Companies Act 2014 section 1112

Qualifications of secretary of a PLC

Section 1112 sets out the qualification requirements that must be met by a person appointed as secretary of a public limited company (PLC), and the duty on directors to verify those qualifications.

• Directors of a PLC must ensure the company secretary has the skills or resources needed to carry out all statutory and other duties of the role
• The secretary must satisfy at least one of three qualifying conditions: prior experience, membership of a recognised body, or other relevant qualifications
• Prior experience means having served as a company secretary for at least three of the five years immediately before the appointment
• Where none of the first two conditions is met, the directors may rely on their own judgement that the person's other positions or memberships make them capable of discharging the duties