Who are charity trustees?
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What is expected of charity trustees?
- four general duties which are fundamental to charity trustees
- a number of specific duties which charity trustees must comply with.
General duties
1. Act in the interest of the charity: trustees should put the interests of their charity before their own interests or those of any other person or organisation.
2. Operate in a manner consistent with the charity’s purposes: trustees should carry out their duties in accordance with their governing document.
3. Act with due care and diligence: trustees should take such care of their charity’s affairs as is reasonable to expect of someone who is managing the affairs of another person.
4. Ensure that the charity complies with the provisions of the 2005 Act and other relevant legislation.
Specific duties
Additional duties for charity trustees include:
- keep proper accounting records
- prepare a statement of account, including a report on its activities, at the end of each financial year
- have the statement of account independently examined or audited
- send a copy of the accounts, along with the annual return, to us.
Trustee remuneration
Charity trustees must act in the interests of the charity. Any personal benefit to a charity trustee, whether direct or indirect, has to be treated with caution. Read our Charity Trustee Remuneration page for more information.
Trustee Indemnity Insurance
Some charities may wish to take out Trustee Indemnity Insurance (TII) which provides cover for legal expenses and awards made against individual trustees. However, TII falls within the definition of "remuneration" in Section 68 of the 2005 Act because it provides personal benefit to the charity trustees. Because most policies benefit all charity trustees, TII falls foul of the condition that only a minority of charity trustees can benefit from remuneration. Charity trustees will be in breach of the 2005 Act if they authorise TII covering all of the charity trustees.
We have been working with the Scottish Government to find a solution to the problem. For further background information on TII and an update of the current situation read our Trustee Indemnity Insurance page.
Trustee investment powers
Sections 93 to 95 of the 2005 Act sets out the powers of investment of trustees and associated duties. Trustees are entitled to make any kind of investment of the trust estate, including a wider power to acquire stocks and shares. However, these powers are subject to restrictions and exclusions and do not extend to certain categories of trustees. Further information about the restrictions and exclusions can be found in the guidance below.
Breach of duty
Guidance
Guidance for charity trustees - in Bengali
Guidance for charity trustees - in Easy Read (Word version)
Guidance for chaity trustees - in Easy Read (PDF version)

