What policies are required by UK law?

Charities are subject to not only the same laws other organisations but also the Charities Act and these cover a wide range of areas, including employment, health and safety and data protection. The specific legal requirements may vary depending on the nature of the activities your charity undertakes and the country in which it operates.

What policies are required by the Charity Commission?

The Charity Commission doesn’t publish a list of policies required but does publish guidance on specific issues such as safeguarding, reserves, conflict of interest and risk management.

What finance policies should a charity have?

There is no definitive list of charity finance policies, because what you need will be determined by your activities but Internal Financial Controls and Reserves are probably the most common. Others include cash handling, schemes of delegation, investment, procurement and money laundering.

Do charities need to have a reserves policy?

Trustees need to set aside sufficient funding to protect against reductions in income or to take advantage of an opportunity. A reserves policy is a useful way to do that and is usually a standard policy in all but the smallest charities.

What is an ethical fundraising policy?

An ethical fundraising policy ensures a charity’s fundraising activities and behaviours comply with the Fundraising Code principles, fit with its values and ethics, and protect vulnerable donors.

Do charities need a health and safety policy?

The H&SW Act requires organisations with 5 or more staff to have a written H&SW policy. However, charities with fewer should think about having one and should have any specific H&SW policies needed to keep everyone safe.

Do all charities have to have a safeguarding policy?

Your charity must have a safeguarding policy if you work with children or vulnerable adults and trustees should consider other safety policies, such as H&SW, Bullying & Harassment and Whistleblowing.

Do charities need a data protection policy?

The Data Protection Act applies to all organisations that process personal data, including volunteers and donors. A data protection policy helps you to comply with the Law.

Do all charities need a complaints procedure?

Charities aren't required to have a complaints policy but should always aim to ensure they respond to concerns or complaints quickly and well and having a complaints policy is a good way to do that.

How often should charities review policies?

Policies should be updated in response to any material change in the law or regulations, there should be a regular programme of reviewing all charity policies with key policies reviewed by trustees annually.

Where can I get free charity policy templates?

The free Charity Excellence Framework has 60+ charity policies that can be downloaded in Word, including safeguarding, reserves and conflict of interest. You need to register then login. Everything is free.

How often should charities update policies?

Policies should be updated when the charity changes how it works, starts new activities or there is a change in the Law or regulatory guidance.

Charity Policies Required By UK Law

Charity Policies Required By UK Law & Charity Commission

What policies should a charity have? The charity policies required by UK law and the Charity Commission depend on your role and activities. This resource explains the most common charity policies and procedures charities need and guidance and links to free charity policy templates you can use to create yours. It includes a list of all the charity policies and procedures you can download in Word format from within Charity Excellence for free. It also includes links to the Charity Commission guidance and rules relating to policies, and guidance on the policies the Charity Commission wants, and those for staff, grant makers, and AI.

Charity Commission Policy Guidance

Listed below is the Charity Commission policy guidance that I am most frequently asked about, but this list is by no means exhaustive. I have created charity policies for each of these that meet their requirements and include links back to the relevant Charity Commission guidance.

The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3).
Charity reserves: building resilience (CC19).
Internal financial controls for charities (CC8)
Safeguarding for charities and trustees.
Conflicts of interest: a guide for charity trustees.
Charities and risk management (CC26).
Charities: due diligence, monitoring and verifying the end use of charitable funds.
Charities and investment matters: a guide for trustees.

And the Charity Commission isn't the only relevant regulator. Others include HMRC, the Fundraising Regulator. There are also others that are relevant for charities in specific sectors, such as DFE, CQC and the Electoral Commission.

FREE POLICY TEMPLATES FOR CHARITIES

You can download a wide range of policy templates for charities by logging in; everything is free.

