Resources

Expertise, events, news and updates –
what interests you?

Charity Commission investigations health check

Charity Commission investigations can be prompted in many ways; for example, complaints to the Commission, publicity in the press and elsewhere and the submission of serious incident reports by the charity. However they arise, and however successful the outcome, they can be stressful and resource intensive for all involved. We can work with you to …
Read more

People and Workplace round-up | 9 July

Welcome to our 5-minute round-up of people and workplace updates, hand-picked to help HR teams. Catch up on: Unlawful deductions from wages: bonus entitlement was fixed before an undisclosed cap was imposed by the employer The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) confirmed that an employer cannot retrospectively limit a bonus by introducing a cap after the …
Read more

The Employment Rights Act 2025 comes into force – what’s next for employers?

This article was first published on 15 January 2026. It has been updated following the Government’s announcement on 3 February 2026 regarding its revised implementation timeline, and again in July 2026 to reflect the annual increase in the statutory cap for compensation payments and provide updates on a number of consultations. On 18 December 2025, …
Read more

Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 7 July

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Charity Commission framework DCMS and the Charity Commission have published a framework document which sets …
Read more

Summer internships and UK immigration: practical tips for employers

Summer internships can help organisations access emerging talent, support busy teams and build future recruitment pipelines. But where the intern is an international student or overseas applicant, immigration status should be checked before any offer is made or work begins. Select the appropriate visa route There is no dedicated UK “internship visa”. The right route …
Read more

Event | Joining Forces roundtable: Crisis – Preparation and management | 14 July 2026

Crises are inevitable in the life cycle of a charity. Some may be avoidable while others come from unexpected quarters and affect the most well-run organisations, as we saw with the global pandemic. Like any other charities, Armed Forces charities are vulnerable to a range of issues which can prompt a crisis, such as fraud …
Read more

Webinar | Getting ready for the IFR licensing regime | 15 July 2026

The IFR has published its final licensing documentation and the application process for club licences is due to open in November. Football clubs need to use this period to build solid foundations before the application window opens.   Bates Wells advised Fair Game, the fan-led coalition that campaigned persistently and effectively for meaningful reform of …
Read more

Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 30 June

Our weekly roundup of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission At the Third Sector Conference 2026, Charity Commission Chair Dame Julia Unwin gave a speech about “The Commission’s role in uncertain times”. She discussed …
Read more

Real Estate – Summer reflections and looking ahead

In May, over 16,000 real estate professionals attended this year’s UKREiiF conference. A driving conversation was what is on the horizon for the industry. Key themes included: Looking ahead, regulatory changes affecting the industry include: Attending conferences such as UKREiiF allows us to get a good handle on the issues affecting the industry and the …
Read more

Data protection complaints: new obligations and what you need to know

One of the more significant changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act (the “Act”), is the introduction of a specific right for individuals to make data protection complaints directly to an organisation. Although individuals have always been able to do this (and encouraged to do so by the ICO), there are a couple …
Read more

People and Workplace round-up

Welcome to our round-up of 5 minute People and Workplace updates hand-picked to help HR teams. Catch up on: Unfair dismissal: clarification on contributory conduct relations The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has clarified how tribunals should approach reductions to compensation for contributory conduct in unfair dismissal cases and how requests for reinstatement should be dealt …
Read more

Drawing the lines: mutuality, control, and the tax test for employment status

On 1 May 2026, the First Tier (Tax) Tribunal (“FTT”) found that, despite HMRC’s assertions to the contrary, certain referees engaged by Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (“PGMOL”) were self-employed, rather than employed, for tax purposes (see the case here). This decision is the latest (though possibly not the last) installment in a long running …
Read more