Employee of a charity that is about to fold.
Discussion
Need to ask for some advice on behalf of the wife.
She works for a local charity (wont say for reasons of anonymity) and it has recently come to light from the charities management committee (they are volunteers) that there is no money in the pot to pay everyones wages and wont be for the foreseeable future either.
From what the wife is saying it sounds like the charity is on the brink of folding if it cannot raise some serious cash PDQ. And without the paid staff members the charity simple cannot deliver what it sets out to do.
Where does she stand regarding payment for hours worked that they cant pay her for? Nobody has been told they are being made redundant so she is still going to work but it seems she can clearly see the writing on the wall.
Naturally she is looking for another job in her field however opportunities are very few and far between at this time.
Neither of us have ever experienced a redundancy process or anything like the issue above before.
She works for a local charity (wont say for reasons of anonymity) and it has recently come to light from the charities management committee (they are volunteers) that there is no money in the pot to pay everyones wages and wont be for the foreseeable future either.
From what the wife is saying it sounds like the charity is on the brink of folding if it cannot raise some serious cash PDQ. And without the paid staff members the charity simple cannot deliver what it sets out to do.
Where does she stand regarding payment for hours worked that they cant pay her for? Nobody has been told they are being made redundant so she is still going to work but it seems she can clearly see the writing on the wall.
Naturally she is looking for another job in her field however opportunities are very few and far between at this time.
Neither of us have ever experienced a redundancy process or anything like the issue above before.
Very difficult - I’m a charity trustee and it’s on our minds - have 6m wages for all 20 staff in a secondary, ring-fenced account for this reason.
What is the structure of the charity? If the trustees have allowed it to get to this stage, or actors improperly, depending on type of incorporation they may be personally liable. Otherwise it’d likely fall onto the government backstop.
What is the structure of the charity? If the trustees have allowed it to get to this stage, or actors improperly, depending on type of incorporation they may be personally liable. Otherwise it’d likely fall onto the government backstop.
kiethton said:
Very difficult - I’m a charity trustee and it’s on our minds - have 6m wages for all 20 staff in a secondary, ring-fenced account for this reason.
What is the structure of the charity? If the trustees have allowed it to get to this stage, or actors improperly, depending on type of incorporation they may be personally liable. Otherwise it’d likely fall onto the government backstop.
The wife is the manager for the ‘service’ the chrity provides.What is the structure of the charity? If the trustees have allowed it to get to this stage, or actors improperly, depending on type of incorporation they may be personally liable. Otherwise it’d likely fall onto the government backstop.
Above her is the management committee which as far as i know are the folk who manage finances, fundraising etc.
They do have an accountant who manages the books for free, however he also seems reluctant to pull any of his weight when asked either. For example all staff are paid by cheque because the accountant claims its too much hassle to pay by bank transfer (never heard of anyone being paid their wages by cheque in recent times)
She is meant to be the link between her staff and the committee and has been copping all the flak from them because they arent being paid. She certainly feels that the committee are using her as the face of the s
tstorm that is going on but that they arent really taking any responsibility.Wife says that the committee seem to be pretty ineffective and unwilling to do alot. She has tried for ages on end to set a meeting up with them as she wanted to discuss issues she was having that were totally unrelated to this. But when she finally did get a date set up by them they dropped this bombshell which put her original agenda well onto the back burner. Of which at the end of the announcement the chirman asked “any ideas”
It’s a well regulated sector so you may find this of some value:
https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/managing-...
One assumes accounts were filed for the previous year. Were they healthy then or was there any indication of a problem brewing?
https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/managing-...
One assumes accounts were filed for the previous year. Were they healthy then or was there any indication of a problem brewing?
rog007 said:
It’s a well regulated sector so you may find this of some value:
https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/managing-...
One assumes accounts were filed for the previous year. Were they healthy then or was there any indication of a problem brewing?
She doesnt know to be honest as she joined the team only a few months ago.https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/managing-...
