4th June 2020Guidance for charities on serious incident reporting during Covid-19

The Charity Commission has provided guidance on what trustees need to consider in reporting serious incidents during and linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Having reviewed the guidance, there are several reporting scenarios that we would highlight as especially pertinent at this time, as outlined below.

Charities must report if there is an outbreak of coronavirus (including suspected cases) amongst staff, volunteers, trustees and/or beneficiaries within an operating charity, and as a result the charity cannot:

• deliver vital services to at risk beneficiaries, for example a residential care home which has insufficient staff to care for the residents safely; or
• continue its normal operations, for example because a large number of beneficiaries are seriously ill.

A charity must also report cases where it has stopped operating temporarily under the government’s lockdown measures, and as a result of this, is insolvent and/or forced to close permanently.

Further examples of when to report a serious incident to the Charity Commission can be found here.

Advice to charities

During the pandemic, in lockdown and beyond, we would advise charities to hold more frequent meetings between trustees and management teams. This will allow any issues to come to light more quickly through dialog and for swift action to be taken.

Should you need any support or guidance during this time, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us directly.