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2022-03-31-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 02368796 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1059629

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

FOR

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

Sturgess Hutchinson Chartered Certified Accountants 21 New Walk Leicester LE1 6TE

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 4
Independent Examiner's Report 5
Statement of Financial Activities 6
Balance Sheet 7
Notes to the Financial Statements 8 to 12
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities 13

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2022. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and activities

Objectives and aims

The principal activity of the company is to advance the education of the public in issues connected with labour law, unemployment, work and any related matter; and to research commission, encourage and sponsor research in any of the above subjects and to publish the useful results of such research.

Introduction

In 2021 we were still largely working from home as a result of intermittent Covid -19 lockdown measures. During this uncertain time, we did our upmost to promote the solutions for workers as a post-covid financial crash threatened, and job losses across whole sectors started to bite. We believe the trade union movement needs a common set of demands to put workers' rights at the top of any economic recovery and to reverse the tide of chaos that decades of free market failures have brought us. We see it as our job to inform the labour movement with the ideas needed.

Public benefit

We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities.

Administration

In late October James returned to our office as lockdown restrictions were lifted, getting our office processes back up and running.

In November Sarah, our Development Officer decided to move to pastures new, and went to work for the NAHT. Sarah's insight, skills and expertise will be sorely missed. Also in November, Cad stepped down as our long serving Director, and Ben Sellers was appointed as the new IER Director.

As well as Ben and James adjusting to a new team dynamic, we are looking to recruit a member of staff to assist with administrative support.

Members and Subscribers

Our membership figures currently stand at 76 (+0), of which 37 are trade union representatives.

We have a total of 373 (+35) paid subscribers on our database. Of those, 225 (+6) are individuals, 107 (+38) are trade union branches, 10 (-11) are commercial libraries, 8 (-1) are international, and 23 (+4) are free subscriptions gifted to our speakers. Of these, reduced rate subscriptions (mainly students paying £25) now stand at 55 (+6).

During lockdown we did some work to seek out multiple user licenses for online only subscriptions. This attracted 2 international subscribers, 2 individual subscribers, 15 commercial subscribers, as well as 254 trade union subscribers (TUC, Unite UONC, and AEP users).

While most paid subscribers continue to manage their accounts offline, 111 subscribers currently pay their dues through PayPal, down by 12% on last year.

The largest demographic increase has been trade union branches, we assume as a result of branches now being back in the workplace and picking up their post, as well as having branch meetings and access to their cheque books. The next biggest leap was the online only subscriptions which we hope to retain and expand on, as it is a more immediate way to spread our material and it keeps printing costs down. We are considering how best to promote subscriptions and boost subscriptions of all types, as we plan to go to union conferences in the coming year, and reconnect with potential readers.

Income from online conferences and events decreased to just under £401, a reduction of 90% from the previous year. This is mainly because our in-person events were on hold, and our online events were predominantly free. We hope to pick this up in the new year and test the water for some in person events again. 5,245 (+35) readers now subscribe to our electronic subscription list to receive weekly news briefs and promotions.

Publications

During this year we have begun to get back toward pre-pandemic levels of publication production. We've produced the following publications:

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INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Objectives and activities

Publications planned for 2022/23

In 2021, the 4th edition of the IER/Pluto International Journal was published. The contents included our publication ' Brexit and workers' rights' by Prof Keith Ewing and Prof Nicola Countouris, 'International H&S standards after Brexit' by Prof David Whyte and Andrew Moretta, and 'Trade unions and economic inequality' by Prof Lydia Hayes and Prof Tonia Novitz. We are still reviewing the open access model to see how much income it brings in, versus making some of our older content free and more widely distributing it across the world.

Achievement and performance

Projects, commissions and public policy work

We have successfully completed our two-year health and safety project, with the assistance of our 11 health and safety experts and most particularly, Professors Phil James and David Waters who co -authored the final comprehensive book, Work and health: 50 years of regulatory failure. We aim to launch the book on 19th July 2022, the 50th anniversary of the Robens Report being presented to Parliament. The book highlights the changing nature of the world of work and the need for radical reform of our framework of labour law, including but not restricted to our health and safety laws and enforcement mechanisms.

This year also saw the completion of Professor Phil Taylor' s empirical research informing Stage 1 of our 3-year project looking at the redistribution of working time. Based on that work, the Alex Ferry Foundation has now agreed to fund Stage 2 of the project, which will involve IER working with CSEU members and three targeted companies to negotiate shorter working time collective agreements based on the priorities identified by the workers in those companies.

Our project work on Fire and Rehire, both with Barry Gardner and the North West TUC helped set expectations on what could be achieved if the political will existed. The report for the North West TUC is due to be launched in July in the North West. The original work and briefings prepared for Barry Gardiner, MP by John Hendy and Keith Ewing, though unsuccessful in the Commons did raise the profile of this vital issue for the labour movement.

