Governance
Serious incident report
Formal definition
A serious incident report is a formal notification to the Charity Commission when a significant event causes or risks substantial harm, loss, or reputational damage.
What this actually means for you
Escalation rules and documented evidence need to be clear before incidents happen. In practice, this is how serious incident report should be applied in your charity.
Example: After a material fraud incident, trustees submit a serious incident report and document corrective controls.
Related guides and whitepapers
Read deeper guidance and implementation detail connected to this term.
A grounded guide to working well with lived experience advisors in UK charities: paid, supported, respected, given real authority. Practical practice and policy.
A practical succession planning guide for UK charity chief executives, chairs, trustees and specialists. Proportionate, written down, refreshed annually.
How to write a UK charity EDI policy that staff and trustees actually use: structure, length, operational hooks, and the governance that keeps it alive.
A grounded sustainability guide for small UK charities: where to start, what is proportionate, what counts as greenwashing, and the governance that makes it real.