Iona joined JST Lawyers in 2009 having worked in the charity sector for over 15 years. She now specialises in assisting charities and social enterprises with legal advice. On her award win, Iona commented; ‘Receiving the award is a fantastic achievement and one I’m very proud of. This kind of recognition from The Law Society makes all the hard work worthwhile.’

Heather Summers, Managing Partner of JST Lawyers added; ‘Iona has already made a big impact at the firm so we’re all very proud of her. She does an amazing job by supporting many clients and she regularly provides free advice via a quarterly newsletter and regular seminars.’

Iona’s next free seminar – titled Understanding Your Memorandum & Articles – is taking place on Thursday 10th February, 2012 and is open to charity staff and trustees. Places at the event can be booked free of charge at www.jstlaw.co.uk/events/

So, how does this social medium work? First, you create an identity by opening an account. Then you start “following” other people. These may be a mixture of people you know, business colleagues and others you admire in your metier. Some of these will then follow you back. At the same time post your own comments. Some people get stuck here; they don’t know what to say in the allotted 140 characters. You’ll soon get the idea. The discipline of getting your point over in a few words is a good one for all communicators. You will soon find your ideas , by observing other people’s tweets, and deciding what works best for how to want to project yourself. Some businesses get their PR companies to “manage” their twitter account. While this is better than nothing, the posts tend to be bland and self-promoting. Restaurant owners who do their own are able to project their personality and promote themselves much more effectively. Russell Norman@PolpoSoho does it brilliantly, and Stevie Parle maintains a gentle repartee at his Dock Kitchen.

If you’re famous, you will naturally attract followers. Otherwise, you need to draw a bit of attention to yourself. Twitter helps you along with this, by picking up the content you tweet about and suggesting you as a follower to others. Another way is to join in conversations. When you press the reply button, you will address the other person, and if they reply back to you, all their followers will see your twitter name. If all this sounds convoluted, the best way to proceed is just to get started.

As you do this, you will come across baffling symbols like # and #FF. A # (hash tag) creates or follows a trend; the words that follow it must have no spaces. So for example #nopainnogain on your tweet would probably be gathered into the fitness arena, and you may find yourself being followed by personal trainers looking for new clients! #FF is a tradition among the twitterati to encourage their followers to follow new people they like, or simply to publicly endorse their friends. It stands for Follow Friday which is the day it all happens. And then there is the mysterious group of letters and numbers preceded by bit.ly/,  yfrog/ or ow.ly/. Click on any of these links and it takes you to the internet. This is the key to publicising a post/blog on your website. If you were to copy the link in full directly on to Twitter, you’d soon use up your 140 characters, so these agencies shorten it for you, simply and efficiently.

Why do some people get competitive about the followers they have? Having a large number of followers can give you as much credibility as a large income before the credit crunch, rather like being popular at school. But on a more practical level, the bigger the audience the more effective the message. You will notice by looking at some people’s profiles they might be following 2000 people, simply to get more followers. How can they be engaging effectively with that number? The answer is they don’t, and to me half the fun is getting to know people, and perhaps meeting up with them in real life. So, a proper social networking tool. I’d say around 200 is the optimum number of  people to follow. Another important thing is to enjoy it. I follow @sixthformpoet .

If you are working in the Food  Culture and Media sector , Twitter is almost a must if you want to keep up with all the new openings and trends, especially in London. It also has huge benefits for the latest breed of Art Private Views ( the day before the opening and just turn up ! Best with most interesting people and most to drink are @WhiteCube , @AlisonJacquesgallery and anything East End , also pop-ups, street food and mobile operators .

I hope this has whetted your appetite enough to have a go.

The premises were unable to open for business as usual due the extent of the damage sustained. The Owner did not have buildings insurance and was not in a position to pay for the repairs required. Therefore, we were instructed to provide further guidance. 

We have vast experience in representing innocent victims of road traffic accidents and have successfully recovered millions of pounds in compensation. This particular matter was pursued on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, resulting in no legal costs being paid by the Owner.

