The Charity Commission is considering action after a charity made a £320,000 payment to its chief executive following a change in contract terms.
Autism Initiatives Group paid Andrew Grainger £320,000 in compensation after removing a loss of office clause from his contract.
The payment came on top of Grainger’s regular salary, meaning he received between £490,000 to £500,000 in the year to March 2022.
The accounts for that year read: “The board felt that changes were necessary to certain clauses within the contract to protect the charity from potential operational and financial risk going forwards.
“In consideration for agreeing to changes to certain terms and conditions within the contract, compensation was paid of £320,000 to the chief executive.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Civil Society: “We are currently assessing this matter to determine if there is a role for the Commission.”
Autism Initiatives Group, which recorded an income of £71.2m in 2021-22, has several subsidiary charities including Autism Initiatives UK, Autism Ventures, Autism Spectrum Connections Cymru and Autism Initiatives Northern Ireland.
Grainger is also chief executive of Autism Initiatives UK and became a trustee in May 2022.
He is also a trustee of Autism Spectrum Connections Cymru.
The charity said Grainger’s salary was paid entirely by Autism Initiatives Group in 2021-22.
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