Choosing and appointing a company secretary

Most Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Businesses which are small or medium sized in terms of their staff numbers, turnover or assets. in England and Wales do not need a Generally, a person or another company responsible for a company's administration, arranging board and shareholder meetings, keeping proper records, filing documents at Companies House etc. Sometimes known as Head of Governance., preferring instead to have The directors of a company are the individuals who make up the company's board of directors. Directors may be natural persons or companies, but each company must have at least one director who is a natural person. The board is the main decision-making body of the company. or Individuals hired personally to work under contracts of employment, usually in exchange for payment. Employees are normally fully integrated into the business and the employer exercises a large degree of control over their work. take on secretarial duties. Find out what a Generally, a person or another company responsible for a company's administration, arranging board and shareholder meetings, keeping proper records, filing documents at Companies House etc. Sometimes known as Head of Governance. does and who is eligible to be one. Decide whether you should appoint a secretary or if you will be fine without. If you decide to have a secretary, learn how you can choose and appoint a suitable person when setting up your A private company limited by shares incorporated and registered in England and Wales. , and get a template and guidance on when you will need a proper A letter confirming the appointment of an individual to an agreed position, outlining the terms of the appointment and what the individual will receive in return. In the context of a company, a letter of appointment will contain the terms on which a director who is not an employee (also referred to as a non-executive director) is appointed to the board..

When a company secretary is needed

Who to appoint as secretary

Company secretary's contract

Liability and records of a company secretary

Company registers

These are template registers, for use by a company. This set of company registers includes a register of members, register of directors, register of secretaries, register of directors’ residential addresses, and a PSC register. Keeping proper company registers is important. You must have an up to date set. Failure to do so is an offence committed by both your company and any officers at fault. The template includes three versions of each register your company is legally required to keep. The first version has guidance notes to explain how to fill in your register; the second is an example to demonstrate how the completed register should look; and the third is a blank template for you to fill in for your company (and duplicate as required, depending on how many shareholders/directors/PSCs you have). In your final version registers, you should ensure you delete or replace the guidance notes and examples. You can also get this document as part of the Starting a company toolkit .

£20 + VAT

Letter of appointment for a company secretary

This letter of appointment for a company secretary is suitable if you are appointing someone new as your company secretary (as opposed to someone who is an employee). Note that this letter of appointment does not make your new company secretary an employee of your business. The relationship is more akin to you hiring an outside consultant. It is good practice to have the terms of your company secretary's appointment in writing, especially covering matters such as pay and notice period for ending the appointment. This letter of appointment for a new company secretary ensures that your expectations are made clear to the appointee, and that information confidential to your business is kept that way. This is particularly important as a company secretary will be involved in board meetings and aware of all the high-level decision-making that goes on in your business.

£25 + VAT

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