Proposed changes for 2024
This year is all about getting our house in order, with a focus on RCOT and updating our charity operating rules so they’re fit for purpose to improve decision making and compliance, and reduce the risk of regulatory intervention.
We’re also going to make a few changes to create more distinction between BAOT and RCOT, and support our elected OT Directors by bringing in new roles with expertise in areas such as finance and marketing, to help them run and make decisions about RCOT as a business.
Legal advice
Our lawyers have advised to meet our legal duties and expectations of the Charity Commission that we focus on three critical areas:
Create clearer separation between BAOT and RCOT and their roles and responsibilities
Have the right expertise to ensure that resources are managed responsibly
Make some administrative changes to the operating rules.
The proposed changes
There are five overall areas of change this year covering: who votes for what, renaming BAOT Council, bringing in business expertise to support elected OT members, improving how we elect and recruit to our governing bodies, and tidying up our operating rules.
In a bit more detail, the proposed changes are:
1. Where they legally can, Council will be voting on changes to RCOT’s operating rules (known as Articles of Association). In the past, we've put these to our OT members' vote, but as BAOT is the only company member of RCOT, it’s Council's legal role to approve changes to RCOT rules.
2. Creating clearer separation between the two governing bodies, BAOT Council and RCOT Council, by changing the name of RCOT Council to RCOT Board of Trustees and holding separate meetings of each governing body.
3. Expanding the RCOT Board of Trustees to bring in support for the elected OT members with additional business-specific subject matter roles, in areas such as marketing or finance.
4. Creating a People and Nominations Committee to improve how we elect and recruit to Council and the Board of Trustees, including the new trustee roles.
5. Tidying up our operating rules to simplify the language, making RCOT’s role and responsibilities as a charity clearer, adding some legally required items, removing and amending items that aren’t legally necessary, compliant with law or are unnecessarily restrictive.