Jennifer Scott and Hana Ali, in our Charities & Education team, look at the upcoming changes that may affect charities and not-for-profit organisations.
There have been a number of changes in recent years affecting the Third Sector, from the implementation of the latest trench of the Charities Act 2022 to consequences from the Autumn Budget under a new government. To help charities and not for profit organisations stay ahead of the curve we have provided a summary of some of the upcoming changes to the law and regulations.
Changes to Personal Data Legislation
The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI) was initially introduced in 2022/2023 under the Conservative government but ceased progression when Parliament was dissolved in May 2024. The new Labour government has now introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUA).
The DPDI proposed to extend soft opt-in provisions, that currently only apply to commercial relationships, to include charities and other non-commercial organisations. The soft opt-in framework affords an exception to the law requiring express consent to enable direct marketing and instead provides that individuals need only be given the opportunity to opt-out of marketing.
However, the DUA currently contains no such extension, prompting the Data and Marketing Association (DMA) to issue a letter to the Secretary of State, urging the government to extend soft opt-in provisions to the charities and non-commercial organisations. In their letter the DMA claimed that it could increase annual donations by £290 million and stated that ‘as representatives of both corporate entities and charitable organisations, it is unclear to the DMA why charities should be at a disadvantage in this regard.’
We recommend that organisations keep updated with the DUA as it would mean changes to how personal data is processed and how data subject access requests are dealt with.
Update on the Fundraising Code of Practice
In September 2023 the Fundraising Regulator launched a consultation into its code of practice. The response to this found support for proposals to streamline the code, move to a principles based approach and to include signposting to relevant legislation and guidance.
In response to the consultation, the Fundraising Regulator has redrafted its code and will seek board approval in early 2025, before publication.
Once the new code is approved and published there will be a 6 month grace period to allow charities to update their processes to align with the new code. Investigations regarding complaints relating to the new code will not be taken until after the 6 month period.
Introduction of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
The Digital Markets act will make changes to the laws regarding subscription contracts to replace the Consumer Contract (Information Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulation 2013. These changes will come into force no earlier than spring 2026, allowing time for companies and charities to implement the necessary changes.
In order for charities to prepare for these changes they should review their current contracts that may fit the statutory definition. Subscription contracts are automatically renewing contracts and contracts that can automatically incur a different liability after a specified time. Therefore, this may apply to charities offering subscriptions or renewing memberships. However, certain contracts are excluded from these provisions such as contracts for the supply of childcare and school age education.
Under the Act some key requirements of traders will be to:
- Give consumers pre-contractual information regarding past and future charges, duration, how to terminate and cancellation rights;
- Provide easy mechanisms for termination of the subscription contract;
- Send consumers renewal reminders at specified intervals; and
- Ensure consumers have 14 days of cooling off rights that enable them to cancel a contract on the expiry of initial free or discounted trials.
Introduction of the Employment Rights Bill
The Labour government is set to enhance employee rights through its Employment Rights Bill, that contains major changes to matters, such as, statutory sick pay, zero-hour contracts, and paternity leave.
During the Committee Stage, it was proposed that the Bill should increase the time limit for employees to bring tribunal claims from 3 to 6 months. This is generally seen as a welcome change given the extensive time it can take for cases to get a full hearing, and while it may increase uncertainty for employers it also allows more time to resolve disputes before the claimant must submit a claim.
Additionally, the Bill introduces changes, as currently employees are required to have two years of continuous employment before gaining the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim, unless an automatic statutory ground applies. However, the Employment Rights Bill seeks to repeal this qualifying period and instead allow such rights from day one of employment, as well allowing such claims to apply to redundancy dismissals during the initial period of employment. This is likely to cause a rise in unfair dismissal claims that employers should be prepared for.
Our Charities & Education team can advise on these and other matters.
For further information or legal advice, please contact law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
