This comes after a working group that the regulator co-chaired with a number of members from the charity sector and other groups.
It is beneficial to collectively recognise the efforts necessary from individual charities, broader sector leadership, the regulator, the government, and other specialists in order to address bullying and harassment, which should never be tolerated in the charitable sector.
The discussion and explanation of the various duties and responsibilities was the main emphasis of the group, which also looked at possible steps that individuals involved may take to stop bullying and harassment.
The trustees’ function
Trustees must understand that bullying and harassment are completely unacceptable inside or by charity.
To ensure that their charity has clear procedures and that complaints are handled properly and in accordance with employment and other regulations, trustees have a crucial role to play.
When it is appropriate, persons who are bothered by bullying or harassment are urged to speak with the charity or its trustees directly.
Trustees are in charge of making sure they have procedures in place to hear such concerns and deal with the situation.
According to the Commission’s safeguarding guidelines, charities with staff members are required to have clear policies and procedures on bullying and harassment as well as employee welfare, punishment, and reporting.
Charities are required under the Commission’s serious incident reporting procedures to swiftly report the most severe real or claimed cases of bullying or harassment so the regulator may evaluate them.
Reports may also be submitted to the Commission by employees and volunteers.
A Commission intervention
The Commission, a risk-based regulator with a focus on charity governance, prioritises involvement to address the highest risk of harm, such as when trustees haven’t addressed reported bullying or harassment that’s pervasive and systemic within a charity or when there are worries about governance problems or potential mismanagement.
The Commission may take a variety of actions in such situations, ranging from giving trustees regulatory advice to launching a formal investigation.
It focuses on ensuring that the charity is properly governed and that its trustees are reacting to occurrences in a responsible manner, including by taking the required action to stop additional wrongdoing and damage.
It is not the Commission’s function to handle individual employment disputes.
Employment-related issues should typically be brought up with the charity via its grievance processes, with possible follow-up action in employment tribunals.
Law enforcement authorities are in charge of conducting investigations into suspected criminal offences, and as the Commission is not a prosecuting body, information related to any danger to a person’s safety should be reported with the police first.
The working group is still meeting and considering more lines of inquiry into charity leadership, what defines or supports bullying behaviour, as well as raising awareness of available options.
Paul Latham, the Charity Commission’s director of policy, said:
“There is no place for bullying and harassment in society, and there is certainly no place for it in the charitable sector. In a sector grounded on kindness and generosity, this kind of culture is unacceptable.”
“I am grateful for the leadership shown by our sector group on this issue and am pleased that we have been working so collaboratively to better communicate the Commission’s role and underline the role played by individual charities and the wider sector.”
“We are clear that we expect charities to take action to prevent and deal with incidents, but that we will intervene where there are concerns that trustees are not complying with their responsibilities, including in relation to safeguarding, to protect charities and the wider charitable sector.”
Jane Ide OBE, Chief Executive at ACEVO, said:
“Bullying and harassment is unacceptable in any part of our sector and at any level of it. It is essential that we work collaboratively to establish a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment and to ensure that everyone working in civil society, whether paid staff or volunteer, feels safe and respected in their work.”
“We welcome the focus from the Charity Commission on its role as our regulator in this context. The clarification provided today on serious incident reporting and the role the Commission will – and will not – play in those circumstances is a helpful step.”
“This is just one part of our sector’s response to the issue though. We look forward to working alongside the Commission and our colleagues across civil society to continue to inform, educate and support our sector in creating a safe and inclusive culture for all.”
Attention Editors
Trustees are required by the Commission’s reporting procedures to immediately notify the regulator of major events.
An internal investigation has revealed that there is a pervasive bullying culture within the charity, according to a table of examples that goes along with it.
In contrast, an isolated incident at a lower level of the organisation that has already been addressed with minor disciplinary action usually does not call for reporting.
The Commission nevertheless urges charity employees and volunteers to report problems that might gravely threaten the following: the people a charity assists, its employees or volunteers, the services the organisation offers, its assets, and its reputation.
The following proposal was made in a report released in 2019 by ACEVO and the Centre for Mental Health, and the Commission started working with sector stakeholders to define its regulatory role: Within Sight.
The research offers a number of suggestions for charity executives on how to deal with the dangers of bullying and harassment.
The Charity Commission, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, ACAS, ACEVO, Protect, The Diana Award, the Centre for Mental Health, NCVO, WCVA, UNISON, and the Association of Chairs were among the organisations represented in the working group.
The independent, non-ministerial government agency responsible for registering and overseeing charities in England and Wales is known as the Charity Commission.
In order for individuals to better lives and enhance society, it serves to guarantee that charity may flourish and inspire trust.