Payroll Giving - Information for Employers
What is a Payroll Giving Agency?
A Payroll Giving Agency (PGA) acts as a go-between between you, the employer who collects the donations through payroll, and the charities that your employees are supporting.
The largest PGA in the UK is Give As You Earn (GAYE) which is run by the Charities Aid Foundation.
Why should I get involved in Payroll Giving?
Research shows Payroll Giving can benefit your business by:
- Improving your company's public profile.
- Boosting staff morale
- Influencing business relationships.
- Providing good PR opportunities.
- Enhancing community involvement programmes.
Are there any grants available to assist businesses to participate?
The Home Office is currently promoting Payroll Giving by offering grants of £300 - £500 to employers who join the scheme. The level of grant depends on the number of people employed as follows:
1 – 199 employees £300
200 - 249 employees £400
250 – 499 employees £500
These grants, -
- Are available to employers who first register with a Payroll Giving Agency before March 2007.
- Will be triggered once the first employees' donations have commenced.
- Will be backdated for any organisation that has signed up since 06 April 2004.
- Are also payable when existing post-tax schemes are transferred to Payroll Giving.
- Are subject to either Income Tax or Corporation Tax on any sums left over after deduction of any expenses incurred in setting up the scheme.
What are the costs of setting up and administering Payroll Giving?
Setting up Payroll Giving is extremely easy as all modern PAYE systems have a built in Payroll Giving facility. A small amount of time will be needed to introduce the scheme to staff in your payroll department.
Payroll Giving Agencies make no administration charges to employers. However they do charge minimal fees to the donors, and these will be deducted from employee’s donations. Give As You Earn charge 4% (minimum 25p) of the amount donated.
Many employers want to encourage participation in the scheme and therefore pay the administration charges on their employees’ behalf so that their whole pledge goes to the charity of their choice.
How can I offer Payroll Giving to my employees?
You will need to register with a Payroll Giving Agency (PGA). Registration is a simple process involving the completion of two or three simple forms. You can contact your chosen PGA directly or phone Virginia Hewitt at MND Scotland on 0141 945 1077 for assistance.
Once registered you will need to provide donor registration forms for employees who want to take part in the scheme. MND Scotland can provide these for distribution to your staff.
The completed donor forms will be processed by your payroll department, and forwarded to your PGA.
Each pay day, your payroll department will make the required deductions from your employees pay and send the total sum donated by all your employees to the PGA for distribution to MND Scotland and any other selected charities.The agency can supply you with a statement of all donations received and distributed.
Should I provide guidance to my employees as to the charities that they could support?
Employees can donate to any registered UK charity or organisation recognised by the Inland Revenue as charitable. The PGA will check for authenticity of the charity.
Some donors may wish to give anonymously, so that you the employer do not know who they are donating to.
How can I ensure maximum participation in the scheme by my employees?
You can promote take-up of the scheme by adopting one particular charity, or a group of charities and promoting them to your employees.
By tracking and publicising the sums that your business raises, you will contribute to your employees’ sense of achievement, enhancing their satisfaction and team spirit.
By offering to pay the GAYE administration charge and/or partially or fully matching your employees’ donations you will show that you are fully participating in the scheme, thus leading by example and promoting participation. This will also encourage positivity by your employees towards you the employer.
Where can I find out more?
Contact Virginia Hewitt at MND Scotland's head office on 0141 945 1077 or write to us at 76 Firhill Road, Glasgow G20 7BA, or log on to the Charities Aid Foundation - Give As You Earn website.
MND Scotland is a registered charity. All of our services are free to people living in Scotland with MND and their families. Often, we are the only source of support.
Our services and support will cost more than £1 million this year, meaning we need to raise almost £20,000 every week.
We receive little financial support form the NHS or government.
None of our work would be possible without the generous support of our donors and fundraisers.