It was essential that we acted quickly throughout as the premises had only recently opened and a loss of trade was being incurred. There were also a number of employees who were unable to work whilst the premises remained closed. Our Employment Department was able to offer additional advice regarding the employees.

The damage to the property was immediately documented to the car driver’s insurers who initially refused to consider the loss. The insurers alleged that the driver had provided false details when the insurance was taken out and that they were attempting to cancel the policy. We continued with the matter and were confident that the insurers would have to provide compensation.

All motor insurers are required to be members of the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) and are therefore bound by their Articles of Association. One such Article, known as Article 75, details circumstances in which motor insurers must compensate individuals, despite having cancelled insurance.

After comprehensive legal argument based on Article 75, the insurers, and their solicitors, each agreed they were required to offer compensation. A significant amount was received to carry out the repairs to the premises, with a further sum recovered for the loss of trade experienced whilst the premises had to remain closed. It was an excellent result and the Owner was extremely grateful for the assistance provided.

We are able to offer a professional and personal service on a range of issues that may arise following an accident that was not your fault. We have particular expertise in representing individuals following accidents on the road, at work and in public places. Many of the instructions received can be pursued on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, with no deductions being made from the compensation recovered.

In addition, if you refer a friend or family member to us with a claim for personal injury, you will receive a cheque for £350 once liability is admitted[1]. If you would like any further information, or are unsure whether you are able to make a claim, please contact us on 0151 282 2828 or personalinjurydept@jstlaw.co.uk.

A CIC is a Community Interest Company and is a new type of legal structure that was introduced in 2005 to assist organisations that wanted to be identified as social enterprises.  Generally it is used by organisations that are driven by public or community benefit rather than by profit although that is not to say they are not profitable!

A CIC is set up in a similar way to a normal limited company and can be either Limited (Ltd) by shares or by guarantee.

CIC’s, unlike charities, can pay their board members and can also be useful structures to attract investment.  However there are also special restrictions for CIC’s such as an asset lock which restricts what you can do with assets of the organisation, a limit on distribution of dividends and a requirement to pass a community interest test which requires approval by the CIC regulator.

If you would like more information or advice on becoming a CIC please please contact Heather Summers or Iona Horsburgh of our Charity & Third Sector team.

The ‘objects’ of a charity essentially set out what the organisation was set up to do, who it’s beneficiaries are and where it is permitted to operate geographically.  Trustees need to know these restrictions when they are seeking to develop new income streams to tackle the latest round of funding cuts.

Good practice dictates that a charity and its trustees should be familiar with their governing document (referred to as the Memorandum and Articles if it is a limited company*).  Not only should trustees ensure they understand the organisation’s objectives, but also the powers the organisation has to attain those objectives and how the powers can be exercised.  The governing document will set out important operating rules, such as how many people need to attend meetings in order for decisions to be valid and how the management committee is elected.  Essentially the document dictates much of the charity’s operational framework.

The recently implemented 2006 Companies Act and the 2006 Charities Act may also offer an opportunity for many charities to update their governing document and take advantage of some of the changes introduced.  For example: electronic communication of resolutions can speed up decision-making but many older governing documents will not allow for this automatically. 

A review of your governing document is a useful way of familiarising yourself with your charity’s rules and also consider whether they can be updated to make the operation of your charity smoother in these tough economic times.  A good starting point are the following questions:

1.  What can you do and what do you want to do?

2.  How easy is it to convene meetings?

3.  Do you know who your members are; do you have a register of members?

4.  Do the assets of the charity carry restrictions e.g. – in law (endowment) or funding conditions (specific purpose)?

5.  Does the organisation trade lawfully?

(* Recently constituted limited companies will have all of their rules contained within their Articles)

If you require any further informationon government documents, please contact Heather Summers or Iona Horsburgh of our Charity & Third Sector team.

Partnering is a complicated area of law and organisations can unwittingly find themselves subject to legislation such as the Partnership Act 1890 without even realising it.  Getting agreement in writing is important if organisations don’t want to find themselves liable for failures of their partners, inevitably leading to financial and reputational damage.

Firstly organisations should check that they have the legal power to enter into a partnership arrangement.  For charities this will include ensuring that the collaboration furthers their own charitable objects.

