Charities highlight financial risk of Work Programme to MPs
9 Feb 2012
Baroness Stedman-Scott, chief executive of Tomorrow’s People, has said her charity, which is sub-contracted on...
Acevo chief executive Stephen Bubb has hit out at claims by the trade union Unite that an “excessive City pay culture” exists in the charity sector.
Unite had said that it was concerned that some charity chief executives are earning more than the Prime Minister’s annual salary of £197,000, citing John Belcher, who stepped down from his £391,000 a year role at the Anchor Trust last week.
Writing in his blog, Bubb said: “The union says that an ‘excessive’ city pay culture is creeping into charities. Pardon? Which CEO exactly is receiving a bonus? (Answer none) - let alone a bonus the size of an average charity CEO salary.
“What underlies this attack is an unpleasant and patronising attitude to the third sector which assumes that we are all small scale and amateur and therefore not capable of earning a proper professional salary - unlike workers in the public sector.”
He added that Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson, the joint general secretaries of Unite, earn £122,108 and £186,626 respectively, adding: “On the index that Unite have devised for the Guardian story, Unite are paying their CEOs 26 times the salary of a member on the minimum wage!”
Unite had also singled out top salaries at the Riverside Housing Group (£231,000), the UK Film Council (£205,000-£210,000), the National Trust (£160,000-£169,999), Age Concern (£100,001-120,000) and RSPB (£100,001-£110,000).
The union compared these to the £5.80 minimum wage earned by many charity employees, though it did emphasise that it was only concerned about excessive pay, rather than the majority of charity chief executives who on average earn £57,000 a year.
“It is quite clear that the insidious City culture of excessive pay is seeping into the packages of some not-for-profit sector chief executives,” said Unite’s national officer for the not-for-profit sector Rachael Maskell.
“This is to be deplored as it corrupts the ethos of the voluntary sector and is an insult to those, often on average incomes, who donate to charity. I think the general public will be shocked by the scale of the packages that some executives are being awarded. This sector is losing its sense of what real value is.
“It is not right that a charity boss earns much more than the Prime Minister. Flat pay increases of a set amount should be introduced, instead of percentage rises, as these would reduce pay disparities, which are hitting, in particular, women, disabled people, ethnic minorities and part-time workers.”
Beyond the pay packet – what's in a salary survey?
New book 'Uncharitable' calls for radical thinking
Salary increases beat private sector
Top 100 Chief Executives Survey
Existing charity model 'will never solve the world's problems' says Pallotta
Hundreds of charity workers to lobby government on working conditions
Charity staff leaving for supermarket jobs to escape stress, says report
Charity chief executives criticised for high salaries
Less experienced fundraisers in wake of recession, survey finds
Acevo guide advises on how to manage CEO salary queries
Etherington defends £80,000 wages at NCVO
Equity rules: why high charity salaries equal success
9 Feb 2012
Baroness Stedman-Scott, chief executive of Tomorrow’s People, has said her charity, which is sub-contracted on...
9 Feb 2012
Professional tax adviser David Perrin has been sentenced to 18-months imprisonment for trying to defraud...
9 Feb 2012
Employment minister Chris Grayling has said that he expects charities to be active in the delivery of...
9 Feb 2012
A group of charity and lottery company representatives have agreed to work on a plan to push for reform...
8 Feb 2012
Charities should be wary of regaling donors with too many facts and figures about the impact of their...
8 Feb 2012
London Voluntary Service Council plans to use the money it won from the Transforming Local Infrastructure...
9 Feb 2012
The Wellcome Trust plans to give its employees more choice over the type of device they use for work.
6 Feb 2012
An East Sussex-based animal welfare charity has launched a new website in a bid to increase online donations...
31 Jan 2012
4Children has launched its new website to provide clearer information about its work and campaigns as...

Attending our one day courses is a highly effective way of ensuring new and existing trustees fully understand their role, responsibilities and liabilities.
Andy Samel
Development Officer
Islington Voluntary Action Council
12 Nov 2009
Whilst I agree with Stephen Bubb that CEOs of third sector organisations need to be paid an amount that reflects the professional and important work they do, earning almost double the amount of the prime minister is laughable (or not)however you look at it!
I would like to know how the trustees came to the conclusion that a £391,000 salary was in the best interests of the charity. I would have taken the job for half of that!
Andy Samel
IVAC
[Reply]