The Charity Commission has rewritten its operational compliance report on the case of Southwark Muslim Women’s Association after governance experts pointed out that its advice on chief executives’ attendance at trustee board meetings was contrary to good practice.
The report, published on Monday, stated: “It was also revealed that the employee had been in constant attendance at trustee meetings, which should not have been allowed. Staff may be invited to trustee meetings on occasion, but must not be in constant attendance.”
But after various governance consultants, including Governance magazine editor Dorothy Dalton and the former head of large charities at the Commission, Beryl Hobson, contacted the regulator to query this advice, it revised the report and issued a new version.
Hobson told Civil Society News that it was common practice, and indeed good practice, for chief executives to attend trustee board meetings – and often for other directors, such as the finance director, to attend too.
She said that occasionally these staff might be asked to leave meetings, if there were sensitive agenda items to be considered such as the CEO’s performance or recommendations from a remuneration committee, but generally the CEO at least ought to be in attendance.
Therefore she tweeted that she was “puzzled” to see the Commission’s advice in the compliance report.
A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission told Civil Society News that its meetings guidance - CC48 - makes it clear that staff members can attend board meetings at the invitation of the trustees. However, when staff members attend trustee meetings, their role in the meeting should be clear, she said – “for example as a minute-taker or an ‘expert adviser’ on an agenda item”.
She went on: “The trustees should also give consideration to managing conflicts of interest and confidentiality. This may mean that they are not invited to attend all of a meeting (or indeed every meeting). Staff members in attendance at trustee meetings should not participate in making decisions (except in the unusual cases where they are also trustees).”
In the case of the Southwark Muslim Women’s Association, the Commission had found that the constant attendance of the CEO at trustee meetings had not been appropriate. However, the spokeswoman admitted that the advice in the compliance report had “caused some confusion” and so it had “clarified the wording to clear this up”.
The new version states: “It was also revealed that the employee had been in constant attendance at trustee meetings and this affected the governance of the charity. Trustees may invite staff to attend meetings but staff should not participate in making decisions (except in the few cases where they are also trustees).”
