The value of payroll giving has fallen by more than a quarter, taking up to £27m out of charity pockets, according to new research.

Not only have the number of payroll givers dropped since the onset of recession in 2008, but they have significantly reduced the amount they give each month says one payroll services company.

The proportion of payroll givers in the workplace has fallen, Equiniti ICS found in its survey of the 125,000-plus employees whose pay it processes, from 4.3 per cent in 2008 to 3.8 per cent.

Of more concern, however, is that the average amount given via payroll giving has fallen also: from £19 per month before the recession to £14 now.

Equiniti estimate that this fall is equivalent to 25 per cent of the worth of payroll giving,  or £27m from the £109m raised by the mechanism in the 2007/2008 financial year.

Alan Foley, director of the company, blamed the recession for the drop, but said there was hope in the figures.

"What is significant, and bodes well for the future, is that employees are not deserting their charities altogether and stopping donations completely; instead they are choosing to cut back, which is much more positive in the long term," he said.