organisations. Professional firms’ members include accountants, surveyors, architects, marketing and PR agencies and more. The service is free to community groups and voluntary organisations. Link>>>
REACH is the charity that helps people with managerial, professional, or business experience find interesting and challenging opportunities within voluntary organisations where their skills and expertise are urgently needed and highly valued. Busy people with a just a small amount of time to give and an interest in continuing to use and develop their skills for the benefit of a worthwhile cause are welcome to take advantage of this free service. For more information telephone 0207 582 6543 or see their website.
Reach has recently set up Trustee Works, a new service which assists organisations to recruit new trustees and provides ongoing support for Charity Board development.
Red Ochre is a management consultancy that specialises in providing innovative business support to organisations that deliver social change. These include social enterprises, charities, community and faith organisations, statutory agencies, government departments and ethical businesses. They provide clear and practical support to aspiring and existing organisations and enterprises to enable them to scale up, become investment ready, achieve sustainability and manage change. Their approach is enhanced by delivering practical training and mentoring that leads to improved organisational and personal skills.
They also lead on research and evaluation projects, and are strong on commissioning and procurement. Link >>>
Senscot Legal was established late in 2010 to provide support in legal matters to the social enterprise community and wider third sector in Scotland. They are set up as a social enterprise themselves and are Govt. funded. Link>>>
The Small Charities Coalition helps small charities access the skills, knowledge and resources they need to achieve their aims, for free. They do this by matching them with individuals and/or services from other small and large charities. The matching service also provides personal development opportunities for individuals from larger charities through their mentoring scheme.Now merged with CTN (Charities Trustee Networks) Link >>>
Social Enterprise London works to establish the capital as one of the foremost social enterprise communities. SEL is a specialist agency that promotes community, best practice and skills development for the social enterprise sector. Link >>>
Volunteering England, the national volunteer development organisation for England, is a national charity which aims to raise awareness in the public, private and third sectors of volunteering and its value to society. Link>>>
Unltd is a charity which supports social entrepreneurs - people with vision, drive, commitment and passion who want to change the world for the better. Link >>>
WCVA is the voice of the voluntary and community sector in Wales. Link >>>
The Women’s Resource Centre supports women’s organisations to be more effective and sustainable. They provide training, resources and support to women's organisations and campaign and lobby on key issues for the sector. Link >>>