timparki
New member
This issue has risen it's head recently in respect of the club of which I am chairman. We stated off as a fairly informal gathering, initially at someone's house then moving to a local Girl Guide Hut, where we now practice weekly.
As the club grew in membership we eventually decided that we needed to become a bit more formal and how have a Chair (me), Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and a written set of club rules.
In the UK there is a risk that an organisation organised along these lines is considered to be an 'unincorporated association'. This essentially means that the committee members are personally liable for the club and it's assets and debts.
So as an example, if we agreed to play at a gig where the organiser was charging for tickets, we fail to show up and then some people demand a refund, the committee members could be personally liable for the costs. This could also apply if people injure themselves during a weekly practice, at a gig, etc., although we could get insurance to cover this.
Has anyone had this debate before and considered how to deal with the issue? We could go back to having a completely informal structure, e..g tear up the rules and the committee resign, but would this get us off the hook?
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!
As the club grew in membership we eventually decided that we needed to become a bit more formal and how have a Chair (me), Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and a written set of club rules.
In the UK there is a risk that an organisation organised along these lines is considered to be an 'unincorporated association'. This essentially means that the committee members are personally liable for the club and it's assets and debts.
So as an example, if we agreed to play at a gig where the organiser was charging for tickets, we fail to show up and then some people demand a refund, the committee members could be personally liable for the costs. This could also apply if people injure themselves during a weekly practice, at a gig, etc., although we could get insurance to cover this.
Has anyone had this debate before and considered how to deal with the issue? We could go back to having a completely informal structure, e..g tear up the rules and the committee resign, but would this get us off the hook?
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!