When Does A Charity Need To Report An Incident To The Charity Commission?

The Charity Commission (the Commission) seeks to empower charity trustees to be able to manage the charity’s affairs in its best interests as best they can and accepts that sometimes mistakes will happen. 

The Commission does however require charities to report serious incidents to them. This is to allow the Commission to ensure that charity trustees are discharging their duties correctly and also allow them to make sure that the charity manages serious incidents responsibly.

What does the Charity Commission consider to be a serious incident?

The Commission classes this as any event that can lead to significant harm, loss, or damage to your charity’s:

When referring to ‘significant’ harm, loss, or damage, you need to take into account the size and nature of your charity. This will include considering its finances, reputation, staff and volunteers levels, etc. If you are in any doubt then it is safest to report to the Commission.

Charity trustees may also need to report serious incidents to other relevant agencies, for example, if there is criminal activity involved or safeguarding concerns raised. These incidents will, more often than not, need to be reported to the Commission.

There is no exhaustive list of what constitutes a serious incident. However, it can include the following;

Who should notify the Charity Commission of a serious incident?

The ultimate responsibility rests with the charity’s trustees. Whilst, in practice, the trustees may delegate this to someone else, such as a senior employee like the Chief Executive, or a professional adviser such as their solicitor or accountant, they will bear the ultimate responsibility for whether they decide to make a report or not.

This responsibility is borne by all of the charity’s trustees. Even if a trustee wasn’t involved in the acts or circumstances that gave rise to the incident they will still share responsibility for it being notified to the Commission.

What to report and when

Serious incidents should be reported to the Commission as soon as reasonably possible, either after the incident happens or the charity becomes aware of it.

You will need to tell the Commission what happened and explain to them how you are planning to deal with it in detail. The Commission will want to know how the incident occurred but as importantly what steps you are taking to minimise any harm, loss, or damage and to prevent the incident from happening again.

This can include setting out your plans on what to say to staff, volunteers, and anyone else affected as well as how you intend to respond to any enquiries from the media. What internal controls you are putting in place and whether any other regulators and authorities, such as social services or the Police, are involved and advising you on what to do.

It is important to ensure that you include enough details to give the Commission a clear picture of what happened and when, the extent of the loss, damage, or harm, the actions taken to date, and the next steps you have planned.

If more information comes to light or the situation relating to the incident develops further then you should update the Commission as soon as you can.

Whoever makes the report should confirm to the Commission that they have been authorised to do so by the charity/its trustees. They should provide contact details for themselves and the charity, as well as any applicable references (such as a Police crime number).

One notable exception to this is in the case of a whistleblower who is involved with the charity and wishes to report a serious incident to the Commission anonymously. They can withhold their contact details if required.

What happens once a serious incident has been reported by a charity to the Commission?

The Commission will review the report and will provide you with a reference number. It will assess the nature and level of any risks and your plans for dealing with the incident.

Once it has completed its assessment, the Commission will let you know the outcome. This may lead to further information being requested, regulatory advice being given, or the Commission deciding to use its legal powers to protect the charity and people involved. You may also be asked to provide future updates, especially if there is any form of an ongoing investigation.