Roles & Responsibilities

Chapters

Practical guide Roles & Responsibilities What are the legal responsibilities for directors?

What are the legal responsibilities for directors?

The Companies Act 2006 sets out seven statutory duties of a director:

To act within powers, and to comply with the company’s constitution.
To act (in good faith) to promote the success of the organisation.
To exercise independent judgment.
To exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence.
To avoid conflicts (or possible conflicts) of interest.
Not to accept benefits from third parties.
To declare any personal interests.

There are also general duties to act:

In the interests of creditors (especially in times of financial difficulty).
In the interests of its employees.
With regard to the long-term consequence of any decision in mind.
Confidentially.
With regard to relationships with suppliers, customers and generally with its local community and the environment.
To maintain reputation.
To act fairly as between members of the organisation.

There are also specific duties including:

The obligation to file information at Companies House.
Not to trade whilst insolvent.
To operate in accordance with the relevant Health and Safety regulations.

Related resources

Guidance | ITC Arts

ITC: Good Governance, Legal Aspects

What is the role of a board director and how should they go about fulfilling their responsibilities?

Guidance | ITC Arts

ITC: Company Directors & Conflicts of Interest

Company Directors have a legal duty to avoid conflicts of interest. This help sheet is designed to help you identify and deal with them correctly.

Website | Companies House

Being a company director

Advice from Companies House

Website

Directors’ duties and responsibilities

Advice from the Institute of Directors

Guidance | Charity Commission, Companies House

Trustee disclosures

Following recent civil unrest, the Charity Commission and Companies House have confirmed that they are willing to consider requests from charities to temporarily remove information from their public registers in connection with safety concerns. Requests should be sent to; [email protected] or [email protected]