Trustee Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct sets out the standards of behaviour expected from every trustee of Al-Waris Foundation.

Trustees hold ultimate legal responsibility for the charity and must act in a way that protects:

This Code supplements the charity's Constitution and other governance policies.

It does not replace trustees' legal duties.

Where this Code conflicts with the Constitution or applicable law, the Constitution and applicable law take precedence.

Trustees must:

Trustees must not use Al-Waris Foundation primarily to advance personal, family, commercial, political or other interests unrelated to its charitable purposes.

Trustees must have regard to their legal duties, including the duties to:

Trustees are collectively responsible for the charity even where operational responsibilities are delegated.

Delegation does not remove trustee accountability.

The Board acts collectively.

Trustees should:

A trustee may disagree with a proposal and should be free to express that disagreement during proper discussion.

Once a lawful decision has been properly made, trustees should respect the collective decision unless there is a legitimate reason for the matter to be reconsidered.

Serious concerns about unlawful or improper conduct must not be concealed in the name of collective responsibility.

Every trustee must exercise their own judgement.

A trustee must not simply follow the instructions of:

Trustees should listen to relevant advice while reaching their own informed view of what is in Al-Waris Foundation's best interests.

The Chair may provide leadership, coordinate governance and undertake operational responsibilities where appropriately authorised.

However, the Chair does not replace the Board's collective legal responsibility.

Trustees must not assume that:

The Board should provide appropriate oversight while avoiding unnecessary interference with properly delegated day-to-day administration.

Al-Waris Foundation may delegate operational functions to:

Trustees are not required to have routine operational or administrative access merely because they are trustees.

Where functions are delegated, the Board must retain sufficient oversight to satisfy itself that:

Trustees must respect properly established operational boundaries.

Trustees should make reasonable efforts to:

Repeated unexplained absence may be addressed in accordance with the Constitution and governance procedures.

Trustees should read relevant information before meetings where reasonably practicable.

A trustee should ask questions where:

Trustees should not approve significant decisions without sufficient information merely for convenience.

Trustees must behave professionally.

Trustees should:

Disagreement is acceptable.

Bullying, harassment, threats and personal abuse are not.

Trustees should make decisions based on relevant factors including:

Trustees should not knowingly allow irrelevant personal considerations to determine charity decisions.

Trustees must identify and declare actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest.

A trustee must comply with the Conflict of Interest Policy and Constitution.

Where required, a conflicted trustee must:

Trustees must update their declarations when circumstances change.

Trustees must be particularly careful where decisions involve:

A personal connection does not automatically prohibit a transaction or appointment.

However, it must not be concealed and must be managed properly.

No trustee should use their position to obtain improper preferential treatment for themselves or another person.

Trustees must not receive unauthorised personal benefit from the charity.

This includes inappropriate:

Any proposed trustee or connected-person benefit must comply with the Constitution and applicable charity law.

Properly incurred trustee expenses should be handled under the Expenses Policy.

Trustees must protect charity resources.

They must not knowingly misuse:

Charity resources must be used for legitimate charitable or administrative purposes.

Trustees share responsibility for ensuring the charity's finances are appropriately managed.

Trustees should understand, at a level proportionate to their role:

Trustees should ask for clarification where financial information is not understood.

Trustees must respect legally binding restrictions attached to charitable funds.

Where donors select a specific appeal, cause or project and the circumstances create a restricted fund, those funds must be applied accordingly.

Trustees must not knowingly redirect restricted funds merely because another purpose is considered more convenient.

The charity should communicate donation designations accurately and avoid creating restrictions unintentionally through misleading fundraising language.

Trustees should not be personally disadvantaged by reasonable expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out authorised charity duties.

Claims must:

Trustees must not disguise remuneration or personal expenditure as expenses.

Trustees must support responsible fundraising.

They must not knowingly permit:

Public statements about how donations will be used should be accurate.

Trustees must promote treatment of beneficiaries with dignity and respect.

Beneficiaries must not be treated as:

Charitable assistance should be based on legitimate charitable considerations.

A person's dignity should not be sacrificed to make fundraising content more emotionally powerful.

Trustees must take safeguarding seriously.

They should:

Safeguarding concerns must not be concealed to protect the charity's reputation.

Trustees may receive confidential information concerning:

Such information must not be disclosed without proper authority or lawful justification.

The duty of confidentiality continues after a person ceases to be a trustee where the information remains confidential.

Trustees must handle personal data in accordance with the Data Protection and UK GDPR Policy.

Trustees must not:

Trustee status does not automatically create a need for unrestricted access to operational personal data.

Trustees must take reasonable steps to protect charity information.

This includes:

Cybersecurity concerns should be reported promptly.

Trustees must recognise that their public conduct may affect the charity's reputation.

When using personal social-media accounts, trustees should avoid creating a misleading impression that personal statements are official Al-Waris Foundation statements.

Trustees must not:

Trustees remain free to hold and express personal views, subject to their legal and governance responsibilities.

