13.Payroll Giving and post-tax salary donations
This section includes the standards for promoting payroll and post-tax salary donation schemes in the workplace. It includes meeting HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) requirements and making sure that employers and employees have clear expectations about how your scheme works.
There are various types of fundraising within the workplace, and there are specific laws and self‑regulation that you should keep to. The code specifically covers donations made direct from an employee’s salary in the following ways.
- Payroll Giving – a tax-efficient scheme where donations are taken from employees’ pay before tax is taken.
- Post-tax salary donations – where employees’ donations are taken from their salary after tax has been taken.
These schemes are only for donations to charities, and must be run through a Payroll Giving agency chosen by the employer. Payroll Giving agencies receive employees’ donations which the employer has taken through the payroll. The agencies then pass the donations to the relevant charities. HMRC’s website has a list of currently approved payroll giving agencies.
13.1 Payroll Giving and post-tax salary donations
In this section, ‘you’ means a Payroll Giving agency or professional fundraiser involved in Payroll Giving, unless we tell you otherwise.
You must be clear to donors that they are free to end an agreement to donate at any time.
You must not offer any benefits to donors in return for donating, and must make sure any references to different levels of tax relief are correct.
Charitable institutions which receive Payroll Giving or post-tax salary donations may provide limited benefits in line with HMRC’s guidance on Payroll Giving.
Professional fundraisers involved in Payroll Giving and post-tax salary donations must:
- make sure donors’ wishes relating to which charity or charities will receive their donation are followed;
- process and pass information relating to new donors to the charitable institution as soon as possible;
- represent each charity fairly when working for more than one charity; and
- be clear that donors can give to any charity of their choice, even if you are promoting a particular charity.
Professional fundraisers involved in Payroll Giving must also meet the solicitation statement expectations set out in section 6 Fundraising partnerships.
Promoting Payroll Giving and post-tax salary donations in the workplace
You must agree conditions for access (for example, to the workplace) with the relevant employer before discussing donations with employees.
Fundraisers must wear photo ID badges, provided by the organiser of the fundraising activity or the relevant fundraising organisation, at all times when promoting Payroll Giving in the workplace. The ID badges must be worn in a place where they can be seen clearly.
Payroll Giving agencies and employers using their schemes must keep to The Charitable Deductions (Approved Schemes) Regulations 1986.