One assumes accounts were filed for the previous year. Were they healthy then or was there any indication of a problem brewing?
She did raise the at interview her concerns of stability of pay to be told that they have always been paid and never been left short. Until now anyway.
Without her seeing last years accounts i can only assume that money has been drying up for a while before then and they had told a few fibs about cash flow. My wife certainly wouldnt have accepted the role if she knew the charities financial state.
Europa1 said:
Countdown said:
I don’t think they have personal liability for unpaid bills if the Charity goes bankrupt.
You might be surprised.OP, how is the charity set up? Is it a company limited by guarantee, or an unincorporated association?
Yarders91 said:
The wife is the manager for the ‘service’ the chrity provides.
Above her is the management committee which as far as i know are the folk who manage finances, fundraising etc.
They do have an accountant who manages the books for free, however he also seems reluctant to pull any of his weight when asked either. For example all staff are paid by cheque because the accountant claims its too much hassle to pay by bank transfer (never heard of anyone being paid their wages by cheque in recent times)
She is meant to be the link between her staff and the committee and has been copping all the flak from them because they arent being paid. She certainly feels that the committee are using her as the face of the ststorm that is going on but that they arent really taking any responsibility.
Wife says that the committee seem to be pretty ineffective and unwilling to do alot. She has tried for ages on end to set a meeting up with them as she wanted to discuss issues she was having that were totally unrelated to this. But when she finally did get a date set up by them they dropped this bombshell which put her original agenda well onto the back burner. Of which at the end of the announcement the chirman asked “any ideas”
All of that is a huge red-flagAbove her is the management committee which as far as i know are the folk who manage finances, fundraising etc.
They do have an accountant who manages the books for free, however he also seems reluctant to pull any of his weight when asked either. For example all staff are paid by cheque because the accountant claims its too much hassle to pay by bank transfer (never heard of anyone being paid their wages by cheque in recent times)
She is meant to be the link between her staff and the committee and has been copping all the flak from them because they arent being paid. She certainly feels that the committee are using her as the face of the s
tstorm that is going on but that they arent really taking any responsibility.Wife says that the committee seem to be pretty ineffective and unwilling to do alot. She has tried for ages on end to set a meeting up with them as she wanted to discuss issues she was having that were totally unrelated to this. But when she finally did get a date set up by them they dropped this bombshell which put her original agenda well onto the back burner. Of which at the end of the announcement the chirman asked “any ideas”
We are available at any time for any of our employees to contact at will - even junior staff members for whistleblowing etc. Also everything is set up properly with staff pensions, BACS payments etc.
May be a scale issue though - how big is the charity concerned here? - can impact how organised they are (but shouldn’t)
kiethton said:
Europa1 said:
Countdown said:
I don’t think they have personal liability for unpaid bills if the Charity goes bankrupt.
You might be surprised.OP, how is the charity set up? Is it a company limited by guarantee, or an unincorporated association?
https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/guest...
kiethton said:
All of that is a huge red-flag
We are available at any time for any of our employees to contact at will - even junior staff members for whistleblowing etc. Also everything is set up properly with staff pensions, BACS payments etc.
May be a scale issue though - how big is the charity concerned here? - can impact how organised they are (but shouldn’t)
Apologies for late response.We are available at any time for any of our employees to contact at will - even junior staff members for whistleblowing etc. Also everything is set up properly with staff pensions, BACS payments etc.
May be a scale issue though - how big is the charity concerned here? - can impact how organised they are (but shouldn’t)
Paid staff are around 5 or 6 i believe. 3 on Part time contracts and the rest are relief.
I've tried looking around on the web on whether the charity is LTD, incorporated etc but cannot find anything with regards to that.
Recent events have come around that most of the staff will be paid when an upcoming grant is paid in. But but by no means is this problem solved. As the staff wages will absorb all of that funding.
Should be able to find some information via the Charity Commission:
https://www.gov.uk/find-charity-information
https://www.gov.uk/find-charity-information
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