Alternate Directors

[John Philpott]

Paul Cooksey wrote

I'd encourage as many Directors as possible to appoint an Alternate, especially the executive ones.

I certainly agree that a Director should be part of a team, rather than working in isolation. Indeed, the Directors and Officers Responsibilities Regulations encourage Directors to structure the organisation of their Directorships and appoint Officers. A good example of this working in practice is the Junior Directorate, where Phil Ehr is supported by a Business Manager, a Manager of Coaches, a Manager of Schools, Junior Clubs and Counties, a Manager of the Certificate of Merit, a Development Officer, a Ratings Officer, Assistant Managers for Secondary Schools and Primary Schools North and South and a Junior Trip Coordinator. However, I do not see why this necessarily should translate into the appointment of an "Alternate": in the Finance area, what is the compelling need for there to be an Alternate Director rather than (say) a Financial Controller? In the context of an application for charitable status, I am actively discouraging the appointment of further Alternates, as the concept is not favoured by the Charity Commission. In the amended ECF Articles provided for Council's information following the Charity Commission's feedback, the existing references to Alternates have been removed.