Insurance
Public Liability Insurance
All community groups that deal with members of the public should consider taking out public liability insurance. It is a relatively inexpensive cover and protects against allegations of injury caused to a third party. This could be, for example, if someone was to trip over a loose wire at an event, or a kettle was knocked over and scalded a visitor.
Public liability insurance also covers against damage caused to third party property. This could be if carpets were irreparably damaged, or walls badly marked after your group hired a premises. Most landlords or local authorities will require your group to have public liability insurance before allowing you to rent somewhere or hold an event.
Employers Liability Insurance
If your community group has employees, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement. It covers your group against allegations of injury or illness suffered by staff during their employment. Without appropriate employers’ liability insurance, your group could face a fine of up to £2,500 for every day it is uninsured. Most insurers also cover your group’s volunteers under employers’ liability insurance; however some insurers may cover volunteers under public liability insurance. If you’re unsure which cover they are insured under, check your policy, wording or speak to your insurer / broker.
Permits and licences
There are certain events and activities that may require a licence, and these are generally related to the exchange of money or goods, irrespective of whether the proceeds are going towards a good cause.
Raffles
Many small raffles don’t need to be registered. These are:
- An incidental non-commercial lottery - Raffles run during the course of another event, such as a fête or party
- A private society lottery - Raffles that are restricted to members of a group or club
- A work lottery and a residents’ lottery - Raffles that are restricted to people who all live on the same premises or work for the same organisation
- A customer lottery - Raffles that are restricted to customers of a business.
Prize gaming and gambling
Prize gaming is intended to allow low level gaming for small fees and small prizes which can include cash. Playing bingo at a seaside resort is a good example of prize gaming. Prize gaming can consist of a number of games as long as the fees and prizes do not exceed set limits.
The current regulations are:
- The maximum participation fee for a chance to win a prize in a single game is 50p (even if paying for that chance offers the opportunity of more than one prize). The total amount you can bet in one game is £500.
- A money prize cannot exceed £35 (except in an Adult Gaming Centre where the limit is £50). The total amount of prizes cannot exceed £500.
Non-commercial gambling
If you are playing for 'good causes', where the activity is solely for the beneficiaries, you do not need a licence - this is called non-commercial gaming. For example, this could be for a group that meet up to play Bingo. The money raised as prizes in the Bingo go towards the group, therefore, no proceeds are for private profit.
Performing or playing copyrighted music and film
Music
If you want to perform music written by someone else, or if you want to play recorded music or video, the premises you are using will need a licence to play copyrighted music.
If your event includes live music, you must check the venue has a Performing Rights Society (PRS) licence.
If you are playing recorded music, you must check the venue has a PRS licence AND a Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) licence.
Community buildings run by voluntary organisations can buy a joint PRS and PPL licence. For more information contact Phonographic Performance Limited (external link) or PRS for Music (external link). Generally, for a venue, this costs around £200 per year. Additional fees may apply, check with the venue.
Film
If you wish to show a film in a place which is not a private home, you need a one-off licence giving you the right to show the film. You have to buy a new licence for every film. There are very few exceptions to this, one of which is that you do not need a licence to show a curriculum-based film in a state school.
To obtain a copyright licence to screen a film, there are certain distributors who hold the licences, like Filmbank Distributors. You can apply for a single-screen licence (one-off screening) which costs around £80 (depending on your ticket sales and profit). For useful information about organising film showings, see BFI Neighbourhood Cinema.