Accounting and tax helpline
Provider: Crowe
Areas they can assist members: Accounting and auditing standards and best practice; Governance; Risk management; Performance measurement; Strategy; Financial management; Tax and VAT; Presentation of accounts and reports; Structures and audit committees.
Contact:
Naziar Hashemi
Head of Social Purpose and Non Profits; London
+44 207 842 7229
Email: nonprofits@crowe.co.uk
HR and employment law helpline
Provider: Mills & Reeve
Areas they can assist members: 30 minutes of help from their experienced employment law team covering all types of employment grievances, disciplinary matters, performance manager and investigation; contracts and policies including changing terms and conditions, equal pay, equality, remuneration, redundancy; employee relations and trade unions; operational issues, such as working time and time off, atypical working and sickness management; employee benefits, rewards and recruitment; pensions and immigration; senior appointments and severance; and a wide range of training and HR consultancy services. Full terms of use available to read here.
Contact: Rebecca Pallot, Partner, Mills & Reeve
Tel: 0207 648 5282
Email: cfg@mills-reeve.com
Hours open: From 9.30am – 5pm weekdays excluding public holidays.
Managing financial difficulties helpline: Open to non-members
Providers: MHA
Accountancy partner MHA’s specialist Restructuring and Recovery team can offer free advice to CFG members on a range of areas including:
- Mounting debts;
- Reduced cash flow;
- Rising income gaps;
- Worries that you cannot keep doing more with less.
For more information, email the below individuals with reference to this CFG helpline in the subject line:
James Snowdon, partner, James.Snowdon@mha.co.uk
Kurt Hopcroft, manager, Kurt.Hopcroft@mha.co.uk
Legal: General Advice helpline
The law firm Russell-Cooke works with CFG to provide a free telephone helpline for CFG members. The helpline allows members to have a short telephone conversation with a legal professional on issues relating to running a charity, such as:
- Governance
- Contracting and collaboration
- Fundraising
- Mergers
- Employment / HR
- Data Protection
- Safeguarding
- Leases and Property
- Covid-19
The helpline is open from 9.30am to 5pm on working days. To use the helpline, you can:
Contact:
Tel: 020 3826 7534
Email: Charity.NewEnquiries@russell-cooke.co.uk Please mark ‘CFG helpline’ in the subject line and include a phone number.
In the first instance, your enquiry will come through to an executive assistant, who will circulate it to solicitors in Russell-Cooke’s Charity and Social Business team. You will then be called directly by a solicitor to discuss your enquiry, usually within 1 – 2 working days.
You can find out more about Russell-Cooke’s Charity and Social Business team and the solicitors who may deal with your enquiry here: https://www.russell-cooke.co.uk/charities/.
Please note that the helpline does not extend to Russell-Cooke considering, drafting or amending documents, or providing email/written advice. The helpline provides general assistance only; it does not provide specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for formal legal advice.
Full terms and conditions applicable to use of the helpline can be found here
Pensions: General Advice helpline
Specialist charity pensions advisors Spence & Partners are available to provide pensions support. Their team of actuaries and pension consultants, headed by David Davison, can assist members with:-
- Multi-employer pension scheme queries including local government, public sector and private sector schemes;
- Defined Benefit pension queries including deficit management, investment governance;
- Defined Contribution schemes covering automatic enrolment, pension education, scheme design and provider selection;
- Other support including salary sacrifice arrangements, contribution re-conciliation and legislative enquiries.
The Team at Spence can be contacted at Email: cfgpensionhelpline@spenceandpartners.co.uk
Property helpline: Open to non-members
Provider: Charity Property Help
Charity Property Help is a pro bono initiative run by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, CFG and NCVO. Call for free initial guidance to your property queries related to disputes with builders, planning issues, repair disputes and more. Open to all
Areas they can help members: Disputes with builders; Repair disputes; Landlord and tenant disputes; Project management; Dilapidations; planning issues; Property maintenance; and Property strategy.
Contact:
Tel: 024 7686 8555
Web: https://www.rics.org/about-rics/responsible-business/welfare-and-corporate-responsibilities/charity-property-help
Provider: Ethical Property Foundation – CFG member
The UK’s property advice charity for the voluntary sector – sole referral partner to the Charity Commission since 2015 for land & property advice. Support for CFG members includes free tailored property advice & online guidance. Plus affordable consultancy: property health checks for finance directors prioritise spending; property strategies & practical training for trustees and staff.
Contact: Ethical Property Foundation 70 Cowcross Street London EC1M 6EJ
Tel: 01923 378603 Email: mail@ethicalproperty.org.uk
Web: www.propertyhelp.org
Recruitment and Retention helpline
Provider: Goodman Masson
Answering your helpline calls will be Suzanne, Senior Consultant at Goodman Masson. With years of experience supporting a wide range of charities, Suzanne can offer expert advice not only on the most effective ways to recruit, but also on how to retain staff and develop a robust succession plan to ensure continuity in the event of turnover.
Areas we can help:
- The recruitment process, from advertising and shortlisting to interviewing and on-boarding: the do’s and don'ts
- Staff retention: how to retain your staff and remain a competitive employer despite rarely being able to match private sector pay
- Succession planning: when and how to start planning for turnover, even when you aren’t expecting any!
- How to ensure you are putting diversity and inclusion at the forefront of your recruitment process, from the wording of your job ad to your interview process
- Attracting the best talent in an uncertain climate: candidates’ concerns and your brand as a prospective employer
Telephone: 02070198821
Email: Suzanne.Salisbury@goodmanmasson.com