Thirty glorious years of payroll giving
Mervi Slade, chair of Institute of Fundraising PGSIG and consultant at Payroll Giving Surgery, discusses progress
T his year marks the thirtieth anniversary of payroll giving (also known as give as you earn), a government scheme that allows employees to donate tax-free from their salaries to any charity of their choice. Since its inception it has raised over £2 billion for thousands of charitable causes and helped to transform lives in the United Kingdom (UK) and abroad. Many causes rely on this usually unrestricted regular income to plan ahead, enabling charities to use it where the need is greatest. To encourage and celebrate employers promoting their payroll giving scheme the government launched the Payroll Giving Quality Award Mark and the National Payroll Giving Excellence Awards over ten years ago. For the last three years, the Association of Payroll Giving Organisations has looked after Quality Award Marks and the Institute of Fundraising’s Payroll Giving Special Interest Group (PGSIG) has organised the National Payroll Giving Excellence Awards. Payroll giving has now become so much more than a giving mechanism: many employers have really embraced it by harnessing it as a way to engage with their employees by organising innovative campaigns from tea parties to halloween or Valentine’s-themed events. Even though many causes supported by employees deal with very serious issues, having a fun theme can often encourage greater employee engagement and participation. One of the employers that has gone the extra mile to engage with their staff through payroll giving is Checkatrade, a company that allows tradespeople to register on their website, and their customers are then able to post feedback on their work. They have won multiple awards for their
successful campaigns at the National Payroll Giving Excellence Awards through the years and their staff have learnt to expect lot of fun from their payroll giving events. Sometimes they have been in the form of a royal tea party and on one occasion their founder and chief executive officer, Kevin Byrne, dressed up as a giant cheese after discovering that on average the UK person spends more on cheese each year than giving to charity. And the response from their employees has been overwhelmingly positive as Claire Allen, Checkatrade’s fundraising manager, explains: ...a fun theme can often encourage greater employee engagement and participation have received the Platinum Quality Award Mark. This is the highest available certification, presented to companies that have more than 20% of employees donating through the scheme. We have also given over £41,000 during the same period to various charities through payroll giving which is a staggering amount for a small company. Charity is at the heart of the company and we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved and we strive every year to do even better. We hold promotional events every year that staff look forward to, and last year we held a fun day to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday. Staff dressed up and we had a tea party, raising money on the day for our charitable foundation and “For the past five years, Checkatrade
also signing people up to the scheme. “Subsequently due to the days’ success, we entered the annual National Payroll Giving Excellence Awards and won two awards: ‘Best innovative scheme’ and ‘Best sustained campaign’. We were delighted to receive both and it was fantastic to be recognised for what you are doing and to show the staff that their efforts are making a big difference. It’s such an easy way to donate and we make it exciting and enjoyable too. Staff are already looking forward to our 2018 promotional day and with the company growing all the time, there’s even more new people to join the scheme.” Making payroll giving promotions fun and engaging is most definitely the best way to get employees involved, raise money for good causes and at the same time also improve team spirit in the workplace. On the other side of the coin charities are benefiting from this income. Cancer Research UK is one of the most popular causes supported through payroll giving and they put every penny of it to good use. Grace Kokkinos, senior marketing executive at Cancer Research UK, tells what payroll giving means to them as a charity: “Payroll giving is a vital source of regular income for Cancer Research UK. We receive no government funding, so are hugely grateful for the support of our Payroll Givers. Whether they give a little or a lot, their gifts each payday are enabling us to continue and expand our life-saving work and help beat cancer sooner.” ❏ The 2017 National Payroll Giving Excellence Awards are now open for entries at www.payrollgivingawards.co.uk.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | July/August 2017 | Issue 32 50
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