In 2014, we wrote an article about high pay in the charity sector after the Charity Commission started to require all charities to disclose pay of senior executives earning more than £60,000.
2022 Top 40 Chart of High Paying Charities
|
Charity |
Highest salary |
Year |
|
Consumers’ Association |
£390k-£400k |
2020 |
|
MSI Reproductive Choices |
£240k-£250k |
2020 |
|
Save the Children International |
£285k-£300k |
2020 |
|
Cancer Research UK |
£240k-£250k |
2020 |
|
The British Red Cross Society |
£170k-£180k |
2020 |
|
Age UK |
£180k-£190k |
2020 |
|
Shaw Trust |
£190k-£200k |
2020 |
|
National Trust |
£190k-£200k |
2020 |
|
Royal Mencap Society |
£170k-£180k |
2020 |
|
Change, Grow, Live |
£210k-£220k |
2020 |
|
Alternative Futures Group |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
British Heart Foundation |
£200k-£210k |
2020 |
|
Leonard Cheshire Disability |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
Macmillan Cancer Support |
£180k-£190k |
2019 |
|
Marie Curie |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
NSPCC |
£170k-£180k |
2020 |
|
We Are With You |
£140k-£150k |
2020 |
|
Turning Point |
£200k-£210k |
2020 |
|
The Save the Children Fund |
£130k-£140k |
2020 |
|
Charities Aid Foundation |
£230k-£240k |
2020 |
|
Barnardo’s |
£200k-£210k |
2020 |
|
People’s Dispensary For Sick Animals |
£180k-£190k |
2020 |
|
Sense, The National Deaf blind and Rubella Association |
£120k-£130k |
2020 |
|
Royal Horticultural Society |
£230k-£240k |
2020 |
|
Zoological Society of London |
£190k-£200k |
2020 |
|
Historic Royal Palaces |
£130k-£140k |
2020 |
|
Action for Children |
£130k-£140k |
2021 |
|
Salvation Army |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
£110k-£120k |
2020 |
|
Royal British Legion |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
Royal National Institute of Blind People |
£140k-£150k |
2020 |
|
Scope |
£130k-£150k |
2020 |
|
National Autistic Society |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
St John Ambulance |
£130k-£140k |
2020 |
|
Alzheimer’s Society |
£150k-£160k |
2021 |
|
United Response |
£120k-£130k |
2020 |
|
Dogs Trust |
£160k-£170k |
2020 |
|
Voluntary Service Overseas |
£150k-£160k |
2020 |
|
National Schizophrenia Fellowship |
£120k-£130k |
2020 |
|
Catch22 |
£140k-£150k |
2020 |
2014 List
Consumers’ Association £300k-£310kMarie Stopes International £260k-£270k
Save the Children International £261,309
Cancer Research UK £210k-£220k
British Red Cross Society £180k-£190k
Age UK £180k-£190k
Shaw Trust £180k-£190k
National Trust £170k-£180k
Royal Mencap Society £170k-£180k
Crime Reduction Initiatives £170k-£180k
Alternative Futures Group £170k-£180k
British Heart Foundation £173,300
Leonard Cheshire Disability £160k-£170k
Macmillan Cancer Support £160k-£170k
Marie Curie Cancer Care £160k-£170k
NSPCC £160k-£170k
Addaction £160k-£170k
Turning Point £165,000
Save the Children £162,220
Charities Aid Foundation £150k-£160k
Barnardo’s £150k-£160k
People’s Dispensary For Sick Animals £150k-£160k
Sense, The National Deaf blind and Rubella Association £150k-£160k
Royal Horticultural Society £150k-£160k
Zoological Society of London £150k-£160k
Historic Royal Palaces £151,037
Action for Children £140k-£150k
Salvation Army £140k-£150k
National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux £140k-£150k
Royal National Lifeboat Institution £130k-£140k
Royal British Legion £130k-£140k
Royal National Institute of Blind People £130k-£140k
Scope £130k-£140k
National Autistic Society £130k-£140k
St John Ambulance £130k-£140k
Alzheimer’s Society £130k-£140k
United Response £120k-£130k
Dogs Trust £120k-£130k
Voluntary Service Overseas £120k-£130k
National Schizophrenia Fellowship £120k-£130k
Catch22 £120k-£130k
The figures throw up some interesting facts.
2014-2022 Some Charities Reduce Salaries
2014-2022 Most Charities Increase Salaries
Ten Percent Foundation
Over the past 22 years the Ten-Percent Foundation (the charitable trust receiving the Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment donation - £150,000 to date) has donated to numerous charities. Some years ago we instigated a policy of only donating to charities paying a reasonable level of remuneration to executives.We appreciate entirely that charitable organisations like the National Trust and the Consumers Association which, lets face it, are more like businesses with the public as shareholders in any event, are going to pay their senior staff high salaries. It is inevitable, although questionable in terms of their aims and mission statements.