Organisations will also need to consider what type of collaboration will work for them as there are a variety of options available.

A straight forward Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) may suffice if there is little risk and you are simply collaborating on, for example, best practice.   However there is a common misconception that MoU’s are not legally binding. Whether a contract has been formed will, amongst other things, depend on the intentions of the parties.  Therefore careful drafting of the document is required.

Many organisations are considering a Consortia Model. As partners can become liable for the actions of other partners it is important to have a partnership agreement in place.  In addition if funding is being sought then it is likely that one of the partner organisations would need to act as accountable body whilst they subcontract (often through service level agreements) the delivery by the other partners.

An alternative model is a joint venture company. This means that the partner organisations set up a wholly separate legal entity of which the partners are either members or shareholders.   This can be a particularly useful option where there is significant reputational or financial risk.

For some organisations, merger offers the best way forward and directors and trustees should take professional advice early on as there is a raft of legislation that they will need to comply with to achieve it.

This is obviously a very simplified version of what is a very complicated area of practice.  If you need advice or help with your partnership working then please contact us at thirdsector@jstlaw.co.uk

With the economic situation continuing to cause concern, many third sector organisations are having to find more creative solutions to plug gaps in funding.  In this issue we are looking at two key areas; Working in Partnership and Governing Documents.

We hope you enjoy reading the newsletter and that the articles are of use.  Our next issue will be out in Spring, if there is any particular issue you would like covered, or any jargon you want “busting”, please email us at thirdsector@jstlaw.co.uk

Click here to download a PDF version of this newsletter

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP 

As a result of the economic climate many organisations are looking at new ways of working together.  This can be a one off partnership for a specific project or a more permanent amalgamation, such as merger.

Partnering is a complicated area of law and organisations can unwittingly find themselves subject to legislation such as the Partnership Act 1890 without even realising it.  Getting agreement in writing is important if organisations don’t want to find themselves liable for failures of their partners, inevitably leading to financial and reputational damage.

Firstly organisations should check that they have the legal power to enter into a partnership arrangement.  For charities this will include ensuring that the collaboration furthers their own charitable objects.

Organisations will also need to consider what type of collaboration will work for them as there are a variety of options available.

A straight forward Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) may suffice if there is little risk and you are simply collaborating on, for example, best practice.   However there is a common misconception that MoU’s are not legally binding. Whether a contract has been formed will, amongst other things, depend on the

intentions of the parties.  Therefore careful drafting of the document is required.

Many organisations are considering a Consortia Model. As partners can become liable for the actions of other partners it is important to have a partnership agreement in place.  In addition if funding is being sought then it is likely that one of the partner organisations would need to act as accountable body whilst they subcontract (often through service level agreements) the delivery by the other partners.

An alternative model is a joint venture company. This means that the partner organisations set up a wholly separate legal entity of which the partners are either members or shareholders.   This can be a particularly useful option where there is significant reputational or financial risk.

For some organisations, merger offers the best way forward and directors and trustees should take professional advice early on as there is a raft of legislation that they will need to comply with to achieve it.

This is obviously a very simplified version of what is a very complicated area of practice.  If you need advice or help with your partnership working then please contact us at thirdsector@jstlaw.co.uk

GOVERNING DOCUMENTS

Reviewing a charity’s governing document is far down the list of priorities for today’s charities.  But trustees should be aware that charities ignoring these important documents can find themselves operating unlawfully.

The ‘objects’ of a charity essentially set out what the organisation was set up to do, who it’s beneficiaries are and where it is permitted to operate geographically.  Trustees need to know these restrictions when they are seeking to develop new income streams to tackle the latest round of funding cuts.

Good practice dictates that a charity and its trustees should be familiar with their governing document (referred to as the Memorandum and Articles if it is a limited company*).  Not only should trustees ensure they understand the organisation’s objectives, but also the powers the organisation has to attain those objectives and how the powers can be exercised.  The governing document will set out important operating rules, such as how many people need to attend meetings in order for decisions to be valid and how the management committee is elected.  Essentially the document dictates much of the charity’s operational framework.

