Author: DCAS

Sending your Annual Return

Charity-Commission-logo-007Send a charity’s annual return

You can no longer submit paper annual return forms – you must complete your annual return online

You must send an annual return (or update your details) every year if your charity is registered in England or Wales.

This is different from the charity tax return that you send to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

If your charity’s income is more than £10,000, by law, you must complete an annual return within 10 months of the financial reporting period ending. All CIOs must complete an annual return regardless of their income.
This link takes you to the online form

Discipline and Grievance – ACAS Code of Practice

The Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures gives practical guidance for handling these issues in the workplace. Failure to follow the Code doesn’t make a person or organisation liable to proceedings, however, an employment tribunal will take it into account when considering relevant cases.

Key points

  • Many potential disciplinary and grievance issues can be resolved informally.
  • Employment Tribunals are legally required to take the Acas Code of Practice into account when considering relevant cases.
  • Tribunal can adjust any awards made in relevant cases by up to 25 per cent for unreasonable failure to comply with any provisions of the code.
  • Employers and employees should always look to resolve disciplinary and grievance issues in the workplace.
  • A non-statutory guide (Discipline and grievances at work: The Acas guide) provides additional information on handling discipline and grievance solutions in the workplace.

More information and advice guides can be found here

Training Course – Budgeting and Cashflow Forecasting

Date: Wednesday 30th November 2016

Time: 09:30 – 12:30

Venue: Bosnia Herzegovina Centre  DE1 1LN

Book your place here

Budgeting and Cashflow Forecasting is a must for every organisation, large or small.  This session will show you how to prepare a budget or cashflow forecast, and, more importantly, how it can be used to control the funds.  This is an area of increasing importance, which all groups need to understand.

Training Course – Employment Law

Date: Wednesday 23rd November 2016

Time: 09:30 – 12:30

Venue: Bosnia Herzegovina Centre  DE1 1LN

Book your place here

An essential course for all those groups who employ or are thinking of employing members of staff.  Andrew Monroe will present and explain the golden rules to help you avoid any mishaps.  Redundancy and dismissal regulations will be covered. Andrew will also explain the implications of new legislation.

Setting Up a Charity

FundraiserThere are 6 steps to setting up a charity.

  1. Find trustees for your charity – you usually need at least 3.
  2. Make sure the charity has ‘charitable purposes for the public benefit’.
  3. Choose a name for your charity.
  4. Choose a structure for your charity.
  5. Create a ‘governing document’.
  6. Register as a charity if your annual income is over £5,000 or if you set up a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO).

More information can be found here

The Trustees’ Annual Report

Image result for The Trustees' Annual ReportAbout Charity Trustees’ Annual Reports

Your trustees’ annual report helps people understand what your charity does, particularly potential funders and beneficiaries.

You need to write a trustees’ annual report if your charity is registered in England or Wales. Along with your accounts, the report tells people:

  • about your charity’s work
  • where your money comes from
  • how you’ve spent your money in the past year

More information and examples of Trustees’ Reports can be found here

Shared Parental Leave and Pay

shared parental leaveYou may be able to get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) if:

  • your baby is due on or after 5 April 2015
  • you adopt a child on or after 5 April 2015

If you’re eligible for SPL you can use it to take leave in blocks separated by periods of work, instead of taking it all in one go.

To start SPL or ShPP the mother must end her maternity leave (for SPL) or her Maternity Allowance or maternity pay (for ShPP). If she doesn’t get maternity leave (but she ends her Maternity Allowance or pay early) her partner might still get SPL.

Example A mother and her partner are both eligible for SPL and ShPP. The mother ends her maternity leave and pay after 12 weeks, leaving 40 weeks available for SPL and 27 weeks available for ShPP. The parents can choose how to split this.

More detailed information can be found here