Charity Commission updates guidance to cover online meetings

The Charity Commission updated its guidance, CC48 “Charity Meetings” , on 19 July 2024 to outline the ways in which charities should plan, run and record their trustees and members meetings in particular to reflect the adoption of virtual and hybrid formats by many charities.

Samantha Pritchard, partner in our charities team, summarises the updates and what they mean for you.

What does the updated guidance set out to achieve?

The updated guidance reminds trustees to follow what their charity’s governing document requires for meetings.

It stresses that if your governing document does not set out details about meetings, then trustees should make sure that everyone can see and hear each other. 

Trustees are advised to review their governing document to ensure that it addresses arrangements for meetings, and to make updates (by following the procedure required by the governing document) if any arrangements no longer reflect how the charity wishes to operate. 

This will be particularly important if you wish to hold virtual or hybrid meetings but your governing document is silent on your ability to do this.  

The Commission’s guidance recommends that any stipulations in your governing document are bolstered by a separate policy on participating in virtual and hybrid meetings.

In light of this guidance, it is now vital to expressly stipulate that you may hold telephone meetings, or may take decisions over email or messaging apps or other communication methods, so as not to fall foul of the ‘see and hear’ position the Commission will now expect if your governing document is silent. 

The guidance warns that decision making via such methods may be invalid without this.

What else does the guidance remind us about?

The guidance also provides a useful reminder that charities with a membership (which will include all charitable companies and all CIOs) must hold a register of members which is kept up to date.

Maintaining the register is a legal requirement but is also vitally important in demonstrating who is entitled to attend, vote and speak at members’ meetings, which may be an expanded, or entirely separate, body of people to the trustees.

If trustees have not reviewed their charity’s governing document in the last three years, it is crucial that you seek legal support in conducting such a review and ensuring your governing document remains fit for purpose and complies with the Commission’s updated guidance. 

For advice on your charity’s governing document, or general charity law queries, please contact Samantha Pritchard at [email protected] or 0191 211 7905.