Charity Policy Templates - Word Downloads

Governance. Board operating procedures, code of conduct, board reserved powers, board skills and experience, conflicts of interest and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Fundraising. Acceptance & refusal of donations, fundraising due diligence & donor checklists, crypto fundraising, donation refunds, fundraising (volunteers), ethical fundraising, gifts in kind, grant making, grant agreement and pro bono company agreement.
Finance. Anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, cash handling, due diligence, expenses, fraud prevention, internal financial controls, investment, reserves, risk management and risk register.
HR. Bullying & harassment, charity code of conduct, dress code, expenses, sexual harassment, pay & remuneration, safeguarding, volunteer recruitment and selection, whistleblowing and workplace relationships.
- There is also a download that lists and includes links to a wide range of HR policies, letters and templates produced by others that you can download for free.
- Or ask the AI tech bunnies and they'll connect you directly to each one.
Social Media. Social media group guidelines and social media policy.
International. Staying safe overseas and staying safe overseas (high risk areas).
H&SW. H&SW policy statement, first aid at work, food safety and RIDDOR.
Other. Animal welfare, animal rehoming, artificial intelligence (AI), campaigning, complaints, data protection, environmental, serious incident reporting, speaker policy and agreement, and project & programme assessment.

How to Download Our Charity Policy Templates

To download a charity policy template, register, then login. Click the AI bunny icon, then his Policies button, then typing in the one you want and he'll hop off and get it for you - watch the 2 min demo video on how to download policies. He can only download one at a time.

As you score the health check questionnaires, the system will make available (in the statement download area - bottom left of screen) the policies you might need as and when these are relevant to any given statement.

To download multiple policies, score the Governance ort People questionnaires until you come to a statement with POLICY DOWNLOADS in the text. You can down load all policies from here.

And Charity Excellence does a lot more than that. It's one-stop shop for anything your charity might need.

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What Policies Does the Charity Commission Require?

The Charity Commission lists a series of policies that you complete as part of your annual return. Not all may apply but, to be honest, it's a bit naff. It looks like a policy list designed by a committee of Civil Servants, which is probably what it is. You can download any of these by logging in the Charity Excellence.

Here's the list: risk management, investment, safeguarding, conflicting interests, volunteer management, complai8ns handling, paying staff, social media, financial reserves, external speakers, bullying, serious incident reporting, trustee expenses and campaigns and political activity.

What Policies Does a Charity Need for Staff?

You will always wish to think about any health and safety policies you might need and if you have staff a health and safety policy statement is a good idea may be a regulatory requirement. Equally, with staff, you'll need to think about policies such as grievance, disciplinary and capability. The Acas website has lost of guidance, downloadable policy templates and a free help line.

What Charity Policies do Grant Makers Require?

If you are a grant maker, you should have a grant making policy. Grant makers don't often specify policies they expect potential grantees to hold. The most common one required is safeguarding. If you work with children or vulnerable adults this is a must have anyway. You can download both by logging in.

Charity Policies - Banking

The banks can be a real pain and may ask a whole series of detailed questions, when opening an account or a spart of tehri know your customer processes. Particularly, if you work overseas in areas such as Pakistan, Somalia or Afghanistan. I've written a guide with links to people to help you, templates etc. I've also created charity policies for anti money laundering, anti bribery and due diligence (for sanctions) that you can download by logging in.

What Charity Policies Need Updating For AI?

A non-exhaustive checklist of common policies that may need updating with notes to help you. We cannot afford lawyers, so the non-exhaustive checklist below is not professional opinion, which you must seek if you need it.

