Reporting serious incidents to the Charity Commission during the coronavirus pandemic

On 3 June 2020 the Charity Commission published new guidance on serious incident reporting for charitable trustees.

The guidance provides a list of key considerations for trustees and complements the existing guidance on serious incident reporting, which continues to be the main resource for helping trustees to decide whether to report an incident.

The Commission have produced a helpful 'supplementary examples table' to help trustees to decide if they need to report an incident that is related to the pandemic. Trustees are still advised to exercise their judgement in deciding whether an incident is significant in the context of their charity, taking account of its staff, operations, finances and/or reputation. The table provides useful clarity on the key issues which charities are likely to face during the pandemic which will assist with the decision of whether to report.

It is also important to note that where trustees consider reporting an incident but decide not to report it, they should keep a brief record of their decision and the reasons for it. This is to avoid any dispute in the future if a decision not to report is challenged.

A copy of the 'supplementary examples table' is below and you can read the full guidance here.

If you would like further support or assistance with this issue or any other charity related matters then please contact Anna Phillips.