The duties of a Trustee explained

Considering taking on the duties of a Trustee is a big responsibility and should not be entered into lightly. For anyone interested in finding out more or members intending to put themselves forward as a Trustee of The British Polio Fellowship, we strongly recommend reading the Charity Commission’s guidance for England and Wales on the subject.

 

The guidance is entitled The Essential Trustee: What you need to know and is now in its third edition. The code has been revised in response to the many challenges the charity sector has faced over the last few years. Much of the negative publicity attracted by poor practice by some charities over the last two years could have been avoided if they had taken more heed of the code – and by applying in practical terms what some have clearly regarded as mere guidelines.

 

The code recognises that many Trustees are volunteers and as such can make innocent mistakes like the rest of us, but following the guidance helps Trustees to make decisions and giving them the tools to understand what is really going on. The code starts with a foundation principle. It should be a given that all Trustees understand their legal responsibilities (have proactively made efforts to do so) and are committed to good governance. Sadly, recent cases in the press have shown this is not always the case and has served to give many in the Third Sector a bad name, which is sad when the majority undertake their duties competently and sincerely.

At the heart of the guidelines are the seven principles of leadership: integrity; decision making; risk and control; Board effectiveness; diversity; and not least, openness and accountability. As well as being important in their own right, these factors inspire confidence by demonstrating to members and third parties and donors that a given charity is trustworthy.

​

All Trustees have a legal duty to act in the charity’s best interest (and deal with any conflicts of interest); manage the charity’s resources responsibly (implement appropriate financial controls while managing risk) and act with reasonable care and skill – particularly in terms of taking appropriate advice when needed. Trustees found in breach of such legal duties can be held responsible for the consequences, so this is a very serious matter. 

The Trustees must also be able to explain and justify their approach if necessary.

Are you eligible to be a Trustee?

• Legally you must be over 18 years of age (in the case of The British Polio Fellowship)

• You must be appointed following the charity’s procedures and any restrictions

• No unspent convictions involving dishonesty or deception (such as fraud)

• Being bankrupt (or entering a formal arrangement with a creditor)

• Removal as a company director or Trustee because of wrongdoing

 

Trustees must:

• Ensure The British Polio Fellowship complies with charity law requirements and other laws

• Take reasonable steps to find out what the legal requirements are

• Act in the charity’s best interests

 

Acting in the charity’s best interest my sound obvious but involves making informed decisions about the short and long-term future and must avoid putting the charity’s assets or reputation at undue risk. Trustees must make decisions solely in the charity’s interests. This means not allowing judgements to be swayed by personal prejudices – or for that matter by dominant personalities. 
Trustees who simply defer to the opinions or decisions of others are not fulfilling their duty.

​

We hope the short piece above gives some insight to what the role demands but would urge all would be Trustees to read the Charity Commission’s guidance document in full.