Notifiable Events

Charities must report notifiable Events to the Office for the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR). A Notifiable Event is when something serious has happened or is happening to the charity. OSCR don’t want to know about every event, only those that threaten to have a significant impact on the charity or its assets.

What has a significant impact will depend on the size and nature of your charity. It will be up to the charity trustees to decide whether or not the event is serious enough to be reported to OSCR.

How to report a Notifiable Event

A Notifiable Event may be reported to OSCR via email at notifiable@oscr.org.uk outlining the following:

• What the event is and how it has (or may have) a serious impact on the charity. OSCR need enough details to understand the event, but emphasis clarity over format.

• What action (if any) has already been taken?

• What further plans the charity trustees have in place to deal with the event?

• What plans the charity trustees have in place to mitigate similar things happening in the future.

Below is a list (though not exhaustive) of the type of event that OSCR would deem reportable:-

• Fraud and theft.

• Substantial financial loss.

• Incidents of abuse or mistreatment of vulnerable beneficiaries.

• Not enough charity trustees to make a legal decision.

• Charity has been subject to a criminal investigation or an investigation by another regulator or agency sanctions have been imposed, or concerns raised by another regulator or agency.

• Significant sums of money or other property have been donated to the charity from an unknown or unverified source.

• Suspicions that the charity and/or its assets are being used to fund criminal activity (including terrorism).

• A charity trustee is acting whilst disqualified.