Only appropriately authorised persons should make official statements on behalf of Al-Waris Foundation.

Trustees must distinguish between:

A trustee should not claim that the Board has approved a position where it has not.

Al-Waris Foundation must remain independent of party politics.

Trustees may have personal political views and may participate in political activity in a personal capacity, subject to applicable law.

However, trustees must not use Al-Waris Foundation's:

to support a political party or candidate.

Any campaigning by the charity itself must further its charitable purposes and comply with charity law.

Al-Waris Foundation may operate within a charitable context informed by its identity, values and charitable purposes.

Trustees must nevertheless ensure that:

Personal religious authority must not replace trustees' legal responsibilities.

Trustees must treat people fairly and with dignity.

Unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation are unacceptable.

Trustees should support reasonable inclusion and accessibility in:

See the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

Trustees must not engage in:

Position or seniority must not be used to silence legitimate challenge.

Trustees must not accept gifts or hospitality that could improperly influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their judgement.

Relevant gifts or hospitality should be declared and recorded in accordance with the Gifts and Hospitality Policy.

Cash or cash-equivalent personal gifts connected to a charity decision should not normally be accepted.

Trustees must not participate in, authorise or conceal:

Suspected misconduct must be handled under the appropriate policies and reported externally where required.

Trustees involved in procurement must act fairly and in the charity's interests.

They must not:

Value for money, quality, safeguarding and delivery risk should be considered.

Trustees must ensure appropriate oversight of overseas charitable activities.

Trustees should recognise risks including:

Overseas work should have evidence proportionate to the nature and value of the activity.

Trustees should support reliable records demonstrating that charitable projects have been carried out.

Depending on the project, appropriate evidence may include:

Evidence must not be fabricated or manipulated to create a false impression of impact.

Where AI-generated or illustrative content is used, trustees must ensure it is not presented deceptively as:

AI tools must not be provided with confidential or sensitive charity information unless their use has been appropriately assessed and authorised.

Trustees must respect the charity's complaints process.

Trustees must not:

Where a trustee is personally involved in a complaint, the conflict should be managed appropriately.

Trustees must support an environment in which genuine concerns about wrongdoing can be raised.

A trustee must not retaliate against a person for raising a genuine concern in good faith.

Concerns involving serious wrongdoing should be addressed under the Whistleblowing Policy.

Trustees must support appropriate identification and reporting of serious incidents.

Potential serious incidents may include:

Trustees must not deliberately conceal a reportable incident.

Trustees must cooperate appropriately with lawful regulatory requirements.

Information supplied to:

must not knowingly be false or misleading.

Trustees must not destroy or conceal relevant records to obstruct regulatory scrutiny.

Trustees must support accurate organisational records.

Records should appropriately document:

Trustees must not knowingly falsify or improperly alter charity records.

Information published by Al-Waris Foundation should be accurate and supportable.

Trustees should not knowingly authorise false claims concerning:

Where figures are estimates, they should be described appropriately.

Trustees should take reasonable care not to damage the charity through serious misconduct.

This does not mean trustees must avoid all disagreement or criticism.

Protecting reputation must never be used as a justification for:

Trustees should conduct themselves in a manner compatible with the responsibilities of charity trusteeship when acting for or representing Al-Waris Foundation.

Private conduct should only become a governance concern where it has a genuine and material connection to:

The charity should not unnecessarily regulate trustees' private lives.

A trustee must not misuse their title or relationship with Al-Waris Foundation to:

Operational access should be provided according to role and legitimate need.

Being a trustee does not automatically require access to:

The Board should receive sufficient information to exercise oversight without creating unnecessary security or data-protection risks.

When a trustee leaves office, they must:

Access credentials should be revoked promptly.

A suspected breach should be considered fairly and proportionately.

Depending on seriousness, action may include:

Not every minor error requires formal action.

Deliberate dishonesty, safeguarding misconduct, serious financial misconduct and intentional concealment will be treated seriously.

A trustee who has a genuine concern about another trustee should raise it through an appropriate governance route.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

Where the concern involves the Chair, it should be raised with another unconflicted trustee.

No trustee should suffer retaliation merely for:

This protection does not prevent appropriate action where a person knowingly makes malicious or deliberately false allegations.

Each trustee should confirm that they:

A trustee's legal duties apply regardless of whether a signed acknowledgement has been completed.

Trustees may use the following declaration:

I confirm that I have read and understood the Al-Waris Foundation Trustee Code of Conduct. I agree to act in accordance with the charity's Constitution, applicable law and the governance standards set out in this Code. I understand my responsibility to act in the best interests of Al-Waris Foundation and to declare relevant conflicts of interest.

Trustee name:

Signature:

Date:

This Code should be read alongside:

This Code will be reviewed:

Version: 2.0 Status: Approved Approved by: Board of Trustees Approval date: 25/08/2026 Next scheduled review: 24/08/2027