There is a feeling when reading the figures above that the charity sector has turned into a business and that the way to make money in the business is to get a CEO job.
CEO Pay Example
| Yearly | Monthly | Weekly | Daily | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Income | £261,309.00 | £21,775.75 | £5,025.17 | £1,005.03 |
| Pension Deductions | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Childcare Vouchers | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Salary Sacrifice | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Pre-tax deductions | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Taxable Income | £261,309.00 | £21,775.75 | £5,025.17 | £1,005.03 |
| Tax | £103,716.05 | £8,643.00 | £1,994.54 | £398.91 |
| National Insurance | £8,457.96 | £704.83 | £162.65 | £32.53 |
| Student Loan | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Post-tax deductions | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Take Home | £149,134.99 | £12,427.92 | £2,867.98 | £573.60 |
We undertook research in 2016 when determining how to donate our money and studied a number of charities including Parkinson's UK, Amnesty International and War Child. The article can be found here - http://legalrecruitment.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/choosing-charities-to-donate-money-to.html
For details of the Ten Percent Campaign, which aims to encourage more companies to donate a percentage of their profits please click here - https://www.ten-percent.co.uk/10-percent-campaign/
Jonathan Fagan is Managing Director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment and a non-practising Solicitor. Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment provides online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search our Vacancy Database.
Comments
Something for us to consider doing as a service. Thanks for the comment.
Its sickening to think that the donation my friend left in her will might just cover the salary of the parasite at the top, who is literary taking food out of the mouths of children.
Don't support large business charities, take from the rich and support a small local charity- there are plenty of them about- and every penny is recycled into doing good, not spent on expensive houses, cars, holidays and fine wine.
I was beginning to feel like I was the only one to see the king was actually naked!!!!
It is horrifying to see the charity sector being hijacked by sharks who are only interested in filling up their own pockets! I have worked in small charities and have seen similar things going on at smaller levels, but this takes the biscuits! And the Charity Commission (I do realise they have little power but still)just simply does not care! and the public is being fooled into thinking they are helping, some people giving although they hardly have anything to survive on!
The next thing you should look into in the new government con regarding the New Enterprise Allowance, and whose pockets this is filling up!!! I am so angry, when we have old people who cannot heat up their room, and parents that go without so that their kids can eat!! Honestly!
The few suggestions to support local charities, etc. are great, but how can this process stop?
It breaks my heart to see the street/abandoned/sick/abused/hungry/traumatised children that need any kind of help, but where do you find a charity that does not pay their bosses hundreds of thousands in salaries, not to mention bonuses/pensions/private schools for their kids, etc.
Yet those thoughts sour a little when you realise that your kind deed of donating to a charity is greatly reduced when the boss of said charity takes a large slice as a wage.
Charity adverts on TV used to ask for as little as £1, now that figure has climbed to at least £3, I can only assume that is because nowadays, to raise £1 for charity, they must collect an extra £2 to cover the costs and wages.
It is also wrong that the boss of Great Ormond Street who resigned to avoid an enquiry, should be allowed to waltz straight into another high paid job and I hope the publics perception of that womans morals leads to her eventual downfall.
Far better you give your charitable donation directly to someone in need.
This is a very bias and inaccurate study. for example the CEO of Cancer Research UK actually gives back almost TWO THIRDS of his wage to his own charity. I raise money for charities door2door fundraising and I have a very wide understading of how it all works. The Media LOVE to hate charities, charities do an amazing job PLEASE do not slate them."
Do they take this high salary for the pleasure of paying the tax to the government. It would be better if they took less salary and then the company would not have to pay HMRC a huge chunk of tax and NI on their behalf. If this were truly the case, I am sure one would be able to find evidence of it on the internet. I could not. Of course, the commenter is anonymous!
People donate to these charities expecting their donation to be used for the purpose of helping people through their illnesses, not to feed the fat cat executives, I googled this tonight because I had a DISCUSSION with my husband re him saying he no longer donates because of the high wage of CEO, I JUST CANT BELIEVE THEY CAN RIP PUBLIC OFF LIKE THIS
Trying to get more information to try and persuade someone more clever than myself to take this to parlament.
A thought: Who gives the most. The multi-millionaire with his £100k donations (and possibly a knighthood) or the £5 given by a poor widow. I know who I think.........
Finally, well done on your decision to place a limit on executive salaries regarding those charities you may decide to support in future.