The recently implemented 2006 Companies Act and the 2006 Charities Act may also offer an opportunity for many charities to update their governing document and take advantage of some of the changes introduced.  For example: electronic communication of resolutions can speed up decision-making but many older governing documents will not allow for this automatically. 

A review of your governing document is a useful way of familiarising yourself with your charity’s rules and also consider whether they can be updated to make the operation of your charity smoother in these tough economic times.  A good starting point are the following questions:

>What can you do and what do you want to do?

>How easy is it to convene meetings?

>Do you know who your members are; do you have a register of members?

>Do the assets of the charity carry restrictions e.g. – in law (endowment) or funding conditions (specific purpose)?

>Does the organisation trade lawfully? 

(* Recently constituted limited companies will have all of their rules contained within their Articles)

JARGON BUSTER – What is a CIC?

With so many acronyms these days, clients are often confused about what different terms mean.  In this issue we are giving a quick once over on CIC’s.

A CIC is a Community Interest Company and is a new type of legal structure that was introduced in 2005 to assist organisations that wanted to be identified as social enterprises.  Generally it is used by organisations that are driven by public or community benefit rather than by profit although that is not to say they are not profitable!

A CIC is set up in a similar way to a normal limited company and can be either Limited (Ltd) by shares or by guarantee.

CIC’s, unlike charities, can pay their board members and can also be useful structures to attract investment.  However there are also special restrictions for CIC’s such as an asset lock which restricts what you can do with assets of the organisation, a limit on distribution of dividends and a requirement to pass a community interest test which requires approval by the CIC regulator.

If you would like more information or advice on becoming a CIC please contact us.

BREAKFAST WORKSHOP

JST are running a free breakfast workshop on Understanding your Memorandum and Articles on Thursday 10^th February 2012 at their offices in Liverpool.   Click here or email events@jstlaw.co.uk to book a place.

The national minimum wage rates have increased. The new rates which are effective from 1st October 2011, are as follows:

The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced in his speech at the Conservative Party conference that the unfair dismissal qualifying period will rise from one to two years and that fees will be introduced in the employment tribunals.  We understand that the unfair dismissal change will come into effect on 6 April 2012. As yet there has been no further official announcement on tribunal fees.

Agency Worker Regulations

The much-anticipated Agency Worker Regulations 2010 came into effect on 1 October 2011.  Under the Regulations, an ‘agency worker’ is defined as someone who:

• Is supplied by a temporary work agency (TWA) to work temporarily for and under the supervision and direction of a hirer; and
• Has a contract with the TWA which is either:
  • a contract of employment with the TWA; or
  • any other contract to perform work and services personally.

From 1 October 2011, from the start of an agency worker’s assignment, the agency worker has the right to be told of any relevant vacancies with the hirer.  The agency worker also has the right, from the start of the assignment, to be treated no less favourably than a comparable employee or worker in the hirer’s establishment in relation to ‘collective facilities and amenities’, unless less favourable treatment is objectively justified.  Collective facilities and amenities include:

• Canteen or other similar facilities.
• Child-care facilities.
• The provision of transport services.

From 1 October 2011, an agency worker is entitled to the same ‘basic working and employment conditions’ to which they would have been entitled had they been directly recruited by the hirer.  However, this entitlement does not apply until an agency worker has undertaken the same role, whether on one or more assignments, with the same hirer for 12 continuous calendar weeks.  The regulations set out how the 12-week qualifying period is to be calculated.  For these purposes, relevant working and employment conditions include those relating to:

• Pay
• Duration of working time
• Night work
• Rest periods
• Rest breaks
• Annual leave

In addition, specific provision is made in the Regulations for paid time off for ante natal appointments for pregnant agency workers and for alternative work (or pay) to be provided where they are unable to continue with an assignment for health and safety reasons.

New national minimum wage rates

The national minimum wage rates have increased.  The new rates, effective from 1 October 2011, are:

For advice or assistance please contact Sarah Armstrong, or Iona Horsburgh.

Download a pdf version of this newsletter. October 2011