expertise: charities
Our Charities team has been advising Charities and their Trustees
for over 170 years. We look after Charities who have funds totalling
over approximately £250 million. Our Charities team advises on: Registration of Charities
- Establishment of Charities including advice on purposes, the
form of governing instrument appropriate to your needs, the drafting
of that instrument and the registration of the charity
The Regulation of Charity
- How to prepare and handle Charity Commission Regulatory Visits
- How to deal with a Charity Commission Inquiry (including orders
made to remove or suspend trustees or restrict their activities)
- How to deal with the appointment of a Receiver and Manager
- Charity Disputes and litigation (including authority for proceedings
and protection for trustees)
- Compliance with emerging Information Quality Issues
Constitutional Issues For Charities
- Applications for Schemes and/or Orders under the Charities
Act
- Dissolution of Charities including advice on insolvency and
Trustee personal liability and how to avoid it
- Anticipating the effect of the Charities Bill and how it may
affect you
- Comprehensive Reviews of Charity Governance to ensure modern
compliance
- Charity amalgamations or mergers
- Royal Charters
- Advising on the requirements of the Commissioners in respect
of the Central Register of Charities
Legacies
- Advice on construction of gifts in Wills for charity, how to
deal with misdescription in Wills and the avenues open to rectify
that situation
- Legacy Issues – helping maximise benefit from legacy
donations
- Other testamentary issues for charities such as – last
minute changes in Wills, probate fraud etc.
Education (Including Schools and Higher Education Institutions
Colleges and Universities)
- Meeting the anticipated Charity Commission “public benefit”
test - what you can do now
- Any issues concerning Prize Funds (including merger of funds
etc)
- Recovery and management of debt
- Education Act requirements
- Establishment of Trading Arms
- VAT schemes
Employment
- Issues for paid and volunteer staff, particularly employment
status
- Handling disputes with employees, including unfair dismissal,
breach of contract, equal pay, redundancy and discrimination claims
- Drafting staff policies and procedures (disciplinary and grievance
procedures, equal opportunities and harassment policies
- Advising on changing employment legislation
Church Matters Martineau acts for the Anglican Diocese of Birmingham
and can deal with ecclesiastical matters as well as other Church
related issues.
General
- Reconstructions/amalgamations of charities – including
incorporation
- Property Issues - compliance with Charities Act and other legal
requirements (including reverter of sites issues for some schools
and churches)
- Borrowing Issues - compliance with Charities Act legal requirements
- Intellectual Property Rights for example in research charities
- Independent accounts examination service
- Full charity administration service using our Benefactor computer
system which provides a streamlined and economic administration
service for grant making charities.
- Fundraising (including contracts and compliance with the Charities
Act), Trading and Investment issues.
- Advice on Trustees’ liability and insurance and other
personal benefits
- Grant applications for example to the Big Lottery Fund
- SORP for charities
- Gift Aid
Publications: 
key expertise: Keith Dudley
Head of Private Capital Group, Partner
keith.dudley@martineau-uk.com
Hugh Carslake
Partner
hugh.carslake@martineau-uk.com James Spreckley
Partner
james.spreckley@martineau-uk.com Mary Kaye
Partner
mary.kaye@martineau-uk.com |
