[Note: This is a sample document, based on a company limited by guarantee with charitable status, and should be adapted to suit your organisation’s own needs and requirements. Please refer to the instructions and advice notes which are included in italics. Every care has been taken to ensure the information given is accurate and current. The Community Toolkit resource owned and managed by Skye & Lochalsh Council for Voluntary Organisations cannot accept claims arising from error or misinterpretation.

DIRECTOR INDUCTION PACK of

[insert name of your company]

Table of Contents
Operating Area / Page
Structure and Purpose / Page
Funding / Page
Communication / Page
Information about the Sector / Page
Annexes / Annex number
List here Policy Documents available on request as listed on page 5 / 1

[Insert company contact details here

and name of main contact]


STRUCTURE AND PURPOSE (add/amend/delete as necessary)

[Insert your company name] is a charitable company limited by guarantee. It was set up as a constituted body in [insert date] and was incorporated as a company in [insert date].

Its Mission Statement:

[Insert your mission statement here, summarising what you provide, to whom and your area of operation].

Its Objects are:

a)  [List your objects here]

State here the powers the organisation has to further its objects.

State here how many members/groups you have and the geographical/Local Authority area within which they are based.

Company Limited by Guarantee) add/amend/delete as necessary

[Insert your company name here] is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee.

Scottish Company Number: [Insert your Scottish Company Number here]

Scottish Charity Number: [Insert your Scottish Charity Number here]

An incorporated company limited by guarantee is a useful structure for voluntary and community organisations which are actively involved in running projects which need to lease premises, enter into long-term commitments, employ people etc. and especially if substantial sums of money are involved.

A company limited by guarantee is a democratic structure comprised of members and a board of directors elected by them. Control of the organisation ultimately lies with the members. The board, in effect the management committee, may have to retire from time to time and the decision about re-electing them or electing new directors belongs to the members [see the organisations constitution for details]. Important matters affecting the structure of the company have to be referred to the members for a decision.

Members usually pay an annual subscription and cannot benefit from any profits made by the company. If the organisation runs into debt the members' liability is limited to an amount they guarantee to pay in terms of a clause in the constitution, usually a nominal sum of £1 each.

However limited company status does not protect directors found to be wilfully negligent or who do not have due regard for the interests of creditors. They can also be found guilty of a criminal offence. Their responsibilities include detailed statutory obligations in relation to filing returns and keeping proper records and most importantly in monitoring the company's financial position and taking immediate steps to prevent insolvency.

Board Structure [add/amend/delete as necessary]

[Insert the minimum and maximum number of people required, how many there are at present and whether you require Directors to retire by rotation or serve for a set number of years].

[Insert your company name here] is a Charitable Company. This means its Directors are also the Charity Trustees of the Company.

The Role of the Directors [add/amend/delete as necessary]

·  The business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors.

·  They are responsible for the management of staff and financial resources in order to further the aims and objectives of the Company.

·  They must ensure that the organisation fulfils its legal responsibilities as a charitable, limited company.

·  They may delegate any of their powers to Sub Groups (consisting of the Directors and Advisers).

However, the Directors retain the ultimate responsibility for the Company.

The Role of Directors as Charity Trustees [add/amend/delete as necessary]

·  Act in the interests of the Charity.

·  Seek, in good faith, to ensure that the Charity operates in a manner that is consistent with its objects or purposes.

·  Act with the care and diligence that is reasonable to expect of a person who is managing the affairs of another person.

·  Ensure that the Charity complies with the provisions of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act, and other relevant legislation.

Disqualification under Company Law

Company law applies to all companies, including charities that are formed as a company limited by guarantee. A court may disqualify people from being a company director if they have a:

·  Conviction for criminal offences relating to the promotion, formation, management or liquidation of a company

·  Conviction for fraudulent trading or fraud

·  Record of persistent default on company legislation for filing accounts and other documents

·  Record of conduct as a director that makes them unfit to be involved in Company management (Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 )

Disqualification under Charity Law

·  Someone with an unspent conviction for dishonesty or an offence under the Act.

·  An undischarged bankrupt.

·  Someone who has been removed under either Scottish or English law or the courts from being a charity trustee.

·  A person disqualified from being a Company Director.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

[Insert here a list of current Board of Directors, any office they may hold and contact details].

FUNDING

[Describe here funding received to run your company and the types of services and activities you have provided/participated in as a result of this funding].

[List here the sections your Business Plan is divided into].

[Insert your company name here] POLICY DOCUMENTS

(AVAILABLE ON REQUEST)

[List here all the policy documents in operation within your organisation and how they can be accessed, these could include]:

·  Memorandum and Articles of Association

·  Guidance and Policy on Harassment, Bullying and Victimisation

·  Health and Wellbeing at Work

·  Leave Policy

·  Health and Safety at Work Policy

·  Grievance Policy

·  Disciplinary

·  Flexible/TOIL working

·  Sick Leave Policy

·  Complaints Procedure

·  Travel and Subsistence

·  IT policy

·  Archiving Policy

·  Staff Performance Appraisal System

·  Financial Reserves Policy

·  Risk Assessments

·  Equality and Diversity

·  Greening the Workplace

·  Work life Balance

·  Financial Procedures

·  Recruitment Policy

*For sample policies visit the Community Toolkit File Library at www.slcvo.org.uk/toolkit

COMMUNICATION

[Insert your company’s name here and the mechanisms in place for communicating with your sector. This could include, for example, databases, e-bulletins, newsletters, website].

[Insert your company name here] SKILLS

[List here the skills held by your organisation, these could include]:

·  Local knowledge

·  Training organisation and delivery

·  Monitoring and evaluation

·  Facilitation skills, including organising and running workshops, meetings, focus groups

·  Organising and training of management committees

·  Experience of working with marginalised groups and individuals

·  Innovative, imaginative and flexible

·  Knowledge of barriers to community engagement

·  Flexibility to pilot ideas

·  Ability to lever added value to projects

·  Objective and unbiased perspective of the voluntary sector across Highland

·  Because we are cross-sectoral we can facilitate and enable a range of voluntary sector views to be heard

·  Commitment to promoting the value and worth of the voluntary sector groups to other agencies, and their contribution to the quality of life of the communities they serve in Highland.

DESCRIBE THE SECTOR YOU OPERATE IN

[Examples below - add/amend/delete as necessary]

SIZE, STRUCTURE and AREA of COVERAGE

·  Small, medium, large, very large

·  Open forum, constituted, company, trust, charitable, self-help

·  Local, regional, branches of national or international organisations

PURPOSE and THEMES/TOPICS

·  Lobbying, fundraising, service provider, advice, support, counselling, networking, research

·  Education, health, arts, sport, culture, heritage, social care, community care, leisure, recreation, housing, social inclusion, environment, children, animals, religion, regeneration

MANAGEMENT, WORK BASE, EMPLOYEES/VOLUNTEERS

·  Small local, autonomous, branches of larger organisations

·  From home, rented premises, owned premises, no work base as such

·  Entirely run by volunteers, one paid worker, a structured employment setting with career progression

BENEFICIARIES and SOURCES OF FINANCE

·  Babies, pre-school, children, young people, adults, older people, animals, wild life

·  Grant-aided, service level agreement, fund-raising, charging for services/goods, renting out space, project management, project funding, donations, bequests, legacies

End your document with a summary of the breadth, diversity and complexity of the sector in which you operate your challenge within this and how you believe your organisation provides that mechanism.

6

[Insert your company name here, it’s legal structure, Company Number, Scottish Charity number and address of registered office]