Subject: Company Secretary - Who and How?
I work for a small(ish) grant making trust that is dual registered (charity and company limited by guarantee). For all of the time I have been working for the trust the role of company secretary has been formally filled by a trustee - with practical assistance provided by staff where needed. The current post-holder has indicated they wish to step down from the role. Some questions:
1) Can the role of Company Secretary be held by a paid member of staff?
2) Is it a role best held by a member of staff (new or existing) or a trustee?
3) Given that it is a small charity it is likely that the Company Secretary will be fulfilling other roles. Is there any particular combination of roles that should be avoided e.g. Secretary/Chair or Secretary/CEO?
3) Where we be a good place to find a suitable model role description?
Many thanks.
Since 2008 there has been no requirement for a company to have a company secretary - the duties still need to be carried out, you need to make sure that Companies Registry is informed and you need to ensure that this complies with your Articles of Association.
Here is a useful job description.
If you chose to have the role (which is often a good idea so that everyone can make sure that the responsibilities are carried out) then you can have a staff member carry it out and many charities chose to do this.
