How we are run

Our structure, governance and management.

Tommy's is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, with one mission: to save babies' lives by making the UK the safest place in the world to give birth.

Our strong Board of Trustees and Senior Management team are key to making our mission a success.

Board of Trustees

Tommy's charity and trading subsidiaries are governed by Articles of Association, and a Board of Trustees. The Trustees are supported by a Fundraising Board, Audit Committee and Scientific Advisory Group.

Our Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for the direction, management and control of Tommy's and meet four times a year. The Senior Management Team attends all Trustee meetings.

Trustees are appointed by invitation only. We appoint Trustees based on their skills and experience. We aim to have a Board with a diverse range of people who can help the charity in a positive way. Every year, one third of the Trustees resign and can be nominated for re-election. 

The London Landmarks Half Marathon is accounted for in the trading subsidiary, LLHM Ltd. The Board of Directors contains two Trustees of Tommy’s, two senior managers of Tommy’s and three
external members.

The Baby Fund Trading Ltd is the Charity’s other trading subsidiary, which accounts for the Group’s trading activities. Its Board of Directors consists of ten Trustees of Tommy’s and one
external member.

All Trustees give their time freely. 

Find out more about our Trustees.

Senior Management Team

Our Senior Management Team is responsible for the day-to-day running of Tommy's. 

Together, they report on Tommy's performance against the budget and annual plan, which are approved each year by the Trustees. 

Read more about our Senior Management Team.

Scientific Advisory Group

Read more about our Scientific Advisory Group. 

Fundraising Board

The Fundraising Board is chaired by a Trustee, Steve Edge who brings together a group of external supporters to assist with fundraising.

The pay of all staff is reviewed annually by the HR Director and agreed with a Trustee with relevant experience. Salaries are benchmarked against pay levels in other charities of similar income. The remuneration benchmark is the mid-point of the range paid for similar roles. The salaries of the senior management team comprising the CEO, COO, Marketing Director, Research and Policy Director and Race Director of the LLHM are reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees annually.

Internal Financial Control and Risk Assessment

The Trustees confirm that the Charity’s internal financial controls conform to guidelines issued by the Charity Commission.

The systems of financial control are designed to provide all reasonable but not absolute  assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include:

  • A fundraising plan and annual budget approved by the Trustees,
  • Regular consideration by the Trustees of actual financial results compared with budgets and forecasts,
  • Authority to spend within defined limits,
  • Segregation of duties,
  • Consideration of risks by Trustees and line managers, and
  • Compliance reviews by expert advisors.

Risk Management

The Trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:

  • An annual review of the principal risks and uncertainties that the Charity and its subsidiaries, The Baby Fund Trading Ltd and LLHM Ltd face,
  • Subsequent, regular review of identified risks by the CEO, COO, and key staff, with actions documented for follow-up,
  • The establishment of policies, systems, and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the annual review; and
  • The implementation of procedures designed to minimise or manage any potential impact on the Charity should those risks materialise.

The Charity keeps the Charity Corporate Governance Code under review and policies are regularly reviewed and new polices instigated where necessary.

New Internal Policies developed during the 2019/20 financial year include Employee Wellbeing, Information Security and Record Management. Reviewed Internal Policies include Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity, Fraud, Bribery and Corruption, Sickness Absence Policy, Compassionate Leave Policy, Employee Privacy, Remote Working, Personal Data Breach and Near Misses, Subject Access Requests, Data Protection Impact Assessments. The Charity has developed an external Fundraising Ethical Policy and reviewed external policies for: Tommy’s Privacy, LLHM Privacy, Cookies, Complaints and Modern-Day Slavery.