In terms of Commissions, Daniel Blackburn 's excellent IER report for the FBU Threats to collective bargaining in the Fire and Rescue Service: An analysis was warmly welcomed by FBU members and has provided timely arguments for the FBU to use in their response to the long awaited and recently published Government White paper on the fire service.

Given the attacks on the FBU and the dissatisfaction with the current round of recommendations emerging from Pay Review Bodies, our thoughts now are turning to building on the excellent discussion at our 2021 cross-union round table discussion on Pay Review Bodies v Collective Bargaining. It would seem that now is a good time to draft a report on the history, role, purpose and future of pay review bodies.

In terms of public policy work, Kate Ewing kindly drafted an IER response to the Low Pay Commission on the National Minimum Wage, which has been extremely well received.

Conferences and events

In 2021- 2022 the institute hosted 7 online events, and an in-person Labour Party fringe meeting. ' Employment law update', was once again our highest attended paid event. Our free events have been streamed across several social media platforms, with numbers of viewers reaching over 7,000 people for the 'May Day - Resist, Repeal, Replace' event. Online Events in 2021-2022

We are currently considering whether some in person labour law events will be viable towards the end of 2022, and will be announcing our plans for events this year in the weekly newsletter.

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INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Achievement and performance

Communications & Digital Developments

The past year has been one of change on the communications front. Long standing member of staff Sarah Glenister left for a job at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). Whilst that was a wonderful opportunity for Sarah, it left us without a communications officer - and an awful lot of experience and knowledge. For a period, as an interim measure, the various parts of Sarah's role were divided between new Director Ben Sellers and Deputy Director James Harrison. Obviously, this is a period of transition, while we adjust to new roles and coming out of the pandemic. However, there has been a regular flow of articles and news stories on the IER website, which have been shared via the newsletter, an increase in social media posts and an addition to our social media platforms, in LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a platform specifically about employment and work, so it is ideal for more in-depth discussions of the workplace. We hope to generate a sharp rise in followers and engagements on LinkedIn over the next year.

As a team, we've formulated a communications strategy which prioritises building our social media accounts and reaching new audiences. That may mean making our social media more conversational and accessible, trying to reach more of the labour movement and the public by getting articles into a wider range of publications and using video and infographics to engage a younger audience. In relation to the latter, we are also looking at introducing an Instagram account to the IER's social media armoury.

We've seen a steady increase in our current social media accounts. Facebook has grown from 1,309 followers this time last year, to 1,818 (a 39% increase). And our Twitter account has grown from 3,281 to 4,499 during the same period (a 37% increase).

At the same time as developing the range of our social media output, we have started the process of mapping our current and potential audiences, in terms of awareness of the IER' s work and regularly analysing our social media stats and reach, including analytics that tell us what the age, gender and geographical profile is. This will be part of a long-term approach to extend the reach of our website news, articles, blogs, videos, briefings, and publications.

Website use has seen a slight drop off after a peak following the redesign of the website in 2020. In the last year, it has dropped 8.7%. Apart from the P&O articles mentioned above, the most popular stories on the website over the last year has been a piece on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (An IER guide) and a similar resource on the 2016 Trade Union Act. These guides and briefings are IER staples, and they are very important to our core audience.

In recent months, the P&O story has dominated our website content and social media. Professor Keith Ewing wrote a three-part dissection of the scandal, which was shared extensively across social media and John Hendy wrote a piece which set the P&O sackings in the context of diminishing employment rights and restrictions on solidarity action. The P&O scandal has not only connected with a section of the general public, but it also bears out the issues that the IER have highlighted for a number of decades, so it is a pivotal story. So, it was significant that these articles achieved an impressive reach, partly due to the beginnings of a new social media strategy beginning to emerge.

Over the last year, we have continued to expand our coverage to newspapers, magazines, and papers as part of our review of our comms strategy, we are building a more extensive press list.

Conclusion

The covid pandemic was a difficult time for us all. At IER we shifted our working to accommodate the challenges of the day. In the last quarter of this year the real challenge has been shifting back to older processes whilst reviewing what worked well during lockdown. With new staff ready to take on post -pandemic challenges, this will no doubt take some interim adjustment to reinstate our usual efficient ways of working. The staff and our experts are up to that challenge, and we are confident we will deliver as always, for the work that lays ahead.

Structure, governance and management Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Charity constitution

The Institute is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 30 June 1989 and registered as a charity on 29 July 1997.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The number of directors (who act as trustees) shall not be less than three nor exceed five. The trustees will be the president, chairman and treasurer of the Institute of Employment Rights (the Institute), positions confirmed at each annual general meeting of the Institute.