Policy	AI Relevance / Explanatory Notes
Data Protection & Privacy	Include compliance with Data Protection Act and ICO guidance on AI and data protection. Address how AI systems process personal data, retention and security, consent, and transparency.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion	Prevent algorithmic bias and discrimination in AI systems. Ensure fairness and inclusivity in AI-driven decisions.
Complaints	Add procedures for handling complaints about AI-generated decisions or content, including contestability and redress. Reworded to manage the growing use of AI to submit 20+ page long complaints using quasi-legal language.
Safeguarding	Cover risks from AI misuse (e.g., deepfakes, scams) that could harm vulnerable beneficiaries or staff.
Fundraising	Reflect Fundraising Regulator guidance on AI use. Human review of AI-generated fundraising content, including AI bid writing. Fundraising bot safeguards for vulnerable people.
HR & Recruitment	Address AI use in recruitment (e.g., automated screening) and ensure compliance with equality laws. Include transparency and fairness in AI-assisted hiring.
Social Media & Communications	Add rules for AI-generated content, ensuring it is clearly identified and ethically used. Safeguards to mitigate deepfake use.
Risk Management	Integrate AI risk analysis, including bias, misinformation, cybersecurity threats, and environmental impact.
Governance	Define board oversight for AI decisions and annual review of AI performance and ethics.
Imagery Ethics	Responsible use of AI-generated images, avoiding misrepresentation and ensuring cultural sensitivity.
Financial Controls	Ensure AI tools in finance are monitored and audited for accuracy and compliance. Scams, including deepfake.
Grant Making	Transparency and fairness in AI-assisted decisions, with human oversight. Guidance on use of AI in applications.
Procurement	Ensure ethical sourcing of AI tools and services, compliance with charity procurement rules, and vendor transparency.
IT Use	Define acceptable use of AI systems, security protocols, and monitoring to prevent misuse and ensure compliance.
Consent to Use Imagery	Extend consent to cover any potential sharing/input with internal or external AI systems. AI will not be used to create content using real people.

Charity Policies FAQs

What policies are required by UK law? Charities are subject to all the laws other organisations and also the Charities Act and cover a wide range of areas, including employment, health and safety and data protection. The specific legal requirements may vary depending on the nature of the activities your charity undertakes and the countries in which it operates.
What policies should a charity have? The policies a charity should have depends on various factors, such as its activities. The trustees should ensure their charity has the policies needed to ensure they work within the Law and regulators' guidance; their charity is run effectively, and everyone is kept safe.
What policies are required by the Charity Commission? The Charity Commission doesn’t publish a list of policies required but does publish guidance on specific issues such as safeguarding, reserves, conflict of interest and risk management.
What finance policies should a charity have? There is no definitive list of charity finance policies, but Internal Financial controls and Reserves are the most common. Others include cash handling, schemes of delegation, investment, money laundering.
Do charities need to have a reserves policy? Trustees need to set aside sufficient funding to protect against reductions in income or to take advantage of an opportunity. A reserves policy is a useful way to do that and is usually a standard policy in all but the smallest charities.
What is an ethical fundraising policy? An ethical fundraising policy ensures a charity’s fundraising activities and behaviours comply with the Fundraising Code principles, fits with its values and ethics, and protects vulnerable donors.
Do charities need a health and safety policy? The H&SW Act requires organisations with 5 or more staff to have a written H&SW policy. However, charities with fewer should think about having one and should have any specific H&SW policies needed to keep everyone safe.
Do all charities have to have a safeguarding policy? Your charity must have a safeguarding policy if you work with children or vulnerable adults and trustees should consider other safety policies, such as H&SW, Bullying & Harassment and Whistleblowing.
Do charities need a data protection policy? The Data Protection Act applies to all organisations that process personal data, including volunteers and donors. A data protection policy helps you to comply with the Law.
Do all charities need a complaints procedure? No, but charities should always aim to ensure they respond to concerns or complaints quickly and well and having a complaints policy is a good way to do that.
How often should charities review policies? There should be a regular programme of reviewing all policies with key policies reviewed by trustees annually.
How often should charities update policies? Policies should be updated when the charity changes how it works, starts new activities or there is a change in the Law or regulator’s guidance.

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This Charity Policy Resource Doesn't Constitute Professional Opinion

I am not an accountant, nor a lawyer and no advice can be applicable to all organisations, in all circumstances, so this guide to charity policies is no more than a guide to understanding. I've summarised the regulatory guidance and augmented this with my own experience and Internet research, but I am not competent to provide professional advice. I have included links to the source guidance to enable you to check this yourself and, if you think you might need professional advice, register, then login and use the Help Finder directory to find pro bono support. Everything is free.

60+ Free Charity Policy Templates - Those Required By UK Law & Charity Commission Guidance