This chapter addresses the process by which directors are appointed and remunerated, the various board structures, and the importance of board diversity. All companies are required to appoint a director, with the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) providing that a private company must have at least one director, and a public company at least two directors. Every public company must also appoint a company secretary. Before a person is appointed as a director, that person and the company will usually negotiate to determine the new director's remuneration package. Remuneration practices tend to differ markedly depending on company size. The two most common board structures in the world are the unitary board and the two-tier board. Meanwhile, in recent years, board diversity has become a major governance topic. The focus to date has been on increasing gender diversity in the boardroom, but recent attention has also focused on ethnic diversity.
Chapter
This chapter addresses the process by which directors are appointed and remunerated, the various board structures, and the importance of board diversity. All companies are required to appoint a director, with the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) providing that a private company must have at least one director, and a public company at least two directors. Every public company must also appoint a company secretary. Before a person is appointed as a director, that person and the company will usually negotiate to determine the new director’s remuneration package. Remuneration practices tend to differ markedly, depending on company size. The two most common board structures in the world are the unitary board and the two-tier board. Meanwhile, in recent years, board diversity has become a major governance topic. The focus to date has been on increasing gender diversity in the boardroom, but recent attention has also focused on ethnic diversity.
Chapter
This chapter examines the issue of diversity in the legal profession. It first explains the meaning of diversity and the reasons why it should be promoted. It reviews the current status of the profession in terms of diversity. It considers diversity rules in the Equality Act 2010, Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Handbook, and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) Handbook. Barriers to diversity and steps to promote diversity are also discussed.
Chapter
This chapter examines the issue of diversity in the legal profession. It first explains the meaning of diversity and the reasons why it should be promoted. Debates around diversity have focused particularly on gender and race, although increasingly there is emphasis on achieving diversity in relation to socio-economic background, disability, and sexuality too. It reviews the current status of the profession in terms of diversity. It considers diversity rules as set out in in the Equality Act 2010, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Handbook, and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) Handbook. Barriers to diversity and steps to promote diversity are also discussed.
Chapter
Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter explores the corporate governance debate in the UK in terms of industry and the government. After presenting the background to the UK debate, it considers UK corporate theory and the industry and government response to the corporate governance debate. It then examines the Sarbanes–Oxley Act that became law in the USA in July 2002; the UK Government’s independent review of non-executive directors (the Higgs Review); the link between corporate governance failure and the 2008 financial crisis; and it outlines a number of corporate governance reforms that have been adopted between 2009 and 2020 including the UK Government Corporate Governance Reform programme and the latest developments in the UK Corporate Governance Code.