Risk management

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

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INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Reference and administrative details Registered Company number

02368796 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1059629

Registered office

4th Floor Jack Jones House 1 Islington Liverpool L3 8EG

Trustees

Professor K Ewing G D Shears J Hendy QC

Company Secretary

G D Shears

Independent Examiner

Sturgess Hutchinson Chartered Certified Accountants 21 New Walk Leicester LE1 6TE

Bankers

Unity Trust Bank plc, Nine Brindley Place, 4 Oozells Square, Birmingham B1 2HB

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 29 November 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

G D Shears - Secretary

4

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Institute of Employment Rights ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  2. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  3. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

David Goodwin FCA Sturgess Hutchinson Chartered Certified Accountants 21 New Walk Leicester LE1 6TE

29 November 2022

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INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

2022
Unrestricted
fund
Notes
£
Income and endowments from
Donations and legacies
108,734
Charitable activities
Education
31,756
Other trading activities
2
5,017
Total
145,507
Expenditure on
Raising funds
72,927
Charitable activities
Education
56,576
Total
129,503
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
16,004
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
68,085
Total funds carried forward
84,089		 2021
Total
funds
£
76,258
9,226
9,062
94,546
63,713
37,811
101,524
(6,978)
75,063
68,085

The notes form part of these financial statements

6

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2022

2022
Unrestricted
fund
Notes
£
Current assets
Stocks
7
2,500
Debtors
8
3,071
Cash at bank and in hand
85,774
91,345
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year
9
(7,256)
Net current assets
84,089
Total assets less current liabilities
84,089
NET ASSETS
84,089
Funds
10
Unrestricted funds
84,089
Total funds
84,089		 2022
Unrestricted
fund
Notes
£
Current assets
Stocks
7
2,500
Debtors
8
3,071
Cash at bank and in hand
85,774
91,345
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year
9
(7,256)
Net current assets
84,089
Total assets less current liabilities
84,089
NET ASSETS
84,089
Funds
10
Unrestricted funds
84,089
Total funds
84,089		 2021
Total
funds
£
2,500
8,440
67,163
78,103
(10,018)
68,085
68,085
68,085
68,085
68,085
84,089
84,089

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 29 November 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

G D Shears - Trustee

J Hendy QC - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

7

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

1. Accounting policies

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

2. Other trading activities

Other trading activities
2022 2021
£ £
Sales of publications 3,042 3,289
Seminar receipts and sponsorship 1,644 5,404
Royalties 331 369
5,017 9,062

8

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

3. Trustees' remuneration and benefits

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2022 nor for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2022 nor for the year ended 31 March 2021.

4. Staff costs

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

Administration
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.
5.
Comparatives for the statement of financial activities
Income and endowments from
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Education
Other trading activities
Total
Expenditure on
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Education
Total
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 2022
2021
3
3
Unrestricted
fund
£
76,258
9,226
9,062
94,546
63,713
37,811
101,524
(6,978)
75,063
68,085

9

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

6. Tangible fixed assets

Cost
At 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022
Depreciation
At 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2021
7.
Stocks
Finished goods
8.
Debtors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors
Other debtors
9.
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Other creditors
10.
Movement in funds		 Computer
equipment
£
2,667
2,667
-
-
2022
2021
£
£
2,500
2,500
2022
2021
£
£
1,510
6,710
1,561
1,730
3,071
8,440
2022
2021
£
£
39
2,736
7,217
7,282
7,256
10,018
Movement in funds
Net
movement At
At 1.4.21 in funds 31.3.22
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 68,085 16,004 84,089
TOTAL FUNDS 68,085 16,004 84,089

10

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

10. Movement in funds - continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
145,507
145,507		 Resources
Movement
expended
in funds
£
£
(129,503)
16,004
(129,503)
16,004

Comparatives for movement in funds

At 1.4.20
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
75,063
TOTAL FUNDS
75,063
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
Incoming
resources
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
94,546
TOTAL FUNDS
94,546		 Net
movement
At
in funds
31.3.21
£
£
(6,978)
68,085
(6,978)
68,085
Resources
Movement
expended
in funds
£
£
(101,524)
(6,978)
(101,524)
(6,978)

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:

Net
movement At
At 1.4.20 in funds 31.3.22
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 75,063 9,026 84,089
TOTAL FUNDS 75,063 9,026 84,089

11

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

10. Movement in funds - continued

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
240,053
240,053		 Resources
Movement
expended
in funds
£
£
(231,027)
9,026
(231,027)
9,026

11. Related party disclosures

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2022.

12

INSTITUTE OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Income and endowments
Donations and legacies
Donations
Subscriptions
Other trading activities
Sales of publications
Seminar receipts and sponsorship
Royalties
Charitable activities
Project development
Commissioned work
Total incoming resources
Expenditure
Raising donations and legacies
Wages
Printing costs
Office costs
Charitable activities
Wages
Office costs
Commissioned work
Support costs
Governance costs
Wages
Accountancy and legal fees
Total resources expended
Net income/(expenditure)		 2022
£
85,959
22,775
108,734
3,042
1,644
331
5,017
6,082
25,674
31,756
145,507
59,554
1,495
11,878
72,927
29,777
3,485
11,000
44,262
9,926
2,388
12,314
129,503
16,004		 2021
£
50,788
25,470
76,258
3,289
5,404
369
9,062
9,226
-
9,226
94,546
50,671
2,249
10,793
63,713
25,335
3,393
-
28,728
8,445
638
9,083
101,524
(6,978)

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

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